AFRICAN LIBRARIANS WEEK
“PROMOTING AFRICAN SCHOLARS TO THE WORLD”
24th - 30th May 2020
#1Lib1Ref #AfLibWk
The African Librarians Week is a new outreach initiative by AfLIA, in collaboration with Wikimedia, to engage library communities to help fill key gaps in African content on Wikipedia by adding content and missing references to articles about Africa on the online encyclopedia......
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?
STEP 1
Sign up to participate in the African Library Week.
Click here
STEP 2
Create a User Account on Wikipedia (if you do not have one already).
STEP 3
Use your Wikipedia user account details to log in to our #AfLibWk Dashboard. This action will enable us to track participation and contributions during the #AfLibWk period (24-30 May 2020) so that contributors are appropriately awarded by merit.
STEP 4
Find an article of interest that needs a citation. Here is a link to compiled list of articles you can start with. Alternatively, here are some other strategies.
STEP 5
Find a reliable source that can support that article.
STEP 6
Add a citation using Wikipedia Style. Click here to learn about adding citations and editing Wikipedia.
STEP 7
Add the official campaign hashtags #1Lib1Ref and #AfLibWk in the Wikipedia Edit Summary
STEP 8
Remember to share your edits on social media and invite colleagues to get involved.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1What is African Librarians Week?
The African Librarians Week is an outreach initiative organized to build awareness of and fix gaps in knowledge about African content on Wikipedia. We want to equip African librarians to add missing references to articles about Africa on Wikipedia. It is organized by AfLIA in partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation as part of the global #1Lib1Ref campaign. Find out more here
2What exactly will African librarians do during the Week?
From 24-30 May 2020, we encourage African librarians to update Wikipedia articles about Africa and African scholars in all disciplines with citations and references. By doing so, we can create reliable content on Africa on Wikipedia for the benefit of global readers. To learn how to add a citation to a Wikipedia article, please go to the resource page.
3How can I be part of this campaign?
To be part of the African Librarians Week, begin by filling out the sign-up form here. Afterwards, you will be directed to create a User Account on Wikipedia (if you do not have one already). A list of articles has been pre-compiled to help you begin adding references here. If you need additional materials to learn how to add citations, please visit resource page. For more details, visit: this link
4Who can participate?
All librarians from National Libraries, Academic and Special Libraries, Public and Community Libraries, School Libraries as well as LIS institutions in Africa are eligible and invited to come on board as we improve the narrative of Africa and African scholars in Wikipedia. For more details, visit: this link
5I am not a librarian; can I be part?
Definitely yes. This campaign is being organized to mobilize equipped African editors to improve African content on Wikipedia. The organizers are primarily targeting librarians but that does not necessarily mean we are ignoring other potential editors who can contribute knowledge and references on Africa’s rich history, culture, and people on Wikipedia. Let’s begin by signing up here
6Why should I participate?
Knowledge about Africa is unfortunately underrepresented on Wikipedia. This means that access to African voices, cultures, philosophies and other information that are worthy of being open and integrated into the global body of knowledge is woefully limited. Participating in this campaign means;
- Contributing to the creation of reliable content on Africa on Wikipedia for the benefit of global readers and
- Helping to ensure the world can continue to learn from Africa’s rich history, culture, and people on Wikipedia
- Helping to highlight the role of librarians across Africa in providing access to knowledge.
- Helping to make Wikipedia, an important source of fact-based knowledge for people around the world, more reliable and useful.
7What will I benefit?
Nothing comes close to the sense of pride in knowing that you are part of a dedicated network of African Wikipedian editors helping to improve the relevance, accuracy, reliability of articles about Africa hosted on Wikipedia. Further;
- The top 50 participating librarians will be recognized and awarded certificates.
- The top 5 contributors will receive prizes during the 2021 AfLIA Conference in Accra.
8I want to attend an in-person training, where can I join?
We are advising everyone to follow WHO health guidelines and not conduct in-person activities. You can visit the resource page for guides on how to virtually participate in the campaign. Ensure your contribution is recorded by using the #1Lib1Ref and #AfLibWk hashtags in your edit summary. This is very important for us to monitor the reach and success of the initiative.