Page:Wikipedia and Academic Libraries.djvu/172

Rh Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and has been highlighted as a case study by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The project involves the so-called Amical-way, in which scaffolded training, long-term self-management, and the geographically available Wikipedian volunteers constitute the three fundamental working pillars. #Bibliowikis’ success has experienced different levels of applicability and regularity over the Catalan-speaking territories, especially in the Land of Valencia and Andorra, and may be endangered by global online dynamics, loss of the volunteering principles, and prioritization of economic resources in the fast-changing Wikimedia environment. However, #Bibliowikis’ characteristics are fully aligned with those of Open Access, thus it is easily combined with academia and the public knowledge transfer at universities. Its robust ethical discourse on social contribution, negligible infrastructure, and linguistic heritage protection has allowed #Bibliowikis to be feasible and easily implemented in the increasing context of teleworking and the need for social digitization of bibliographic repositories.

Keywords

Catalan, Wikipedia, Viquipèdia, Libraries, Open Access, Volunteering, GLAM, Digitization.

Introduction: Catalan Language, Wikipedia, Geography, and Public Libraries

The Catalan language is a Western Romance language spoken by approximately 10 million people (Plataforma per la llengua, 2020). Its natural linguistic domain comprises four European states, but it is not a dominant language in most of the regions where it is naturally spoken: Spain (autonomous communities of Catalonia, Land of Valencia, Balearic Islands, Aragón, and Murcia), France (department of Pyrénées-Orientales, known as Northern Catalonia), Andorra, and Italy (in the Sardinian city of Alghero). Catalan shares its original territory with strong, state-supported languages such as Spanish, French, and Italian. The territorial fragmentation of Catalan has resulted in different denominations, levels of protection, and officiality depending on the region (Hawkey, 2018; Miller & Miller, 1996). In addition, the