The Wikipedia Library/1Lib1Ref/Coffee Kit

Lets take a Coffee Break and contribute to #1lib1ref. Here's how!
Learn about how Wikipedia fits into the information ecosystem with a #1lib1ref Coffee Hour. Pull together a small gathering of your colleagues and learn how to contribute to Wikipedia for #1lib1ref. Participating in Wikipedia is easier when you can learn with others.

This guide is designed to help plan a 45-90 minute "coffee hour" workshop for #1lib1ref.

Event Plan: What to do when

A few weeks before the event

Choose a date and time for the event
Reserve a space and equipment if relevant (extra laptops and a projector are always useful)
If you don’t have Wikipedia experience, you can reach out to find local Wikipedians who can assist. Ask for help at on the Wikipedia and Libraries Facebook Group
Create a public announcement for your event and list it here
Start to publicize your event among your colleagues

One week before the event

Pull together editing and research resources
Arrange refreshments if you want
Prepare signage and handouts
Send out event reminders
Tweet about your plans using the #1lib1ref hashtag
Important: There is a limit on the number of Wikipedia accounts that can be created from one location or IP address per day (normally 6). To get around this, you have several possibilities:
- Ask participants to create accounts ahead of time (preferred method)
- Have an account creator available
- Request a temporary exception to this limit

At the event

Welcome and introductions (2-3 minutes)
Basics of editing Wikipedia (10-20 minutes)
- Review the concepts of Verifiability and Reliable sourcing
- How to create citations
- Demonstrate adding a citation
- Demonstrate using Citation Hunt
- Note: Remember to demonstrate adding #1lib1ref to the edit summary
- Note: It's much easier if you have a citation prepared ahead of time to contribute
Open editing (20-30 minutes)
- If possible, have experienced editors circulate to answer questions and troubleshoot problems. Otherwise, be ready to learn together as a group or partner-up for editing help
[Optional] Open discussion (15-30 minutes)
- How does Wikipedia interact with the library profession?
- Could you imagine teaching your patrons about Wikipedia? How can we teach other skills with Wikipedia, such as digital or information literacy?
- What different kinds of knowledge does Wikipedia try to share?
- What are the misunderstandings that library patrons likely have about Wikipedia? What could help patrons better understand research in the context of Wikipedia?
- What were the easiest parts of adding references to Wikipedia? What was challenging? How could the challenging parts be made easier?
- What kinds of topics appear to be missing or underrepresented? How could you add knowledge relevant to your work and communities of practice?
Wrap-up (2-3 minutes)

Tips

Please take pictures of the event, and share them on social media using the hashtag #1lib1ref.
Share the #1lib1ref hashtag, and a link to 1lib1ref.org during the event and on your materials.

After the event

Record outcomes as much as possible: how many attendees, how many articles edited, etc. Outcomes help make the case for funding, future activities, and are a great way to share with others what you did and why your work mattered!
Make sure to share what you did social media under the hashtag #1lib1ref and at the events page. Social media and the events page provide the main ways we are tracking the event and help organizers report outcomes.
If you publish a blog post, or see coverage of your event in other venues, please share the link at on the #1lib1ref Press page
If the event created interest among your colleagues, consider planning more editing events around your institution's collections. An editathons is an editing event focused on a certain theme or topic. Learn more on how to run editathons.