Wall of Experiences for the first edition of AfLibWk

My experience was full of learning and exploration. It was exciting, full of discoveries and engaging I was kept busy throughout the week. I gained new skills of editing, critically assessing articles, my profile has been raised, my confidence boosted and I just came out of this initiative rich with knowledge and skills – knowledge on what exist in my country on Wikipedia, what need to be and what needs improvement. Botswana:Lynn.

AfLIbWk gave me the opportunity to contribute credible information to Wikipedia. I was excited about how librarians across Africa used social media to promote their work as librarians and the event too. I was able to fill the gaps I identified about Zambian content on Wikipedia by adding citations, new content, external links etc. It was impressive how librarians came together to ensure the task was done and the final outcome in terms of contributions made on Wikipedia during the Week are just amazing.

J’ai beaucoup appris lors de cette campagne, ce qui m’a le plus marqué c’est le fait que je puisse créer une page sur Wikipedia intégralement. Mon enthousiasme réside dans le fait qu’en tant que bibliothécaire nous avons pu aider la communauté en ajoutant dans références à certains articles sur Wikipedia afin qu’ils soient plus crédibles. Le fait que nous avons abattu ce beau travail en un laps de temps aussi m’a impressionné, ce qui me fait dire que rien n’est impossible pour un bibliothécaire bien formé.

Wow 🤩, #AfLibWk was an amazing week of #1lib1ref of digital skills. The experience was awesome for me😎. It exposed me to new frontiers of knowledge and connections! As a result, I was privileged to be a member of Wikipedia Women in Red😊 and made it to the top ‘40’ on the list. Let’s do it again.

I continued to expand my knowledge on how to navigate the Wikipedia editing panel. I was excited about participating in the campaign. It was really nice to see many Africans participating in the creation and editing of content online. This beats the narrative that a big percentage of Africans consume information without participating in creating it. I was impressed with the many edits from all over Africa. We are embracing creation of content!!

The most outstanding thing I learnt is that Librarians can be great researchers and editors with the help of citation hunt. I was really excited to interact with my fellow African librarian not only by virtual interaction but knowing that we were all devoted for one common #AfLibWk campaign was my best experience I have ever had in my career field. Adding citations from complete reliable sources to information really worked for me. Creating hyperlink as well. I was / am impressed to be a Wikipedian.

Ce qui m’a impressionné est la mobilisation des professionnels autour d’un objectif en commun, la fiabilité des sources de wikipedia. Ce qui a fonctionné est l’usage facile de wikipedia à travers les acquisitions de compétences.

I had actually registered as an editor over a year ago, but AfLIbWk really helped to get going. I am in the midst of drafting an article which I will share with others before publishing it. It was actually almost addictive. But a good learning experience in so many different ways. BTW [sic] I am prepared to write more but not on my phone – which I find rather awkward.

First of all, I was glad I had an account with Wikipedia which came with stupendous opportunities. I was excited that I could contribute to articles by adding citations to make the article more legit [sic]. Adding citations was easier for me. I was impressed that I was able to make a difference. I learnt that Wikipedia can be edited by an ordinary person like me as long as the source is accurate.

Before now, I had wondered if the Wikipedia is created and updated by humans….now I have seen for myself that all it requires is to be well trained and one is good to go. I was so impressed seeing I could be a part of the group that accurately tells her country’s story and the people in it very well. It gave me an energy and a boost to go in search of credible sources that existed but I didn’t know… It feels so good to share such resources and I am willing to keep at it I have learnt new skill which I consider as one that will stay with me for a life time, I am one step higher in knowledge. The experience is simply phenomenal! Thank you AfLIA for this great privilege and thank you WIKIPEDIA for the editing rights given to me.

The #AfLibWk #1lib1ref campaign has changed my narrative about Wikipedia. I am really excited because I can now stand out to inform researchers that Wikipedia articles have reviewers just like any other scholarly sources. I am highly impressed about the knowledge I acquired during this training, I can now edit as well as create new articles in Wikipedia. Kudos to AfLIA team.

I was excited to see how African Librarians, myself included, worked very hard to promote African scholars to the World. Actually, the webinar sessions were very organized and interactive and the technical support from the AfLIA team were among the very impressive things.

This campaign has proved that with internet we belong together in global village and therefore can work together on the same project, simultaneously. As a fresh graduate of LIS I’m very excited to have acquired unique editing skills using Wikipedia Visual Editor. Thanks to the organizers under the umbrella of AfLIA and Wikimedia Team.

