Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/R@/Bibliothécaires (ID: 22250999)/Final Report
Report Status: Under review
Due date: 2024-04-14T00:00:00Z
Funding program: Rapid Fund
Report type: Final
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[edit]- Applicant username: Azogbonon
- Organization name: N/A
- Amount awarded: 4062.8
- Amount spent: 4062.8 USD, 2470382
Part 1: Project and impact
[edit]1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)
Pre-activity approach
[edit]- Following confirmation of our proposal by the rapid grant committee, we set to work meticulously to implement our activities. To better understand our approach, it's important to keep in mind the three groups we worked with. Initially focused on training book, archive and documentation chain professionals from two countries (Togo and Benin) grouped together in an association, we quickly realized that the number of participants could be increased to train a larger number of professionals. A month before the start of our activity, we produced posters announcing the training of professionals in the field from January 15 to March 15, with a Google Doc link for registrations or a contact number. These posters were displayed in several libraries. In addition, we published an online press article to increase our visibility. We also issued publications on social networks and various instant communication groups. These actions had a greater impact than expected, with 72 registrations via the Google Doc document. Once this stage was completed, we proceeded with a careful selection of active professionals in the book, archive and documentation chain, retaining 20 profiles. We then contacted each selected person by telephone. During these calls, we helped them set up their Wikimedia account, then added them to the WhatsApp group created for the occasion to harmonize communication and coordinate activities.
- Within the association, where a number of librarians had been identified as potential partners, we noticed that there were more than the expected 35 people. To better respond to this situation, we decided to create two additional groups, bringing the total to three distinct groups: one group made up of students and two groups bringing together professionals in the book, documentation and archive chain. The purpose of this subdivision is to enable us to better invest in each group, taking into account their respective availability. So, for each of these groups, we have drawn up a program of consecutive activities over several days during the activity period, taking into account their availability.
Outside approach
[edit]With the aim of fostering synergy between professionals in the book chain, we contacted User:Culex, a French professional librarian and discothecary, as well as a long-standing Wikipedia administrator. Our approach was to enable him to exchange with professionals from different countries and share his day-to-day experience as a librarian, in particular by highlighting the activities he carries out in his center to encourage visitors to take an interest in the Wikimedia project. So, before or during the start of each activity with a group, we organized online calls where he could chat with the participants.
Workshop images
[edit]File:20240306 - Bibs Wiki Afrique.jpg|R@/Bibliothécaires File:Activité du 20 janvier 2024 Librairie Sonaec 02.jpg|R@/Bibliothécaires File:Activité du 20 janvier 2024 Librairie Sonaec 18.jpg|R@/Bibliothécaires
Direct approach with participants
[edit]In order to immerse them directly in the process and better follow our strategy, we drew up a list of books by well-known African authors, for which several online references attested to the existence of the work. We then allocated 2 or even 3 books to each participant, inviting them to bring their own. It's important to stress that the books we selected were carefully checked to ensure that they were not already listed on Wikidata, and that secondary sources existed to attest to their notoriety, whether for the author, the publishing house or the book itself. This approach aims to demonstrate the importance of works on Wikidata by creating new elements, which fits perfectly with the field of expertise of the participants, who are often involved in the management of books and historical archives.
- After this preliminary stage, participants were invited to read the books assigned to them and select relevant quotations and proverbs. The aim of this activity was to familiarize them with the books while encouraging them to contribute to Wikiquote during the training course. The aim was to enable them to feel a sense of pride in contributing to Wikiquote, knowing that their efforts were behind the contribution. We ensured that each participant had access to at least one author whose reputation was already established on Wikipedia, as to contribute to Wikiquote, the author must enjoy prior recognition on Wikipedia.
- Before the start of the activities, we drew up a list of Wikipedia articles requiring a few adjustments. These adjustments could include missing secondary sources, rewording sentences or paragraphs, wikification or omitting to link with Wikidata. The aim of this approach was to show participants how they could contribute by simply making edits on Wikipedia, using the account they had previously created, which would also enable them to contribute to other Wikimedia projects.
