Page:Wikipedia and Academic Libraries.djvu/246

Rh into TSpace is freely available via Google Scholar and other search engines, but findable only to a limited extent without the help of Wikipedia’s reference.

In addition to supporting open-access publication of universityproduced research, UTL has created numerous digitized special collections that are freely available online. A great deal of staff resources and infrastructure go into creating and maintaining these digital collections, but they are not easily discoverable on the Web unless made to be so. Notable examples include The Discovery and Early Development of Insulin Collection and the Wenceslaus Hollar Digital Collection. Initially, discovery and use of UTL’s digital collections had primarily relied on search-based traffic or traditional library marketing strategies like social media and website news items. Some of the resources had also been promoted at library workshops and in relevant research guides. However, these strategies did not create sustained growth of collections use. Increases in traffic would usually only be temporary—perhaps indicating a sporadic in flux of curious users who were not actively researching the topic.

By contrast, collection items linked to Wikimedia projects were found and used more readily by the average web user. Over the years, editors not affiliated with the library had linked or uploaded collection items to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. These links have more effectively brought these collections within reach of the average web user, and in the appropriate information-seeking context. These edits, in combination with GLAM-Wiki familiarity on the part of pioneering staff, made for a basic proof of concept for a more organized effort to deepen UTL’s Wikimedia contributions.

Wikipedia Initiatives at the UTL

Beyond some sporadic Wikimedia engagement by library and archives staff throughout the UTL system, the first systematic pilot of Wikimedia activities took place in the summer of 2018. A librarian and an intern in the information technology department carried out a pilot project to assess the impact of Wikipedia contributions on the use of digital