Page:The Wikipedia Library-The largest encyclopedia needs a digital library and we are building it By Jake Orlowitz.pdf/4

4 Introduction

Wikipedia​ ​is​ ​positioned​ ​to​ ​become​ ​virtual​ ​front​ ​page​ ​of​ ​every​ ​library​ ​in​ ​the​ ​world​—​a​ ​ubiquitous starting​ ​point​ ​for​ ​public​ ​information​ ​gathering,​ ​a​ ​jumping​ ​off​ ​point​ ​for​ ​deeper​ ​learning​—​and​ ​a natural​ ​ally​ ​of​ ​libraries,​ ​in​ ​partnership​ ​to​ ​complete​ ​a​ ​virtuous​ ​circle​ ​of​ ​research​ ​and​ ​knowledge dissemination.​ ​With​ ​over​ ​45​ ​million​ ​articles​ ​and​ ​40​ ​million​ ​free​ ​images,​ ​Wikipedia​ ​is​ ​a​ ​top-5 global​ ​website:​ ​ ​over​ ​500,000,000​ ​readers​ ​each​ ​month​ ​view​ ​it​ ​a​ ​total​ ​of​ ​8,000​ ​times​ ​per​ ​second. And​ ​Wikipedia’s​ ​readers​ ​don't​ ​stop​ ​their​ ​learning​ ​at​ ​Wikipedia​ ​articles​—​there​ ​are​ ​many indications​ ​that​ ​people​ ​use​ ​Wikipedia​ ​as​ ​a​ ​holistic​ ​research​ ​platform.​ ​A​ ​striking​ ​example​ ​is​ ​that Wikipedia​ ​refers​ ​the​ ​sixth​ ​most​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​all​ ​CrossRef​ ​DOIs​ ​online.​1.

The​ ​Wikipedia​ ​Library​ ​(TWL)​ ​aims​ ​to​ ​deliver​ ​library​ ​and​ ​research​ ​services​ ​to​ ​every​ ​editor​ ​and reader​ ​of​ ​the​ ​site,​ ​making​ ​possible​ ​access​ ​to​ ​the​ ​references​ ​which​ ​support​ ​the​ ​“sum​ ​of​ ​all​ ​human knowledge”.​ ​TWL​ ​is​ ​a​ ​global​ ​program​ ​supported​ ​by​ ​the​ ​Wikimedia​ ​Foundation​ ​to​ ​develop shared​ ​library​ ​infrastructure​ ​and​ ​services​ ​for​ ​Wikipedians​ ​and​ ​Wikipedia​ ​readers.​ ​ ​We​ ​partner with​ ​scholarly​ ​publishers​ ​to​ ​increase​ ​access​ ​to​ ​research,​ ​build​ ​community-run​ ​support​ ​hubs​ ​and tools​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​reference,​ ​and​ ​reach​ ​out​ ​to​ ​libraries​ ​and​ ​librarians.​ ​The​ ​program’s​ ​focus​ ​has been​ ​to​ ​give​ ​the​ ​Wikipedia​ ​editing​ ​community​ ​of​ ​100,000​ ​monthly​ ​volunteers​ ​free​ ​access​ ​to paywalled​ ​research​ ​material,​ ​so​ ​they​ ​can​ ​cite​ ​reliable​ ​content​ ​and​ ​provide​ ​accessible​ ​summaries to​ ​the​ ​public​ ​in​ ​Wikipedia​ ​articles.