Welcome to the Smithsonian Institution WikiProject on the English Wikipedia! We are a group dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to the Smithsonian Institution—the world's largest museum and research complex. Among its business units, the Smithsonian contains multiple examples of all four of the letters in GLAM: 19 galleries and museums, 20 branch libraries, over a dozen archival repositories, a zoo, and roughly 6,000 staff members caring for its collections and sharing its mission: "the increase and diffusion of knowledge."
Project Scope
Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle
The project's goals include editing, enhancing, and creating new articles or content, related to:
Notable people such as artists, scientists, historic figures, notable women, and diverse populations who have significant presence within the Smithsonian's collections
Smithsonian Institution personnel, including leadership, curators, scientists, and other notable staff members
Smithsonian Institution affiliates, programs, events, functions, and charities
Wikimedians at the June 26, 2010 Meeting with Smithsonian Representatives
This relationship officially began on June 26, 2010, as part of the 10th DC meetup, when members of the Wikimedia DC Chapter met with representatives of the National Museum of the American Indian and other Smithsonian units, whom were overwhelmingly receptive to the idea of potential collaboration. Soon after the initial contact, a training and information session was organized for 30 Smithsonian staff members. Attendees ranged from technical staff to curators, all of whom were instructed on registration, best practices for editing, and understanding conflict of interest. Due to the diversity, complexity, size, and decentralized nature of the Smithsonian Institution, it was difficult to immediately define and scope any specific projects that could successfully encompass the entire Institution. However, relationships and discussions between Smithsonian staff and DC area Wikimedians, continued to develop after the momentum of this initial push.
In 2018, Wikimedian Andrew Lih, taught a series of well-received Wikidata workshops to staff across the Smithsonian; which were well-received by all. Smithsonian staff spend a lot of time and resources on their data, so there is a clear benefit for both parties. Also in 2018, the Smithsonian kicked off an open data pilot intended to contribute to Wikidata on artists and artworks, scientific type specimen and collectors, and women represented in the Smithsonian's collections. Lih went on to serve as Wikimedian at Large for the Smithsonian, and has continued to be involved in efforts both large and small, ranging from the 2020 launch of the Smithsonian Open Access program, which has released more than 5 million images into the public domain, to the GLAM Wiki CSI (Contribution Study Initiative) in 2025, a project to assess the contribution pipeline in the Wikimedia technical infrastructure for supporting cultural and heritage partnerships and projects.
There are additional opportunities for future collaboration, and the Smithsonian continues to work with staff and volunteers from the Wikimedia DC Chapter as a conduit to the Wikimedia community. This GLAM/SI project page exists to help facilitate and organize formal and informal opportunities for collaboration with Smithsonian staff, and to provide a location for communication, documentation, sharing of ideas, and requests for assistance with Smithsonian resources.
Wikipedians in Residence
Smithsonian Institution Archives Edit-a-Thon, March 30, 2012
Visit the project pages for more detailed descriptions of activity and outcomes
Smithsonian Institution, 2013 (pan-Institutional) - Hosted Wikipedian in Residence, Dominic McDevitt-Parks, for the summer of 2013, with support from the Office of the Secretary, the Archives of American Art, and the Office of the Chief Information Officer.
Archives of American Art, 2011 - Hosted Wikipedian in Residence Sarah Stierch from June - September 2011, and continue to have active Wikipedians working among the Archives' staff. Visit the Archives of American Art Project Page for a list of ongoing articles in need of editing, or contact user Sarasays for more information about volunteer opportunities and access to archival resources.
At the initial meeting with the Smithsonian, Wikipedians proposed a number of cooperative activities between the Smithsonian and the Community (See the original proposal at Wikimedia Outreach). While progress has been made in hosting "Wikipedians in Residence" along with conducting staff workshops and edit-a-thons, a number of these ideas are still relevant, and have yet to come to fruition:
Events
Ongoing or regular meetups at the Smithsonian, for in-person development of high-importance Smithsonian collection content
"Wiki-Academies", in which Wikipedians provide training opportunities for Smithsonian staff who wish to learn more about the Wikipedia community
Smithsonian staff workshops with Wikipedians, to increase their awareness and use of, Smithsonian resources in article-writing
Volunteer Support
Continued cultivation and recruitment of, new Wikipedians in Residence——on-site, special guest, Wikipedians who can:
Connect Wikipedians with Smithsonian staff for collaborations
Analyze and manage content on Wikipedia, to best benefit the missions of both, the Smithsonian, and the Wikipedia community
Coordinate competitions and/or edit-a-thons, to improve Smithsonian-related content on Wikipedia
Improved access to Smithsonian resources, such as libraries and archives, allowing volunteers to conduct research for Wikipedia content
Content Development
Wikipedian organization and development of Smithsonian-related content on Wikipedia
Clearer identification and attribution of media, from and by the Smithsonian Institution, on Wikimedia sites
Image restoration and development for Wikimedia and Smithsonian shared use
The sharing of Smithsonian media on Commons, such as images, animations, and sounds with Wikipedia, to increase visibility of collections and use of materials
Additions to this list are welcome and encouraged!
Be GLAMorous: Join WikiProject GLAM/SI (video), by Katie Filbert and Sarah Stierch. UStream recording of a live presentation about the GLAM/SI initiative given at the "Ignite Smithsonian" event on April 18, 2011.
Hello, GLAM/Smithsonian Institution! We are looking for editors to join the Smithsonian Institution collaboration, an outreach effort which aims to support collaboration such as Wiki-Academies, article writing, and other activities to engage the Smithsonian Institution in Wikipedia. We thought you might be interested, and hope that you will join us. Thanks!!!
Kalulu was a DYK on August 1 and got about 10,000 views. (It was inspired by the picture that the SI released to Flickr. Victuallers (talk) 22:32, 8 August 2010 (UTC))
