The Wheel of Wikipedia Collaborating at Boston University Libraries

Abstract

Librarians at Boston University Libraries cultivated their curiosity and enthusiasm for Wikipedia into a community for campus-wide collaboration at Boston University (BU). The librarians' first experiences learning to edit Wikipedia at local events inspired them to later host their own events at BU Libraries. These events led to the libraries' instrumental support for implementing the Wikipedia Student Program at BU through a collaborative undertaking between faculty and librarians. As a result of building these new collaborations, the libraries became a point of contact for faculty and students interested in Wikipedia, found a new medium with which to explore shared pedagogical goals between the libraries and different departments, and gained visibility by being formally acknowledged in the publications and awards of colleagues at BU who are leading Wikipedia initiatives.