What Can a Wikipedian in Residence Do for You?

A Wikipedian in Residence is an experienced Wikipedia editor who collaborates with organizations or institutions to promote partnerships with the Wikipedia community. The main goal is to enhance the quality and quantity of information available on Wikipedia and its related projects by leveraging the resources, expertise, and collections of the partnering institution.

Hiring a Wikipedian in Residence can help you achieve your strategic objectives of disseminating knowledge about your collections, archives, and expertise on Wikipedia (written content), Wikimedia Commons (visual content), and Wikidata (structured linked open data).

By recruiting a Wikipedian in Residence, you can benefit from their expertise in writing articles, uploading images, and importing data about your assets. They can also provide talks, train your staff, hold editathons, and represent your organization at events.

Although a Wikipedian in Residence works for you, they remain a committed member of the Wikipedia community. They prioritize neutrality and ethical editing, and their focus is on educating rather than promoting. They adhere to high standards of disclosure and professionalism.

Investing in a Wikipedian in Residence is an excellent way to spread knowledge, both for your organization and for the millions of readers who use the encyclopedia.

A Wikipedian in Residence is an essential link between the Wikipedia community and external organizations. They contribute to increasing the availability of credible, verifiable, and high-quality information on Wikipedia, promoting free access to knowledge, and fostering collaboration among diverse institutions and the Wikimedia movement.

Implementing a Wikipedian in Residence initiative can have extensive and enduring effects for both the Wikimedia community and the host organization.

Building trust and reliability: A Wikipedian in Residence can help address misconceptions or apprehensions about the dependability of Wikipedia by working closely with an organization. This can create more confidence in the platform, and the organization's staff and members are likely to become more actively engaged.

Promoting diversity and inclusivity: A Wikipedian in Residence can advocate for marginalized people and subjects on Wikimedia projects by encouraging contributions from underrepresented communities, highlighting varied viewpoints, and creating content that addresses knowledge gaps.

Boosting public engagement: By collaborating on events like edit-a-thons and workshops, a Wikipedian in Residence can raise awareness about an organization and increase engagement with its resources and programs.

Sharing expertise: Wikipedians in Residence can leverage their experience as Wikipedia editors to educate the organization's staff and members on Wikipedia policies, best practices, and guidelines. This can lead to more effective and more significant contributions to Wikipedia and its related projects.

Strengthening the Wikimedia community: By connecting their host organization with the wider Wikimedia movement, a Wikipedian in Residence can facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences across borders. This can promote international cooperation and knowledge-sharing, resulting in a more robust, more collaborative global community.

Monitoring and reporting: Wikipedians in Residence can help organizations keep track of the impact of their Wikipedia-related activities by monitoring metrics like page views, edits, and other relevant data. Additionally, they can provide regular reports on the progress and achievements of the program that can be used for internal evaluation and external communication purposes.

Identifying new opportunities: As they gain a better understanding of the organization's work and collections, Wikipedians in Residence can identify new opportunities for collaboration and content creation. They can help the organization explore innovative ways to engage with the Wikimedia projects, broaden its scope and impact.

A Wikipedian in Residence plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between their host organization and the Wikimedia community. They facilitate collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and mutual understanding, which leads to improved content quality and scope on Wikipedia and its related projects. Moreover, their work can help their host organization become an active participant in the global movement for free access to knowledge.

The specific responsibilities and duties of a Wikipedian in Residence may vary based on the organization and individual, but generally include:

Generating and enhancing content: Working with the organization's staff and experts to recognize subjects that could benefit from new or improved Wikipedia articles and collaborating on creating, editing, and sustaining them.

Guiding and supporting: Conducting training sessions and workshops for the organization's staff and volunteers, as well as the general public, to educate them on contributing to Wikipedia and its sister projects.

Promoting and interacting: Facilitating communication and cooperation between the organization and the Wikipedia community, including arranging events, drafting blog posts, and participating in relevant online conversations.

