Wikipedia As An Advocacy Tool?
A recent discussion on LM_NET about the use of Wikipedia by students as a resource site made me wonder why WE (as librarians) haven’t begun using Wikipedia as an Advocacy Tool? Librarians talk about what they do, how they do it, and then they write about it for one another—but very few of us actually write outside our professional journals. If Wikipedia is used by millions daily, why not advocate for our profession (and our impact on student achievement) on those free pages that are read by everyone outside of our profession?
Sure, we’re adding to a forum that we are so often fighting against during library research sessions; however, because Wikipedia is a “living, breathing entity” that contains immediate information about events around the world, why not take advantage of a free, flexible, and instantaneous site to direct others to what we are doing on a daily basis…why not showcase our mission, our talent, and our results?
Check Wikipedia for the term “librarian” and you find a lengthy description of the profession that would make any encyclopedia publisher proud. Then, search for the terms: school librarian or school library media specialist and you won’t find an entry. Look for the names of those librarians who are creating history today by changing the face and function of school libraries, and you probably won’t find them either.
Can we send users to the resources, sites, and materials that showcase our NEW abilities as teachers, instructional partners, information specialists, and program administrators through Wikipedia? (By the way, Information Power is not in Wikipedia either.)
Will a hyperlinked term about a popular novel direct a student to the YALSA website and then to some incredible programs that school librarians are doing? Can a terminology search by a teacher who did not ask a question during the librarian’s copyright presentation bring her to the pages where new ways of collaborating with librarians is described as ways to freshen-up those tired (and plagiarized) research projects?
Can we share with administrators (who secretly browse Wikipedia), how we implement technology, research, and collaboration skills in the classroom without sending articles that we know they won’t read? If we add information about our changing profession to Wikipedia, can we provide the average reader with information that they never knew about us or what we do? (Okay, maybe not everyone wants to know everything about us….but we do have some interesting characters in our profession that we need to share with the general public!)
Can we advocate for the importance of school libraries and school librarians by using an online tool that we have disregarded as being unworthy for research? If we do, what will others think?
What do others think (or know) about us now?
