UCD Library edit-a-thon: Writing about women in science and academia

Date: May 23, 2014
Time: 1:00pm-3:00pm
Location: Shields Library, UC Davis

Want to work on articles that are read by thousands of people? Come learn how to edit Wikipedia!

What will we do?

This is an informal event where interested participants will get together to improve and write Wikipedia articles, with a special focus on women in science and academia (though feel free to write on any topic). There is a pressing need for improved articles and coverage on Wikipedia of women scientists and academics and their work, and this edit-a-thon will focus on rectifying that gap.

If you are new to Wikipedia, help will be available with hands-on tutorials and introductions tailored to participant needs: bring your Wikipedia questions and topics that you are interested in working on (you don’t need to be an expert!) If you are an experienced Wikipedia editor, feel free to dive right in. Librarians will also be available to help with finding and using UC Davis library resources to improve articles.

People from campus and the surrounding community are welcome, as are editors of the DavisWiki — and feel free to come for any part of the session, it will be drop-in. Contact Phoebe Ayers (psayers<at>ucdavis.edu) with any questions, and help spread the word!

Note: this is also part of an international series of Wikipedia editing events that are a tribute to long-time Wikipedia editor and academic, Adrianne Wadewitz (User:Wadewitz), who passed away suddenly in April.

Details and logistics

• Workshop will be held in the Shields Library Instruction Lab, in the far back corner of the library: [1]
• Here is a map of where Shields is: [2]
• The Shields Instruction Lab is a computer classroom, so you don’t need to bring your laptop. If you want to, however, campus wifi works in the room.
• We will also have reference books featuring biographies of women scientists available to help add references to articles, and can give help searching library resources as well
• Workshops are drop-in: Just show up! All members of the campus and community are welcome.
• Experienced editors are welcome but no Wikipedia editing experience is fine — we will help you get set up with an account and can give tutorials on getting started
• detailed notes from past workshops
• Questions? Contact Phoebe Ayers, psayers<at>ucdavis.edu.

Resources about women scientists

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Women scientists
• lists of scientists by field
• List of female scientists before the 21st century
• UC Davis faculty on Wikipedia and UC faculty who are also in the “women scientists” category (not comprehensive, obviously)
• Guide to UC Davis library resources about women in science

To-do list

• to-do list from the project
• some women scientist articles that need sources and articles that need additional sources (these are often a good place to start contributing)
• another to-do list of missing biographies
• list from a past event – these articles are already created, but may need additional work and info added
• Royal Society event list of missing biographies

New to editing Wikipedia?

If you are brand-new to editing Wikipedia, or want a refresher, here are some useful resources:

• The Wikipedia editing tutorial, for getting started with editing
• The Wikipedia Teahouse, a forum for new editors to ask questions
• The Article Wizard will walk you through creating a brand-new article

Before the edit-a-thon, go ahead and register for an account. After you register, you will have your own sandbox space, which is a place you can practice editing and drafting articles. You can also try working on one of the to-do list articles.