The Wikipedia Library-The largest encyclopedia needs a digital library and we are building it/For​ ​Readers:​ ​ ​From​ ​Informed​ ​Access​ ​to​ ​Open​ ​Citations

For​ ​Readers:​ ​ ​From​ ​Informed​ ​Access​ ​to​ ​Open​ ​Citations

"A​ ​library​ ​implies​ ​an​ ​act​ ​of​ ​faith..."
— Victor​ ​Hugo

Half​ ​a​ ​billion​ ​people​ ​each​ ​month​ ​use​ ​Wikipedia​ ​for​ ​research,​ ​but​ ​many​ ​may​ ​not​ ​understand​ ​how it​ ​is​ ​constructed​ ​and​ ​how​ ​to​ ​best​ ​make​ ​use​ ​of​ ​it.​ ​Wikipedia's​ ​principle​ ​of​ ​verifiability​ ​institutes​ ​an ideal​ ​that​ ​all​ ​knowledge​ ​in​ ​the​ ​encyclopedia,​ ​whether​ ​facts​ ​or​ ​outside​ ​opinions,​ ​are​ ​supported​ ​by a​ ​reliable​ ​secondary​ ​source—but​ ​sources​ ​that​ ​readers​ ​cannot​ ​access​ ​and​ ​read​ ​are​ ​of​ ​limited​ ​use​ ​in furthering​ ​research.

The​ ​Wikipedia​ ​Library​ ​is​ ​developing​ ​research​ ​literacy​ ​materials​ ​to​ ​help​ ​support​ ​readers​ ​in understanding​ ​how​ ​Wikipedia​ ​is​ ​built​ ​and​ ​how​ ​to​ ​explore​ ​its​ ​underlying​ ​sources.​ ​This​ ​ranges from​ ​supporting​ ​instruction​ ​on​ ​how​ ​Wikipedia​ ​works,​ ​to​ ​tools​ ​that​ ​help​ ​readers​ ​get​ ​from​ ​citations to​ ​sources,​ ​to​ ​help​ ​pages​ ​about​ ​locating​ ​a​ ​local​ ​library.​ ​These​ ​initiatives​ ​will​ ​contribute​ ​to​ ​the development​ ​of​ ​a​ ​more​ ​informed​ ​citizenry​ ​able​ ​to​ ​use​ ​Wikipedia​ ​(and​ ​other​ ​information​ ​sources as​ ​well)​ ​in​ ​a​ ​responsible​ ​manner,​ ​by​ ​examining​ ​the​ ​original​ ​sources​ ​to​ ​assess​ ​the​ ​validity​ ​of​ ​an article's​ ​claims.

The​ ​Wikipedia​ ​Library​ ​has​ ​also​ ​piloted​ ​open-referencing​ ​strategies.​ ​For​ ​example, Newspapers.com​ ​encouraged​ ​Wikipedia​ ​editors​ ​to​ ​use​ ​their​ ​clippings​ ​feature (​https://www.newspapers.com/clippings/​)​ for​ ​references​ ​on​ ​Wikipedia.​ ​Each​ ​clipping​ ​creates​ ​a free-to-read​ ​openly​ ​available​ ​excerpt​ ​of​ ​sections​ ​of​ ​Newspapers.com​ ​articles​ ​which​ ​allow​ ​readers to​ ​see​ ​the​ ​same​ ​content​ ​as​ ​the​ ​editors​ ​researching​ ​for​ ​Wikipedia.¹¹

We​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​eventually​ ​transition​ ​key​ ​publisher​ ​partners​ ​to​ ​a​ ​toll-free​ ​access​ ​referral program​ ​that​ ​could​ ​drastically​ ​enhance​ ​reader​ ​access​ ​to​ ​sources.​ ​Under​ ​this​ ​model,​ ​a​ ​reader clicking​ ​on​ ​a​ ​paywalled​ ​link​ ​on​ ​Wikipedia​ ​could​ ​gain​ ​full​ ​text​ ​access​ ​to​ ​the​ ​source​ ​without needing​ ​a​ ​login​ ​or​ ​affiliation,​ ​solely​ ​because​ ​the​ ​traffic​ ​is​ ​referred​ ​from​ ​Wikipedia.​ ​This​ ​would open​ ​to​ ​readers​ ​the​ ​scholarly​ ​resources​ ​on​ ​which​ ​Wikipedia​ ​is​ ​built,​ ​allowing​ ​them​ ​to​ ​truly​ ​use​ ​it as​ ​a​ ​starting​ ​point​ ​for​ ​research​ ​even​ ​if​ ​they​ ​are​ ​unaffiliated​ ​with​ ​well-resourced​ ​libraries​ ​or​ ​do​ ​not meet​ ​the​ ​criteria​ ​for​ ​access​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Library​ ​Card​ ​Platform.