Licensing and content donation: Aiding the organization in releasing its content (e.g., data, images, videos) under open licenses, making it available for use on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

Wikimedia project integration: A Wikipedian in Residence can assist an organization in understanding and participating in various Wikimedia projects, such as Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikisource. They can provide guidance on integrating the organization's resources effectively and using them within these projects.

Collaborating with other institutions: By working in tandem with other institutions that have Wikipedians in Residence or are part of the broader Wikimedia community, a Wikipedian in Residence can facilitate the sharing of best practices, ideas, and resources. This collaboration can lead to stronger collaborations and partnerships.

Advocating for open knowledge and open access: A Wikipedian in Residence can serve as an advocate for open data, open educational resources, and open access within their host institution. They can raise awareness about the significance of free access to knowledge and advocate for the adoption of open practices and standards.

Establishing a sustainable community: Wikipedians in Residence can help foster a long-lasting relationship between their host organization and the Wikipedia community. By engaging with staff and volunteers, they can cultivate a culture of knowledge sharing, ensuring that the organization continues to be a presence on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

Creating tailored resources: Wikipedians in Residence can create customized resources, such as templates, style guides, and project pages, to support their host organization's Wikipedia initiatives. These resources can streamline the editing process and improve the quality of contributions.

Assessing impact: Evaluating the outcomes and effectiveness of the Wikipedian in Residence program and providing recommendations for future enhancements.

A successful Wikipedian in Residence brings a combination of technical expertise, interpersonal skills, and commitment to Wikipedia's principles.

Wikipedia editing experience: Proficiency in editing Wikipedia articles is crucial for Wikipedians in Residence. This includes knowledge of formatting, citation styles, and adherence to content policies. Familiarity with Wikipedia's core policies, such as neutrality and verifiability, is also essential.

Subject matter expertise: Wikipedians in Residence often have a background in the field their host organization operates in, which helps them contribute effectively to relevant articles. This expertise enables them to identify gaps in existing content and develop well-researched, high-quality articles.

Communication and interpersonal skills: Wikipedians in Residence need to work collaboratively with both their host organization and the Wikimedia community. This involves facilitating knowledge sharing, building trust, and addressing concerns that may arise during the collaboration process.

Teaching and training abilities: Wikipedians in Residence should be comfortable delivering presentations and workshops, guiding staff members and volunteers through the process of editing Wikipedia articles. They need to be adept at explaining complex concepts in a clear and engaging manner.

Time management and organization: Wikipedians in Residence often juggle multiple tasks and projects, requiring excellent time management and organizational skills. They should be able to prioritize tasks effectively and adapt to changing circumstances.

Comfort with the Wikimedia community: Wikipedians in Residence actively participate in Wikimedia project discussions and forums to build a network of contacts and establish credibility.

Every institution and editor will be different, but there are some basic stages.

1. Ask questions. Learn about past positions in other organizations and gather ideas. Plant seeds within your institution for a project.

2. Decide on your goals. What content do you have? What do you want to share? In what form do you want to share it? Who do you want to share it?

3. Evaluate your capacity. Do you have staff who can be the point person? Do you have budget for resourcing such a position? How long do you want an engagement to last?

4. Recruit and select. Write an inviting position description and circulate it extremely widely in the Wikipedia and open movement. Evaluate candidates. Interview best fits. Make an offer.

5. Onboard and strategize. Welcome and integrate the new hire into the organization. Sync up with staff and team meetings. Set a rhythm for regular check-ins. Read introduction-to-expert syllabus from WikiBlueprint. Plan a monthly set of activities.

6. Execute. Write, upload, train, engage, teach, and write some more. Look for allies and partners, translations and re-use opportunities.

7. Measure and report. Track all edits, articles changed, new articles added, total words added, and total pageviews. Send monthly highlights throughout the organization, and a final wrapup summary.

8. End or extend. Many residencies start as 6-12 month positions and end up going on for years, because the impact is huge and undeniable. Wikipedians in Residence can be a huge bright spot for organizations!

Employing a Wikipedian in Residence can offer invaluable know-how to an organization and considerable influence; however, it is important to weigh potential hazards and drawbacks:

Expense: Recruiting a dedicated Wikipedian in Residence might be costly, particularly for smaller organizations with restricted budgets.

