Page:The Wikipedia Library-The largest encyclopedia needs a digital library and we are building it By Jake Orlowitz.pdf/14

14 For​ ​Readers:​ ​ ​From​ ​Informed​ ​Access​ ​to​ ​Open​ ​Citations

Half​ ​a​ ​billion​ ​people​ ​each​ ​month​ ​use​ ​Wikipedia​ ​for​ ​research,​ ​but​ ​many​ ​may​ ​not​ ​understand​ ​how it​ ​is​ ​constructed​ ​and​ ​how​ ​to​ ​best​ ​make​ ​use​ ​of​ ​it.​ ​Wikipedia's​ ​principle​ ​of​ ​verifiability​ ​institutes​ ​an ideal​ ​that​ ​all​ ​knowledge​ ​in​ ​the​ ​encyclopedia,​ ​whether​ ​facts​ ​or​ ​outside​ ​opinions,​ ​are​ ​supported​ ​by a​ ​reliable​ ​secondary​ ​source—but​ ​sources​ ​that​ ​readers​ ​cannot​ ​access​ ​and​ ​read​ ​are​ ​of​ ​limited​ ​use​ ​in furthering​ ​research.

The​ ​Wikipedia​ ​Library​ ​is​ ​developing​ ​research​ ​literacy​ ​materials​ ​to​ ​help​ ​support​ ​readers​ ​in understanding​ ​how​ ​Wikipedia​ ​is​ ​built​ ​and​ ​how​ ​to​ ​explore​ ​its​ ​underlying​ ​sources.​ ​This​ ​ranges from​ ​supporting​ ​instruction​ ​on​ ​how​ ​Wikipedia​ ​works,​ ​to​ ​tools​ ​that​ ​help​ ​readers​ ​get​ ​from​ ​citations to​ ​sources,​ ​to​ ​help​ ​pages​ ​about​ ​locating​ ​a​ ​local​ ​library.​ ​These​ ​initiatives​ ​will​ ​contribute​ ​to​ ​the development​ ​of​ ​a​ ​more​ ​informed​ ​citizenry​ ​able​ ​to​ ​use​ ​Wikipedia​ ​(and​ ​other​ ​information​ ​sources as​ ​well)​ ​in​ ​a​ ​responsible​ ​manner,​ ​by​ ​examining​ ​the​ ​original​ ​sources​ ​to​ ​assess​ ​the​ ​validity​ ​of​ ​an article's​ ​claims.

The​ ​Wikipedia​ ​Library​ ​has​ ​also​ ​piloted​ ​open-referencing​ ​strategies.​ ​For​ ​example, Newspapers.com​ ​encouraged​ ​Wikipedia​ ​editors​ ​to​ ​use​ ​their​ ​clippings​ ​feature (​https://www.newspapers.com/clippings/​)​ for​ ​references​ ​on​ ​Wikipedia.​ ​Each​ ​clipping​ ​creates​ ​a