Grants/Requests/2018/Winnipeg Edit-A-Thon - Winnipeg Public Library

Description

In partnership with the Winnipeg Public Library IdeaMill, on November 24, 2018, an Edit-a-Thon and introduction on 'how to edit Wikipedia' will be hosted at Millennium Library in Winnipeg, MB. Editors will be encouraged to edit any topic of their choice and Wiki Asia Month resources will be provided for participants seeking a topic suggestion. The November Edit-a-Thon is an exploratory pilot project to assess the possibility of programming further events and activities at the Winnipeg Public Library. Another edit-a-thon to coincide with International Women's Day in March 2019 has been flagged for the future.

The Wikimedia Canada 2018 Annual Strategic Plan calls for "institutional partnership, educational outreach, and community building". The projects being planned here in Winnipeg, with the support of the Winnipeg Public Library, directly aligns with the strategic priorities of Wikimedia Canada and provides a meaningful opportunity to support a regional project in another part of Canada outside Quebec. Helping to ensure participants have a positive experience with potentially their first time editing Wikipedia will improve the conditions that encourage participants to return, either in-person or online.

The Winnipeg Public Library is a major public institution and the general participation accessories requested in this grant will need to be distributed to all participants. As this is the first event, we have no basis for the anticipated attendance, but IdeaMill events are often well attended. Any merchandise not given away will be saved for the March 2019 Edit-a-Thon; or in the event it does not occur, all items will be sent to Wikimedia Canada. Should the request be granted, please take into consideration the time required for ordering and shipping. Thank you, Mkdw (talk) 22:04, 17 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

List of participants

Indicate here the list of participants that will incur expenses for this activity; you do not need to list all participants that will take part in the activity. Make sure to indicate who is in charge of the activity.

Mkdw (talk)

Pre-Approval (before expenses)

Planned Budget

Indicate here your detailed planned budget.

Item	Amount	Name of the participant that will incur this expense
Outstanding improved article; outstanding new article; outstanding contribution (Wikipedia water bottle x 3)	$58.68	Mkdw (talk)
Library volunteers (Wikipedia notebook x 3)	$31.29	Mkdw (talk)
Edit-a-thon participation (Box of Wikipedia pens x 6)	$86.10	Mkdw (talk)
Edit-a-thon participation (16 Pack of Pins x 3)	$120	Mkdw (talk)
Edit-a-thon participation (Sticker pack x 2)	$26.08	Mkdw (talk)
Shipping and handling	$33.84	Mkdw (talk)
Total	$355.90 CAD

Decision of the Programs Committee

This section will be filled by the Programs Committee.

This grant is pre-approved for a total of $355.90 by two members of the Board of Directors:

A condition for the approval is that the Programs & Events Dashboard is used to track the metrics of the participation to the events (i.e. number of participants and their contributions). The Programs Committee would also like to encourage the organizer to use this opportunity to create a WikiClub for Winnipeg. JP Béland (WMCA) (talk) 12:29, 21 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from the Programs Committee:

Sounds good to me. Have fun and please let us know how the activity went. --Benjamenta (talk) 16:47, 18 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Approval (after expenses)

Activity Report

Winnipeg Edit-A-Thon Dashboard

A small but enthusiastic group of people attended the event. I presented a power-power presentation about Wikipedia and how to edit. The remaining time ended up being more of a seminar and Q&A than a traditional "edit-a-thon". Specifically, WPL staff and a participant from the University of Manitoba Archives were mostly interested in asking broad questions about Wikipedia. GLAM and other related resources, WikiProjects, citations, reference material, Commons and how to upload content in the public domain, managing conflicts of interest, and how to provide advice about Wikipedia were the primary topics discussed for approximately 90 minutes.

While not much content was edited outside demonstrating features, I felt overall it was successful from an educational outreach perspective. I have been invited to speak to the staff at the University of Manitoba Archives and back to the Winnipeg Public Library for more of their staff. I am open to doing so and hopefully it would provide a trickle-down effect to the general public.

Due to the small group and preference to spend the time asking questions and take notes, I opted to give all participants one water bottle and some other merchandise. Needless to say, there is plenty leftover. Please advise if you would like me to arrange for shipping of the remaining items to Wikimedia Canada.

Finally, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the quality of Wikimedia's merchandise. With the exception of the water bottles and pins, items like the stickers, notebooks, and pens were low quality and, in my opinion, overpriced. The surprise costs of additional taxes and duties on North American shipping, plus the fluctuating Canadian-US dollar exchange rate, increased costs substantially making it relatively cost prohibitive. Wikimedia Canada/Wikipedia shirts printed in Canada, or some other option, might be more cost effective for the same or better results. Mkdw (talk) 22:37, 24 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Final Budget

Indicate here your detailed final budget.

Item	Amount in USD	Total Amount in CAD	Name of the participant that made this expense
Giveaway accessories (including international shipping)	$275.11 USD	$362.14 CAD	Mkdw
Customs and Tax		$48.62 CAD	Mkdw
Total		$410.76 CAD	Mkdw

Notes: A slight adjustment in the order total due to the fluctuating exchange rate including a 2.5% bank exchange rate fee. The items were not covered under NAFTA and therefore subject to import customs and tax due upon delivery. Mkdw (talk) 19:02, 10 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Decision of the Programs Committee

This section will be filled by the Programs Committee.

This grant request is approved for a total of 410.76 CAD by two Board Members:

Technical Information

This section will be filled by the Programs Committee.

Request Number : 2018-034
Type of activity in the Annual Budget : Host contribution workshops, education programs, outreach events and local activities
Total Approved Amount : 410.76 CAD