Narrow focus: A Wikipedian in Residence's main emphasis is on Wikipedia, which could restrict their capacity to contribute to additional projects or assignments within the organization.

Divergent interests: The Wikipedian in Residence might encounter conflicts of interest between their commitment to upholding Wikipedia's neutrality policy and their obligation to represent their host organization.

Bias issues: The Wikipedian in Residence could unintentionally introduce bias into Wikipedia articles related to the organization, resulting in potential reputational hazards.

Community resistance: The Wikipedia community might perceive the presence of a compensated Wikipedian in Residence as a possible violation of the platform's volunteer-driven ethos, leading to negative feedback or disagreements.

Time commitment: Educating and integrating a Wikipedian in Residence may necessitate substantial time and effort, potentially redirecting resources from other crucial tasks.

Limited effect: The Wikipedian in Residence's influence on enhancing the organization's visibility on Wikipedia might be constrained by the platform's stringent content guidelines and editing procedures.

Dependence on one person: Relying on the Wikipedian in Residence for all Wikipedia-related issues may foster an over-dependence on a single individual, making it challenging for the organization to sustain its presence on the platform if the Wikipedian in Residence departs.

Elevated expectations: The organization might harbor unrealistic expectations about the extent to which the Wikipedian in Residence can shape Wikipedia content, resulting in potential disillusionment or dissatisfaction.

Moral concerns: Some organizations might be apprehensive about the ethics of employing someone to edit Wikipedia on their behalf, given the platform's dedication to neutrality and the potential for perceived manipulation.

Consulting with an established Wikipedia strategy expert can help make the experience less daunting and more effective.

Focus on the positive and manage the negative…

The advantages of engaging with Wikipedia are considerable, including increased exposure, traffic, reach, reputation, public education, pageviews, networking, data exposure, searchability, and community.

This is evidenced by the vast amount of data contriuted by Wikipedians in Residence on Wikipedia, which has seen millions of pageviews on tens of thousands of articles,

The Commons is a space with robust legal protections against copyright infringement, and clear rules for sharing under open licenses.

Copyright rules on Wikipedia are stringent, even more restrictive than what is permitted under fair use.

Wikipedians have been invited to work with prestigious institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Met, the British Museum, the US National Archives, Museu Picasso, and the National Library of Israel, demonstrating the value and trust placed in their expertise.

Even modern art museums, such as MOMA, have successfully employed Wikipedians in Residence.

Wikipedians in Residence are experienced and knowledgeable, with many having made tens or even hundreds of thousands of contributions over a decade and a half. They are well-versed in Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, including neutrality, copyright, sourcing, citations, and conflict of interest.

The strict norms and rules that govern Wikipedia typically make risky or legally questionable actions impermissible.

Although institutions may choose to skip or delay covering certain topics, the work of a Wikipedian in Residence is conducted in concert with the institution, and is intentional and informed.

Most artists recognize the importance of exposure for career growth, and rely on social media platforms to achieve this visibility and influence.

Wikipedians do not judge the quality of artworks; instead they rely on published opinions to ensure neutrality. They do not engage in original research, and only publish facts that have been well-vetted.

While anyone can write about a museum's collections or exhibits, a trained Wikipedian can do so more effectively.

Openness can lead to unexpected benefits, such as when an editathon resulted in a major financial donation to a museum from the estate of an artist whose work was covered.

Donors appreciate the engagement of the general public on Wikipedia, and value having their artworks or objects described and seen.

Wikipedians in Residence have been operating for over a decade, and there are no known examples of significant harm to reputation, giving, public attendance, or media coverage.

Downside risks are infrequent and manageable, while the benefits are substantial.

More often they have an alignment of interest. WP:CURATOR says: "Museum curators, librarians, archivists, and similar are encouraged to help improve Wikipedia." Also WP:COI continues: "There are forms of paid editing that the Wikimedia community regards as acceptable. These include Wikipedians in residence (WiRs)—Wikipedians who may be paid to collaborate with mission-aligned organizations, such as galleries, libraries, archives, and museums."