model for a specific institution. At the University of Alberta Library, when we first proposed the position, we were fortunate enough to be able to reach out to our colleagues at the University of Toronto Libraries and Concordia Library to learn from them about how best to set up the position. This chapter represents an extension and formalization of those early conversations.
These case studies are similar in that they are situated in a specific cultural context of publicly funded Canadian academic libraries, but each had a different approach. To compile these case studies, we interviewed both the supervising librarian and the WIR and asked them to reflect on how the position got started, what they focused on, and the impact they felt both personally and institutionally.
University of Toronto Libraries
The University of Toronto Libraries is one of the largest academic library systems in Canada with more than forty libraries spread over three campuses (About | University of Toronto, n.d) and is located in Canada’s largest city. There were existing pockets of Wikipedia work already happening in the library around campaigns like #1lib1ref. This precedent gave Jesse Carliner, communications librarian in the Chief Librarian’s Office, an opportunity to approach the chief librarian about creating the WIR position. Carliner positioned the residency as part of the conversation around promoting special collections, arguing, “Students are going to Wikipedia articles to find resources, so that’s where we need to be!” (personal communication, August 17, 2020). Because of the library’s unionized environment, the role was created as a student library assistant position and advertised in the regular hiring channels, like the Library Website and listservs. In September 2018, the University of Toronto Libraries posted a position to “improve the discoverability of University of Toronto Libraries resources and collections in Wikipedia” (personal communication, August 17, 2020) and hired graduate student, Ji Yun Alex Jung, for a one-year, part-time contract. Jung brought some Wikipedia editing experience, and his work in Toronto’s Civic Tech community prepared him for the independent