Approach during training sessions
[edit]During the training sessions, our aim was to generate enthusiasm among the participants, while preventing them from making the mistakes we made when we first started working on Wikimedia projects. After a presentation of the movement, the different projects and the rules to be followed to guarantee the safety of all volunteers, as well as the planned intervention of Culex, we always started with the projects most accessible to them, such as Wikimedia Commons. We showed them the steps to follow when uploading multimedia files, while reminding them of the rules to respect, such as avoiding uploading pornographic images and respecting copyright. Then, using one participant's screen as an example, we guided them through the process of publishing their first images on Commons. This approach was repeated for each project covered in the various sessions. Once everyone understood the Commons project, we moved on to Wikidata with the books at their disposal. We explained the rules of the project, the do's and don'ts, and then, using a participant's screen as an example, we showed them how to create a new item on Wikidata, how to add statements and how to provide sources to justify the item's notoriety to other volunteers, while explaining the importance of Wikidata as a database for all Wikimedia projects. Each participant then repeated the exercise with the books at their disposal. It should be noted that for each book, each participant could create up to three new elements (author, publishing house and book), while linking the elements together.
- As part of our work on Wikipedia, Wikiquote, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata and the Wikimedia Incubator - complex projects where the slightest error can have dramatic consequences, such as blocking IP addresses - we have drawn up a list of articles to guide our collaboration with participants. During the sessions, we distribute these articles to participants and ask them to read them, noting any corrections needed or elements to be added, as well as how to add credible and verifiable sources. We work closely with them to avoid mistakes we may have made at the start of our contributions. This approach is always carried out with one of the participants projecting his or her screen during the training session, which reduces the distance between trainers and learners and immediately arouses their desire to continue learning.
We had the opportunity to carry out our project during the 1Lib1Ref period, which enabled us to stress the importance of sources on Wikipedia to the participants. It's important to note that we dedicate each training day to the study of a specific project, to ensure that each project is fully understood, as well as its rules and how to approach it to minimize errors.
Once the topic is covered, we set up a team approach involving 2-3 participants, who are given exercises to complete, often linked to geography topics such as villages or housing areas, on Wikipedia. The participants work together on the same draft to write an article, which is then submitted to the trainers for evaluation. We then explain the do's and don'ts, and how the project works. As far as Wikiquote is concerned, on the days dedicated to this project, participants bring the books in which they have found proverbs and quotations. Each of them then goes to the computer to demonstrate how to contribute to the project, with the help of the trainers in case of error. This Wikiquote approach is designed to give them a sense of pride, as they are the ones who picked out the quotes and proverbs after reading the documents.
After this training stage, we give them individual exercises to complete in their own drafts. Once completed, they can submit their draft to the group, where the other participants can correct it or underline what has been forgotten before the trainers intervene. This approach simply aims to show that it's normal to make mistakes, and that it's important to accept correction from other volunteers, which reflects the spirit of the community. We have also set up an approach for online work: if someone submits a draft and all the other participants give their opinion, we agree together on a date and time for all those who can to follow the correction by the trainers in order to ask questions.
Similarly, on other projects, when a participant wishes to work online and chooses a time and day, there is always a trainer available to accompany them.
2. Documentation of your impact. Please use space below to share links that help tell your story, impact, and evaluation. (required)
Share links to:
- Project page on Meta-Wiki or any other Wikimedia project
- Dashboards and tools that you used to track contributions
- Some photos or videos from your event. Remember to share access.
You can also share links to:
- Important social media posts
- Surveys and their results
- Infographics and sound files
- Examples of content edited on Wikimedia projects
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:R@/Biblioth%C3%A9caires
https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/2024_rbibliothecaires_campagne/programs
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Activit%C3%A9_R@/Biblioth%C3%A9caires
https://lechasseurinfos.net/utilisation-de-wikimedia-r-bibliothecaire/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lN8t1DNpuuHjOjtHhgMssurtBYjTARvS/view?usp=sharing
Examples of content published on Wikimedia projects :
[edit]On Wikipedia, we have edited some thirty articles on several African portals, including :
On Wikidata, we have contributed to the creation of over a hundred items, including adding information on writers, film festivals, cultural personalities and places of interest in Africa. In addition to the articles created and linked to Wikidata, we mentioned earlier that we added new items to Wikidata. In some cases, however, we were unable to create a corresponding article on Wikipedia. This is because, for some writers, the available sources did not meet the notoriety criteria required on Wikipedia, particularly in terms of the reliability and relevance of secondary sources.