Another​ ​factor​ ​blocking​ ​access​ ​to​ ​sources​ ​is​ ​linkrot—when​ ​content​ ​at​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​URL​ ​is​ ​moved or​ ​deleted—which​ ​leads​ ​to​ ​the​ ​previously​ ​live​ ​link​ ​becoming​ ​a​ ​dead​ ​link.​ ​A​ ​partnership​ ​with Internet​ ​Archive​ ​(IA)​ ​and​ ​volunteer​ ​community​ ​members​ ​led​ ​to​ ​more​ ​than​ ​one​ ​million​ ​outbound broken​ ​links​ ​on​ ​English​ ​Wikipedia​ ​being​ ​replaced​ ​with​ ​archived​ ​versions,​ ​ensuring​ ​that​ ​readers are​ ​still​ ​able​ ​to​ ​access​ ​the​ ​original​ ​sources​ ​cited.​¹²​​ ​Using​ ​a​ ​Wikipedia​ ​bot​ ​and​ ​IA's​ ​Wayback Machine,​ ​Wikipedia​ ​articles​ ​are​ ​scanned​ ​to​ ​test​ ​if​ ​they​ ​are​ ​dead;​ ​if​ ​they​ ​don't​ ​properly​ ​resolve then​ ​the​ ​Internet​ ​Archive​ ​version​ ​most-closely​ ​dated​ ​to​ ​when​ ​the​ ​original​ ​link​ ​was​ ​added​ ​is inserted​ ​if​ ​available.​ ​Continued​ ​work​ ​in​ ​this​ ​area​ ​will​ ​expand​ ​the​ ​process​ ​to​ ​other​ ​language Wikipedias​ ​and​ ​implement​ ​methods​ ​to​ ​fortify​ ​our​ ​online​ ​citations​ ​against​ ​linkrot​ ​problems​ ​from the​ ​very​ ​moment​ ​when​ ​they​ ​are​ ​first​ ​added​ ​to​ ​Wikipedia.

While​ ​editors​ ​benefit​ ​directly​ ​from​ ​TWL's​ ​publisher​ ​relationships,​ ​readers​ ​face​ ​the​ ​same​ ​obstacle of​ ​closed​ ​access​ ​paywalls​ ​that​ ​TWL​ ​was​ ​created​ ​to​ ​overcome​ ​for​ ​editors.​ ​OABot (​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:OABOT​)​ ​is​ ​a​ ​tool​ ​that​ ​finds​ ​open​ ​access​ ​versions​ ​of references​ ​in​ ​Wikipedia​ ​articles.​ ​If​ ​no​ ​URL​ ​is​ ​included​ ​in​ ​the​ ​citation,​ ​it​ ​adds​ ​one​ ​that​ ​points​ ​to an​ ​open​ ​access​ ​repository​ ​version​ ​of​ ​the​ ​source;​ ​if​ ​one​ ​is​ ​available,​ ​OABot​ ​uses​ ​the​ ​Dissem.in service​ ​(​http://dissem.in/​)​ ​to​ ​find​ ​these​ ​versions​ ​from​ ​sources​ ​like​ ​CrossRef,​ ​BASE,​ ​DOAI,​ ​and SHERPA/RoMEO.​ ​On​ ​an​ ​article​ ​like​ ​Cancer,​ ​which​ ​has​ ​200​ ​citations,​ ​15%​ ​will​ ​have free-to-read​ ​links​ ​to​ ​repository​ ​versions​ ​added.​ ​Those​ ​links​ ​will​ ​be​ ​accompanied​ ​by​ ​a​ ​green​ ​open lock​ ​icon​ ​broadcasting​ ​their​ ​availability​ ​to​ ​readers.​ ​This​ ​expands​ ​on​ ​previous​ ​efforts​ ​led​ ​by Daniel​ ​Mietchen​ ​and​ ​other​ ​open​ ​access​ ​advocates​ ​to​ ​present​ ​icon-based​ ​indications​ ​of​ ​open access​ ​sources​ ​as​ ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​OA​ ​Signalling​ ​Initiative (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Open_Access/Signalling_OA-ness​).​ ​The​ ​growing prominence​ ​of​ ​both​ ​open​ ​access​ ​publishing​ ​and​ ​article-level​ ​metrics​ ​(altmetrics)​ ​amplify​ ​each other​ ​on​ ​Wikipedia:

"The​ ​odds​ ​that​ ​an​ ​open​ ​access​ ​journal​ ​is​ ​referenced​ ​on​ ​the​ ​English​ ​Wikipedia​ ​are​ ​47% higher​ ​compared​ ​to​ ​closed​ ​access​ ​journals.​ ​Moreover,​ ​in​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​world's​ ​Wikipedias, a​ ​journal's​ ​high​ ​status​ ​(impact​ ​factor)​ ​and​ ​accessibility​ ​(open​ ​access​ ​policy)​ ​both​ ​greatly increase​ ​the​ ​probability​ ​of​ ​referencing.​ ​Among​ ​the​ ​implications​ ​of​ ​this​ ​study​ ​is​ ​that​ ​the chief​ ​effect​ ​of​ ​open​ ​access​ ​policies​ ​may​ ​be​ ​to​ ​significantly​ ​amplify​ ​the​ ​diffusion​ ​of science,​ ​through​ ​an​ ​intermediary​ ​like​ ​Wikipedia,​ ​to​ ​a​ ​broad​ ​public​ ​audience."​¹³

Part​ ​of​ ​supporting​ ​readers​ ​is​ ​making​ ​the​ ​creation​ ​of​ ​accurate​ ​and​ ​thorough​ ​citations​ ​easy​ ​in​ ​the first​ ​place.​ ​Through​ ​a​ ​TWL​ ​partnership​ ​with​ ​OCLC,​ ​editors​ ​can​ ​now​ ​use​ ​the​ ​WorldCat​ ​API​ ​to automatically​ ​generate​ ​book​ ​citations​ ​in​ ​Wikipedia​ ​articles.​ ​They​ ​need​ ​only​ ​enter​ ​the​ ​ISBN​ ​in​ ​a citation​ ​tool,​ ​which​ ​then​ ​draws​ ​from​ ​WorldCat​ ​to​ ​return​ ​fully​ ​formatted​ ​bibliographic​ ​metadata, including​ ​an​ ​OCLC​ ​identifier​ ​that​ ​links​ ​to​ ​libraries​ ​in​ ​which​ ​the​ ​book​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found.​¹⁴​​ ​This service,​ ​alongside​ ​similar​ ​services​ ​offered​ ​by​ ​Crossref​ ​for​ ​DOIs​ ​and​ ​using​ ​the​ ​PMID​ ​database, ensures​ ​that​ ​citation​ ​information​ ​provided​ ​in​ ​a​ ​Wikipedia​ ​ ​article​ ​points​ ​readers​ ​to​ ​a​ ​deeper resource​ ​on​ ​the​ ​topic.

Lastly,​ ​TWL​ ​is​ ​working​ ​on​ ​the​ ​frontiers​ ​of​ ​meta-knowledge​ ​about​ ​our​ ​project's​ ​content.​ ​Wikidata (https://wikidata.org/​)​ ​is​ ​a​ ​newer​ ​Wikimedia​ ​project​ ​created​ ​to​ ​store​ ​structured​ ​data.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a language-independent,​ ​linked,​ ​open,​ ​structured​ ​database​ ​that​ ​is​ ​openly​ ​editable​ ​by​ ​both​ ​humans and​ ​computers.​ ​Since​ ​2012​ ​it​ ​has​ ​grown​ ​to​ ​include​ ​over​ ​25​ ​million​ ​items,​ ​each​ ​with​ ​a​ ​unique Wikidata​ ​identifier.​ ​TWL​ ​participates​ ​in​ ​WikiCite​ ​(https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiCite​),​ ​the collaborative​ ​community​ ​effort​ ​that​ ​aims​ ​to​ ​take​ ​advantage​ ​of​ ​Wikidata​ ​to​ ​build​ ​a​ ​repository​ ​of all​ ​the​ ​citations​ ​on​ ​Wikipedia​ ​and​ ​to​ ​design​ ​tools​ ​to​ ​take​ ​advantage​ ​of​ ​this​ ​rich​ ​data.