were typically smaller, and Berson found them invaluable teaching experiences, noting that low attendance doesn’t detract from the experience of those who attend and in fact allows more instruction for each person. She also set up a framework for library staff to teach information literacy with Wikipedia. Kloda noted that decentralizing information literacy work from the WIR to library staff positively influenced the receptiveness to Wikipedia training and ongoing editing work at the institution (personal communication, August 20, 2020).
During her WIR term, Berson also took a creative approach, organizing an exhibition about the history of Wikipedia as part of a research-creation project mounted at Concordia to explore the impact of going digital on Concordians’ lives and work. This was helpful to get the community thinking about Wikipedia but also provided something Berson could reference back to when talking about the importance of understanding Wikipedia in our modern context. Berson had plans for two projects that are not yet completed: creating resources about sourcing and citation for journalism students and developing a peer-edited feminist best-practice manual for Wikipedia. The WIR program wound down when COVID-19 lockdowns began in the last two months of Berson’s contract, and she hopes to return to the unfinished work at a later date.
Residency Impact
At Concordia, the desired outcome for their first WIR was an increase in information literacy and informed engagement with Wikipedia. Kloda felt strongly that Berson achieved that. Another one of the outcomes Berson anecdotally observed was a shift in how the community perceived Wikipedia, from thinking about it as a secondary source to a tertiary source of information. In workshops, guest lectures, and one-on-one consultations, she found a good reception for conversations about the history of Wikipedia, open-source culture, and anti-capitalist struggle. This gave her an opportunity to speak with a lot of students who now have a better understanding of how and why to critically appraise information on Wikipedia and to contribute to the site.
