Jimmy Wales, one of the founders of online encyclopaedia phenomenon Wikipedia, has called on librarians to become deeply involved in the web-based communities that surround his products....
Wales is looking to improve the quality of information available to Wikipedia users, and to extend the number of languages that Wikipedia can be read in.
To do this, he is calling on information professionals to form and join Wikipedia Academies, which are working with communities across the world teaching wiki editing skills. Wales hopes that they will create a generation of wiki editors who will drive up standards.
Academies in South Africa and Germany have already appeared.
“Librarians are not engaging with the Academies,” Wales complained. “If libraries throughout the world formed regional groups and made an effort, they would be playing a positive role within Wikipedia. The job of the librarian is about highlighting the weaknesses and strengths of information.”
Wales is also looking to harness the expertise of information professionals to improve web search results....
Posted by
Peter Suber at 1/18/2008 03:23:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
