Page:Wikipedia and Academic Libraries.djvu/244

Rh and description. In its pilot year, the OTS has created a network out of previously isolated Wikimedia engagement across the library system, trained staff, and volunteers across and beyond UTL, and helped launch formal projects that deepen institutional engagement. The OTS has also continued to contribute to Wikipedia, expanding their editing scope to the appropriate use of archival sources and the development of tools, which help bridge the gap between Wikipedia and Wikidata. Through the OTS, UTL has systematically deepened its contributions to the open Web. The UTL OTS pilot experience has demonstrated that positions dedicated to engagement in Wikimedia or other open technologies hold a great deal of potential and are worthy of further consideration for ongoing investment of staff and budget resources by academic libraries.

Keywords

Open Technology, Wikimedia, Academic Libraries.

Introduction

The University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) established an instance of a GLAM-Wiki (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museum) with the launch of a Wikipedian-in-Residence (WIR) program in 2018. Initially launched with the explicit goal of facilitating Wikipedia-based access to UTL’s special collections, the GLAM-Wiki project evolved to include a range of Wikimedia activities such as events, development of toolkits, and editing and article creation. UTL expanded the project in December 2019 into a full-time pilot position dubbed the Open Technology Specialist (OTS). The OTS has enabled UTL to considerably expand activities beyond the WIR, in order to advance a wide range of institutional strategic priorities. The OTS has further expanded training for staff members through editing events and consultations, made accessible documentation available to current and future staff, and incorporated Wikimedia activities into existing workflows across the library system.

In this chapter, we will describe the history of Wikimedia activities at UTL within the context of the institution’s support for linked and open-access infrastructure. We will describe how the WIR position