Breaking the barriers by using Wikipedia as a trustable source where researchers can begin their literature searches, was a big takeaway for me. I have come to understand that, as a librarian, I am liable for creating authentic content and it is really my duty to add knowledge to the existing gaps on Wikipedia. While I am serve users at my library, I can now reach million other readers by updating Wikipedia articles especially those that originate from my area and specialisation… I was very much excited about knowing how to edit Wikipedia article.

It was a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. It provided a platform for the acquisition of new skills. From the training to the deployment of skills acquired, there was a collegial spirit among the trainers and the trainees to share knowledge. It helped us to learn quickly. Now I am understand how Wikipedia works. So glad I did not only participate, but also contributed. I appreciate AfLIA for the opportunity.

Participating in the AfLibWk was a privilege for us, information technicians. I was able to edit a lot of articles for the first time and I will continue to do so as I have found Passion ❤️ in Wikipedia.

J’ai pu participer comme tout le monde sur wikipedia, j’ai pu apporter des contributions et des sources pour mieux rendre les données exaustives et fiables. J’ai pu aussi participer à des formations et d’integrer le groupe whatsap des francophones sur wikipedia ou je pose mes questions et la communauté comme les formateurs sont tres disponibles avec nous les débutants. Merci l’Aflia pour cette belle experience qui va continuer.

It’s been a great privilege to contribute to global knowledge by acknowledging sources of data and information while providing new insights as well. Overall, this is our little contribution to accurate open source information and a way of helping researchers gain information while avoiding plagiarism.

The whole editing experience for me was exciting! My subordinates and I were always looking forward to the next day at the office to share our experiences. The fact that our library was less busy with patrons (due to COVID-19 pandemic) was a blessing in disguise and it helped bring us together as a team.

#AfLibWk has been a busy week which was very informative to African Librarians as we have seriously engaged in updating articles in Wikipedia for the benefit of global readers. I feel proud being a part of of the campaign.

#AfLibWk has been nothing but amazing. Firstly, I’d like to thank AfLIA nnd Wikimedia Foundation for this opportunity, especially during this lockdown period resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as there are not plenty of things one can do during this period, but AfLIA and Wikipedia got us busy.

I never knew one could add citation to articles on Wikipedia. The fact that I can edit articles authored by others and improve on them was exciting experience for me. Adding citation worked for me. It’s impressive to know that your activities are being recorded and monitored. The facts that feedbacks are also received from Wikipedia makes it more interesting as that keeps one on track.

As a newcomer, the digital skills I learnt along the way are invaluable, this experience also opened my scope of research and new ventures in knowledge.

This event happened to coincide with my first experience of navigating the Wikidata project. I’ve added reference to several items and with that, I’ve both practiced editing on Wikidata and participated on AfLibWk. What impressed me is the scope of resources we had, both online and offline where we could link to existing data so it could be more reliable. AfLibWk is indeed a great help for the foundation to create a more grounded and interconnected free encyclopedia.

This was an eye opening experience for me, I never thought that it was possible for an individual to edit in Wikipedia. I am grateful to have been part of this experience and also thankful to AfLIA team for making this happen. I learned a lot on how to go about editing on Wikipedia. I will continue to be a Wikipedia editor for life in order to improve content on my country and Africa. #AfLibWk #1Lib1Ref.

Learning how to find and add credible citations to Wikipedia articles was awesome and especially for me, because it made me go deeper and research for more information which I didn’t know but now I know. Thank you #AfLibWk.

En tant que bibliothécaire, j’ai appris que je pouvais apporter ma pierre à l’édifice en sourçant de manière fiable les articles. Ce qui donnera aux articles de la notoriété en tant que sources de qualité. Les résultats obtenus m’ont beaucoup impressionnés. Le fait de constater que les professionnels de l’information documentaire africain en réseau pouvaient mener des actions qui impactent la société et qui rehaussent leurs images m’a beaucoup ébahi.

I called myself the Principal Educator in the African Library Week forum. One new skill I learnt is how to edit digital sources. It wasn’t so easy before. I really enjoyed improving some materials by adding more content and I got fulfilled and excited to read an improved source done by myself. This was a good time and good discovery indeed. As a school librarian, I believe Wikipedia’s is a good encyclopedia which my students can easily access.