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In 2017, the campaign expanded by a factor of three to over 4,171 contributions in 18 languages, with continued positive press, and more events and support from local language Wikimedia communities.18 One particularly motivating story: the State Library of Queensland committed to and accomplished contributing 1,000 references during the campaign from among their staff. This kind of campaign builds awareness and interest among the library community and allows for a dialogue that further shifts the Wikimedia community closer to the needs of libraries, and libraries closer to the goals of the Wikimedia community.
TWL, recognizing a need for persistent meeting and conversation spaces, has supported and helped develop two new venues to further dialogue between Wikipedians and Librarians: 700 members have joined the Wikipedia + Libraries Facebook group, and over 130 participants are signed up to the newly formed Wikipedia Library User Group. These fora spark regular mingling, noteworthy updates, and cross-pollination of ideas among Wikipedians and librarians, fostering a shared sense of identity and belonging to a community of practice around Wikipedia and Libraries.
The capstone of advocating for such mutually a beneficial and interconnected relationship came when TWL worked with the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) to publish two seminal white papers (http://www.ifla.org/node/10871): one on the opportunities for academic and research libraries to engage with Wikipedia, and a similar paper aimed at public libraries. These papers outline multiple areas of potential collaboration. For example, Wikimedia projects
