Bringing Wikimedians into the Conversation at Libraries/Getting the right support: integrating Wikimedia champions into the library

Getting the right support: integrating Wikimedia champions into the library
As we described in the last section, you can bring lots of different types of people into an organization to work on Wikimedia projects. However, codifying the role of staff or volunteer advocates for these collaborations within your organization, can greatly strengthen the effectiveness of projects: rather than having one off editing events or data donations, if your champions have formal roles, they can develop a more strategic and integrated plan. This integration allows these champions to work more closely with library staff, the Wikimedia community and other volunteers to identify common objectives and implement mutually beneficial programmes. Moreover, this allows for the library administration to recognize the work and its place within the organization. Integrating champions into your library and formalizing their roles also places faith in them as individuals and this can motivate them to stay engaged with project for longer. This is particularly true when working with unpaid champions who are often young graduates looking for work experience to bolster their CV.