UCSC Edit-a-thon: Improving coverage of the marine sciences

UCSC Edit-a-thon: Improving coverage of the marine sciences
Date	May 22, 2020
Time	12:30-4:30 pm
Address	McHenry Library - Digital Scholarship Commons (first floor of the library)
City, State	Santa Cruz, CA

Introduction

Due to COVID-19 this event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for the fall

Wikipedia is the largest general reference work on the planet and one of the most direct ways to communicate current scientific information to a wide audience. However, many information gaps remain, especially in the sciences. For instance, the page on biological colonization is a stub, the page on ectotherms has little information on fish, and pages on statistical methods are frequently inaccessible to average readers. Many important people and places in marine science remain without full Wikipedia pages. With this event, we hope to improve Wikipedia’s resources on marine topics, including people, places, animals, and concepts.

This event is hosted by the Santa Cruz-Monterey Bay Area Subunit of the American Fisheries Society (SCMBAS) and UCSC Libraries.

Event Goals

The aims of this event are to

Introduce subject matter experts (such as graduate students, undergraduate researchers, and faculty) to editing Wikipedia
Improve Wikipedia’s information on ocean themes

3 Introduce participants to library resources by collaborating with UCSC libraries

Event Overview

As most of the participants will likely be new to Wikipedia, and editing for the first time is intimidating, we will aim to create an inviting atmosphere with a strong guiding framework. We encourage new participants to come for the first part of the event, as we'll be running an overview on what makes a good article, article structures, editing tools, and how to get started as a Wikipedian.

We will set up specific stations set up for four themes in marine science, each with a list of Wikipedia pages that need improvement!

People in marine science
Places in marine science,
Marine organisms
Scientific concepts in marine science

We will have computers available, but we recommend you bring your own laptop for portability and your own comfort!

Snacks and hot and cold beverages will be provided throughout the event, as will some awesome tunes and BEST OF ALL -- prizes for participants!

Event Schedule

~~May 22, 2020~~ Event timeline:

12:30 pm: Participants arrive
1:00-1:15: Why edit Wikipedia?
1:15-1:30: Wikipedia best practices
1:30-1:45: Structure of an article
1:45-2:00: Wikipedia tools (sandboxes, user pages, etc)
2:00-3:00: Editing!
3:00-3:30: Break and group check-in with participants
3:30-4:30: Editing!
4:30: Wrap-up

Parking & Directions

This Edit-a-thon will be held in the Digital Scholarship Commons Lab, located on the ground floor of McHenry Library (take the elevator all the way down!). See a floor plan here. We will have signs posted to help guide you.

We recommend you park in Lot 101 near Hahn Student Services, where there are hourly parking spaces available. Parking is $1.50/hr. McHenry Library is a short walk away through beautiful redwoods. Check out the map here.

Alternatively, there is regular Metro bus service up to campus from downtown Santa Cruz. For UCSC students, staff, and faculty, there is a bike shuttle up to campus that departs from the CVS off Mission St every 15 minutes until 11:30 am. We encourage carpooling, biking, and mass transit as good ways to avoid the parking fee!

Why Should You Edit?

How reliable is Wikipedia?

Check out Accuracy of content

Who edits Wikipedia?

Check out Wikipedia#Community

Do you need to be perfect?

Starting Resources for New Wikipedians

Questions?

Email Kat Dale at kdale @ ucsc . edu