Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-29-2017
Abstract
GLAM edit-a-thons can enhance the presence of underrepresented groups and topics on Wikipedia, and by sharing valuable cultural holdings these events can also foster the public’s cultural awareness. And when university students and faculty are invited to these events, the impact can be even greater. Scholars in the fields of library science and writing studies have shown that Wikipedia’s collaborative composition model supports key learning goals for students, including collaboration, information literacy, and critical thinking about knowledge creation. At MIT, librarians, archivists, writing instructors, and local Wikipedians have collaborated to host several edit-a-thons with the common goals of addressing content gaps on Wikipedia and offering the public and the MIT community (including students, staff, alumni and faculty) new ways to engage with the institute’s archives and special collections. As we organized these events, we observed other opportunities for librarians, archivists, and instructors to collaborate on classroom instruction and their own research projects. This article shares results from MIT's GLAM edit-a-thons, and argues that approaching projects from the perspective of Wikipedia's collaborative culture can enhance other kinds of academic collaboration.
Relational Format
journal article
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Thorndike-Breeze, Rebecca and Suiter, Greta Kuriger, "Hacking Academic Collaboration with GLAM Edit-a-thons" (2017). WikiStudies. 3.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/wiki_studies/3