Page:The Wikipedia Library-The largest encyclopedia needs a digital library and we are building it By Jake Orlowitz.pdf/7

7 knowledge​ ​discovery​ ​and​ ​curation,​ ​as​ ​will​ ​expanding​ ​the​ ​popular​ ​#1lib1ref​ ​(One​ ​Librarian,​ ​One Reference)​ ​global​ ​microcontribution​ ​campaign.

The​ ​future​ ​of​ ​collaboration​ ​and​ ​integration​ ​between​ ​Wikipedia​ ​and​ ​libraries​ ​and​ ​Wikipedians​ ​and librarians​ ​looks​ ​very​ ​bright.We​ ​hope​ ​that​ ​our​ ​organization​ ​and​ ​programs​ ​have​ ​extended​ ​the dialogue​ ​and​ ​sparked​ ​new​ ​conversations​ ​among​ ​two​ ​natural​ ​allies​ ​in​ ​the​ ​realm​ ​of​ ​free knowledge.

Beginnings

Wikipedia​ ​is​ ​the​ ​world’s​ ​largest​ ​free​ ​online​ ​encyclopedia,​ ​with​ ​over​ ​45​ ​million​ ​articles​ ​across almost​ ​300​ ​languages,​ ​all​ ​written​ ​and​ ​edited​ ​by​ ​volunteers.​ ​Because​ ​of​ ​its​ ​requirement​ ​of verifiability—​which​ ​states​ ​that​ ​facts​ ​and​ ​their​ ​interpretations​ ​should​ ​be​ ​accompanied​ ​by​ ​a​ ​citation to​ ​a​ ​reliable​ ​source​ ​verifying​ ​them​—​the​ ​quality​ ​of​ ​Wikipedia​ ​depends​ ​on​ ​the​ ​ability​ ​of​ ​its volunteers​ ​to​ ​access​ ​the​ ​best​ ​and​ ​most​ ​reliable​ ​scholarship​ ​on​ ​a​ ​topic.​ ​Ultimately,​ ​the​ ​website's efficacy​ ​depends​ ​on​ ​readers​ ​understanding​ ​this​ ​premise,​ ​so​ ​that​ ​they​ ​use​ ​Wikipedia​ ​as​ ​a​ ​starting point​ ​and​ ​not​ ​an​ ​ending​ ​point​ ​for​ ​their​ ​research,​ ​and​ ​so​ ​that​ ​they​ ​too​ ​understand​ ​how​ ​to contribute​ ​relevant​ ​content​ ​to​ ​the​ ​project.​ ​These​ ​are​ ​the​ ​fundamental​ ​issues​ ​The​ ​Wikipedia Library​ ​was​ ​inspired​ ​to​ ​advance.