IN these modern times, when you can’t judge a book by its user-interface, it is surely wise of the Scottish Library and Information Council to create a post for a Wikimedian in Residence. Wikipedia will be familiar to many or most readers as the free online encyclopaedia that has conquered the world of reference works: Veni, Vidi, Wiki, as it were.
Minding our p’s and m’s, Wikimedia works with Wikipedia to allow people and organisations to contribute to a shared understanding of the world. And, with that noble ideal of democratising knowledge in mind, it is only natural that Scotland would wish to share her rich collections of historical and cultural content.
Thus the task of the Wikimedian in Residence for Scotland’s public libraries. Or one of the tasks – he or she will also train staff to create and edit articles for Wikipedia, identify suitable content to put up on the site, and help libraries to host digital “edit-a-thon” workshops for the public.
The cost: £54,000 for a two-year project that will cover the Wikimedian’s wages, training events, IT equipment and travel expenses. Not much for all that, even if we are talking about an under-pressure public service in which every paperclip is accountable. If they still use paperclips. Perhaps these have gone the way of the old card system for looking up books, as our libraries embrace digital technology and acknowledge the reality that knowledge has gone virtual.
Today, the message is in the new media, and it is encouraging that a major focus of the Wikimedia project will be on digitising materials and biographies of notable Scottish women and local figures whose lives have long languished in the dusty corners of the country’s remaining bookshelves.
For all that we retain a great affection for these shelves, we appreciate also the opportunities the internet presents for Scotland to show the world some hitherto hidden gems. In that endeavour, we wish the new Wikimedian every success – with or without astute deployment of paperclips.
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