Page:The Wikipedia Library-The largest encyclopedia needs a digital library and we are building it By Jake Orlowitz.pdf/19

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volunteer-developed​ ​Citation​ ​Hunt​ ​tool​ ​(https://tools.wmflabs.org/citationhunt​),​ ​which automatically​ ​isolates​ ​sentences​ ​flagged​ ​with​ ​a​ ​“citation​ ​needed”​ ​tag,​ ​and​ ​presents​ ​them​ ​to​ ​the user​ ​for​ ​fixing.​ ​This​ ​simple​ ​workflow​ ​fostered​ ​significant​ ​participation​ ​rates​ ​in​ ​both​ ​English​ ​and other​ ​language​ ​Wikipedias.

#1lib1ref​ ​was​ ​conceived​ ​in​ ​fall​ ​2015​ ​by​ ​TWL​ ​project​ ​manager​ ​Alex​ ​Stinson,​ ​who​ ​recognized​ ​the potential​ ​of​ ​Citation​ ​Hunt.​ ​He​ ​took​ ​the​ ​functionality​ ​and​ ​connected​ ​it​ ​to​ ​an​ ​opportunity:​ ​other GLAM​ ​communities​ ​had​ ​not​ ​yet​ ​developed​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ ​celebrate​ ​the​ ​upcoming​ ​15-year​ ​anniversary of​ ​Wikipedia​ ​in​ ​January​ ​2016.​ ​Inspired​ ​by​ ​the​ ​changing​ ​conversation​ ​about​ ​the​ ​role​ ​of​ ​Wikipedia in​ ​research​ ​and​ ​among​ ​libraries,​ ​the​ ​TWL​ ​team​ ​developed​ ​a​ ​campaign​ ​with​ ​the​ ​goal​ ​to​ ​develop increased​ ​literacy​ ​and​ ​understanding​ ​among​ ​librarians​ ​about​ ​how​ ​Wikipedia’s​ ​content​ ​is​ ​created and​ ​improved​ ​through​ ​verifiability,​ ​while​ ​generating​ ​awareness​ ​that​ ​other​ ​libraries​ ​are​ ​taking advantage​ ​of​ ​Wikipedia​ ​as​ ​an​ ​environment​ ​in​ ​which​ ​to​ ​further​ ​public​ ​programming.​ ​"Give Wikipedia​ ​the​ ​gift​ ​of​ ​a​ ​citation.​ ​Because​ ​facts​ ​matter​ ​#1lib1ref"​ ​was​ ​seen​ ​widely​ ​throughout social​ ​media​ ​platforms.

The​ ​campaign’s​ ​first​ ​two​ ​years​ ​have​ ​proven​ ​to​ ​be​ ​quite​ ​successful.​ ​In​ ​2016,​ ​there​ ​were​ ​over 29,000​ ​views​ ​of​ ​the​ ​campaign​ ​page,​ ​coverage​ ​of​ ​the​ ​event​ ​in​ ​over​ ​50​ ​different​ ​venues​ ​(blogs, professional​ ​newsletters,​ ​etc.),​ ​over​ ​1,100​ ​Twitter​ ​posts​ ​using​ ​the​ ​hashtag,​ ​and​ ​at​ ​least​ ​1,232​ ​edits to​ ​Wikimedia​ ​projects.​ ​Though​ ​1,232​ ​citations​ ​barely​ ​scratches​ ​a​ ​dent​ ​in​ ​the​ ​number​ ​of​ ​citations needed​ ​for​ ​Wikipedia​ ​(English​ ​Wikipedia​ ​has​ ​over​ ​300,000​ ​“citation​ ​needed”​ ​tags),​ ​it​ ​did generate​ ​broad​ ​interest.​17