The E-Volunteer Program was pioneered by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, it is hoped that it is adopted and used by museums all over the world.

The E-Volunteer process

Step 1: Get started

Complete the WikiProject Public art Beginners Tutorial

This guide will show you how to:

create an account and choose a username
edit your userpage and create a sandbox
make basic edits using Wiki Markup

Make sure you understand this information before you move on to the next step.

Step 2: Choose a project to work on

Understanding Wikipedia guidelines on notability will help a little bit in choosing an artwork.

Articles about art are considered notable when:

- Artworks are the subject of art historical publications, newspaper or magazine articles, or publicly-accessible press releases issued by government bodies or organizations

- Multiple and independent sources name the artwork and devote significant attention to it as a subject

- Works are made by artists who are the subject of Wikipedia articles

- Works are commissioned by cities, neighborhoods, or organizations that are the subject of Wikipedia articles

- Titles and artists for the works can be identified and located in secondary sources

WikiProject Public art has compiled a number of discussions regarding artwork notability here and here.

Choose an artwork from a list

Your cultural institution or community might already have a list of requested articles. If one doesn't exist, it may be useful to create a simple list for future use.

Some lists have been compiled in the Showcase.
For example: List of outdoor artworks at the Indianapolis Museum of Art
And List of artworks at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Choose an art concept that needs an article or improved

Conservation-restoration

There's lots of things you can do about this topic, including working on the main article. Recently there has been some work done on specific conservation processes:

Step 3: Create a sandbox

Use the Public Art New Article Guide to create a subpage for your article draft.

This guide provides a step-by-step process for creating a sandbox (a subpage of your userpage) using the guide. The public art template automatically adds an established infobox, categories, and headings to a page, allowing you to simply fill in the gaps.

Step 4: Compile your research

Use the Style Guide for help with adding research content to your article.

This guide provides detailed information for filling out all of the components of your article, including:

Formatting for the infobox (code for image, image size, dimensions, geotagging, etc.)
Using references
Uploading photos
Inserting GPS coordinates
Adding links to the "See also" & "External links" section
Adding and creating navigation boxes
Using Categories

Finding resources

Use the Style Guide's section on references for information on:

Appropriate resources for artworks
Wikipedia's policy on verifiability and no original research
Help adding references to articles

Step 5: Make your article live

Transfer your finished article to Wikipedia main space using the steps in the Public Art New Article Guide.

As long as your article is a qualifying stub, you can make it live.
The Article Template provides directions for adding categories and tagging your article, which will prevent it from being tagged an orphan.

Step 6: Add an image

Carefully read and use the Image Guide to add an image to your article.

It is important to add an image of the artwork in your article, but concerns about copyright need to be considered.
Non-free images can only be used sparingly, typically in the form of one image in the Infobox necessary for identification.
Non-free images should be added to your article after it is live, not in the sandbox.

Step 7: Share your work

Add your new or expanded article to the Showcase.

Other ways to share

Did You Know: If your article is new, or you expanded the content of an article by five, your article is eligible for the Did You Know column on the Wikipedia Main Page.

- Submit your nomination!

Article Assessment: The goal of any Wikipedia article is to become a Featured Article, which requires article assessment.

- Use the Assessment Quality Scale to get a sense of where your article stands.

- Ask for help in assessing your article.

- Request your article be peer reviewed for Good Article or Featured Article status.

Log your volunteer hours: Some museums like to include the hours worked by E-Volunteers in their records. This information helps in obtaining grants and future support for the museum. Be sure to check with your museum to see if they would like to log your E-Volunteer hours.

Help

The E-Volunteer program relies on the resources provided within the Wikipedia community for help.

Guides and check lists

Wiki Markup Cheatsheet
Wiki Markup Quick Reference Sheet
The Perfect Article: a concise checklist.
Article Development: The path to a perfect article and information on the article assessment process.

Where to ask for help

Advice for the cultural sector: The WikiProject Advice for the cultural sector (also known as GLAM- Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) will be the most directly helpful for this program. Many members of GLAM are already aware of the E-Volunteer program and are highly invested in helping museum-Wikipedia collaborations. Be sure to read the main page, as it may answer your question. You can also Direct questions to the talk page.
WikiProject Visual Arts: WikiProject Visual Arts is the parent WikiProject, and they can often answer general Wikipedia questions and concerns specifically regarding artworks. Direct questions to the talk page.
WikiProject Public art: Wikipedia Saves Public Art is the portal for this program, as well as other public art and museum-related resources. If you do not hear back from WikiProject Visual Arts, you can always post questions on the talk page.
Village Pump: For questions regarding appropriately uploading images to Wikipedia or Commons, please see Commons:Village pump. If you have copyright questions or if you are unsure if a specific image is permissible in Wikipedia it's typically better to ask first.

Talk to a person...

{{Helpme}}: Place this template into your talk page and a Wikipedian will come help you.
Wikipedia:Help desk: Go here to post specific questions and receive quick help.

Everything you need to know

Wikipedians are always available to help you!

Find your answer at Wikipedia:Help
Click Show on the templates below for a number of helpful links.

Tutorial videos

Account creation tutorial (2 min 35 sec)
Starting a sandbox article tutorial (2 min 11 sec)
Article creation tutorial (7 min 50 sec)
Copyright licenses involved in uploading files (3 min 28 sec)
HotCat and categories explanation (5 min 43 sec)