1Lib1Ref

The #1Lib1Ref campaign is a Wikipedia Library-led effort to involve librarians in editing Wikipedia: the goal is for every participant to add a single reference to Wikipedia during the week of January 15th-23rd. As part of #1Lib1Ref, the Folger will be hosting an edit-a-thon on January 19th, 2016. All Folger staff and readers are welcome to attend.

For more information about the Folger's use of wikis, please see the pages about Wikipedia and Folgerpedia.

What is #1Lib1Ref?

Imagine a world where every librarian added one more reference to Wikipedia.

What is #1Lib1Ref? It is an opportunity to enrich Wikipedia and make it better—all it takes is one librarian or staff member each (1Lib) to change one reference (1Ref)! Wikipedia is often a first stop for researchers, especially those looking to find citations: let's make them better! Libraries and their communities are uniquely well-positioned to improve Wikipedia: we have information sources, and we know how to use them.

The goal of #1Lib1Ref is for each participant to add a SINGLE reference to Wikipedia (although of course, you can go beyond that and add more, if you want). Any citation of a reliable source is a benefit to Wikipedia readers worldwide. When you add the reference to the article, make sure to include the hashtag #1Lib1Ref in the edit summary so that Wikipedia can track participation.

You can read more about #1Lib1Ref on its main page, or follow the hashtag on Twitter. You can also watch the edits made by other #1Lib1Ref participants!

#1Lib1Ref at the Folger - January 19, 2016

The Folger will host an edit-a-thon in the Board Room on January 19th, 2016, from 12:00 pm-2:00 pm. All are are welcome to attend, and no prior experience with Wikipedia is necessary - we will provide a introduction to basic wiki editing at the top of each hour. (If you've edited Folgerpedia in the past, a lot of the basics are also applicable to Wikipedia since both use the MediaWiki platform.)

12:00pm: Introduction to #1Lib1Ref and basic wiki editing
12:15-1:00pm: Drop in with your lunch and laptop for any amount of time to edit, eat, ask questions, and partake in free coffee and tea (and any goodies that may appear!)
1:00pm: Repeat of the Introduction to #1Lib1Ref and basic wiki editing
1:15-2:00pm: Drop in with your lunch and laptop for any amount of time to edit, eat, ask questions, and partake in free coffee and tea (and any remaining goodies).

We look forward to seeing you there!

Resources

Basic editing actions

You don't have to create a full page from scratch! The goal of #1Lib1Ref is for everyone to add just one citation: even though it seems like a small contribution, each edit improves the quality of Wikipedia as a resource.

  • Add a citation: add a reference or citation to a page that is lacking them. (You can use the "Citation Hunt" tool below to find a page in need of help.) This is the main goal of the #1Lib1Ref campaign, as it helps substantiate the information in Wikipedia, and it directs Wikipedia users to additional resources. If you don't feel comfortable adding a citation, however, you can make one of the edits below.
  • Correct a typo: check out these Lists of common misspellings; the page also contains directions for finding them in Wikipedia via a Google search
  • Add links to other Wikipedia pages: linking a page to other pages helps users fully explore a topic, or make unexpected connections (although it can also lead them down a wiki-rabbit hole!)
  • Add a category: adding a category to a page links it to similar pages and makes it more findable; it also improves Wikipedia's data mining potential
  • Add images: while adding images to Wikipedia can be a little complicated, it makes pages much more approachable, and is another way to lead users to additional resources

Citation sources

Folger-produced sources

Open-access journals

Webpages and databases

Tools and widgets

  • "Forward to libraries" box template (adds box which directs users to library catalogs and performs an automated subject search
  • Wikidata games (variety of automated searches which invite user to add lacking information - requires login)
  • "Citation Hunt" tool (searches for items with "Citation needed" tag)
  • List of Wikipedia articles that need cleanup
  • WikipeDPLA extension (auto-searches the DPLA for items related to a Wikipedia article - best with broad topics)
  • HotCat extension (auto-suggests possible categories for a page - requires login)

Articles and categories of special interest to the Folger

Articles in the Folger's scope in need of citations The links below are pre-constructed searches for articles in a particular category with at least one "citation needed" tag. You can use these as a starting point, or search in a different category by entering the following string into the Wikipedia search box:

incategory:"[category]" incategory:"All articles with unsourced statements"

Replace [category] with the name of the category you want to search. The William Shakespeare and Early Modern period categories both have a number of sub-categories that might be interesting.