We also made significant contributions on Wikiquote by adding African quotes and proverbs, enriching the database with valuable cultural elements from the region.
The same applies to the Wikimedia Incubator.
Additionally, share the materials and resources that you used in the implementation of your project. (required)
For example:
- Training materials and guides
- Presentations and slides
- Work processes and plans
- Any other materials your team has created or adapted and can be shared with others
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zJ5Pirjpo2Epf7eftvf-sf80rLZgAHCC040w2fO-JL8/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OuVbKPHxXsqU4bT_K5H1AhyNPPvQK5bkYxJwPaannEA/edit
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Activit%C3%A9_du_02_f%C3%A9viver_2024_9.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Activit%C3%A9_17_Janvier_2024_36.jpg
3. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with this Rapid Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals. Required. Select one option per question. (required)
| A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups | Strongly agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Strongly agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Strongly agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Strongly agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | Agree |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement | Strongly agree |
| F. Other (optional) | In addition to this, the underlying aim of this project for professionals in the documentation, book and archive chain stems from an obvious observation. In the French-speaking world of Africa, numerous initiatives are emerging to accompany various aspects of daily life. However, most of the resources and initiatives linked to Wikimedia projects in the field of education are in English. For people with less experience or no command of English, this is a major obstacle to accessing quality support materials. What's more, online training courses on educational projects for this category of professionals are mainly conducted in English, reinforcing this language gap. As a result, these professionals are not always aware of the existence of initiatives in their field, and don't realize that they can contribute to the Wikimedia movement to make their voices heard. |
Part 2: Learning
[edit]4. In your application, you outlined some learning questions. What did you learn from these learning questions when you implemented your project? How do you hope to use this learnings in the future? You can recall these learning questions below. (required)
You can recall these learning questions below: Through this project, we aspire to follow several significant lessons. Firstly, we hope to understand more about the specific needs of librarians and students in Benin in terms of contributing to Wikipedia and using Wikimedia projects. This includes an in-depth understanding of their current skills, their challenges and the specific areas where they wish to improve their knowledge.
We also seek to learn how to maximize the educational impact of our project. This includes designing training activities and workshops that are not only informative but also inspiring and motivating to encourage active participation.
In addition, we hope to gather knowledge on best practices to facilitate collaboration between librarians, students and other education stakeholders in the specific context of Benin. We want to understand how to create an environment conducive to the ongoing contribution and improvement of online educational resources.
Finally, we want to evaluate the effectiveness of our approach in promoting digital literature, source verification and educational content creation.
During the implementation of our project, we drew valuable lessons from the learning issues we had identified. Firstly, we quickly realized that the world of African librarians and students is a peculiar one, as they tend to organize themselves among themselves and are not necessarily aware of the opportunities offered by Wikimedia projects in their professional lives. Of the 100% of contributors we met, only one had a Wikimedia account, which underlines the lack of familiarity with contributing to Wikimedia. Our approach of communicating directly in their workplace generated increased interest in understanding how these projects work, as evidenced by the large number of participants gathered through the Google form.
Secondly, we sought to maximize the educational impact of our project by designing informative, inspiring and motivating training activities and workshops aimed at encouraging active participation. We sought to understand why education professionals in French-speaking West Africa, and particularly in Benin, were less represented on Wikimedia projects than in other regions. So, for over two years, we have been developing a program aimed at devoting ourselves entirely to the world of education in French-speaking West Africa, becoming a focal point for their future contributions and ensuring ongoing support. For over 8 months, we also set up a Telegram group where we train and continue to work with education professionals, organizing weekly or fortnightly online activities to keep them motivated.
At the same time, as part of our program, we have trained several referents in collaboration with experts from other educational projects, such as the Wikisources user group, in order to diversify the training offered to professionals on several Wikimedia educational projects. We hope to use these lessons in the future by continuing to develop our support program for education professionals in French-speaking West Africa, strengthening our network of referents and offering a variety of training courses on the different Wikimedia educational projects.
5. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities? This can include both positive and negative situations. What did you learn from those experiences? (required)
During the implementation of our project, we encountered a few unexpected and sometimes negative events. One such incident occurred when we were setting up the dashboard on the invitations page. We realized that there was a problem with the link generated by the title of our "R@/Librarians" dashboard, as it was too complex. To solve this problem, we contacted a Wikimedia Foundation employee for help, User:Geugeor-WMF. Together, we created a new dashboard with a simpler title, which worked. However, we failed to specify the project's full end period.
During the second activity, when we tried to generate a new invitation, we found that the page refused to take into account the new dashboard and refused any modifications, even though the date of the second activity with the first group was approaching.
Despite our attempts on the chat page to resolve the problem, we didn't have much success.
We then decided to contact another Programs and Events Dashboard employee, User:EUwandu-WMF, with whom we had to create a general dashboard taking into account all the other dashboards already created.
This situation taught us an important lesson: when generating an invitation, it's crucial to always specify the complete period of activities, from start to finish (for example, from January 15 to March 15).We also learned the importance of proactive communication with stakeholders and finding alternative solutions in the event of a problem.
Remarkable experience
[edit]As part of our R@/Bibliothécaire project, we had a remarkable experience. A Cameroonian woman living in Benin had taken the initiative of setting up a library in the country's capital to encourage young people to read. Although we hadn't contacted her in advance to confirm her participation after she had registered, she turned up on the day of the training course, expressing her desire to take part. We therefore decided to allow her to take part in the training, even if only for that day. However, she returned for the other three sessions, participating actively and showing a keen interest in learning. To this day, we don't even know her name.
Some time later, during the Quinzaine des autrices francophones campaign, while checking out the new articles on Wikipedia, we discovered that a Cameroonian community had written an article about this woman at an event. All we had to do was make a few changes and contribute to the article. What really surprised us, however, was the image accompanying the article. On closer inspection, we realized it was the same woman who had taken part in our training course.
That's how we learned that she was, in fact, someone we knew. This experience taught us the importance of remaining open to opportunities and unexpected encounters in our projects. It's a perfect illustration of the value of collaboration and diversity within the Wikimedia community.
Expansion of the R@/Bibliothécaires project: Towards new horizons in French-speaking Africa
[edit]Following the conclusion of the R@/Bibliothécaires project, we witnessed some inspiring events that demonstrate the uniqueness and dynamism of the librarian community in French-speaking Africa.
We were contacted by the Association des professionnels de la documentation, de la chaîne du livre et des archives du Mali, who asked us to provide the same training in Mali. They even offered to host us. We immediately got in touch with the wikimedian leader of the Malian community to ask for his temporary assistance and to discuss possible collaboration.
Following publication of the Diff article, we were approached by another Congolese association, Réseau Mikanda, involved in open source. This is an association of Congolese librarians who would like to benefit from our training. We immediately began planning the actions to be implemented to ensure the success of this collaboration. It's an exciting opportunity that promises to open up new perspectives.
When we returned to our daily routine, we found that our training participants had shared their experiences with their colleagues, arousing keen interest in the training. These colleagues expressed a desire to be trained in turn, or to be trained online while awaiting a possible visit from us.
To maintain the flow of knowledge, we took the initiative of contacting community leaders in Togo, Senegal and Cameroon directly, so that they could continue to support the participants from their respective countries who had taken part in our training. We encouraged them to take charge of the physical activities on site, while we would continue to support them online, in line with our initial project.
This expansion and cross-community collaboration represents a significant step forward in our mission to build the capacity of documentation professionals in French-speaking Africa. We look forward to seeing the fruits of this collaboration and to continuing to support our partners in their quest for learning and professional development.
6. What is your plan to share your project learnings and results with other community members? If you have already done it, describe how. (required)
Our plan to share the lessons and results of our R@/Librarian project with other members of the community is based on several initiatives. Firstly, we plan to organize presentation sessions and workshops at Wikimedia conferences (Wikimania, WikiIndaba, Wiki convention...) and relevant professional meetings (La caravane du livre...). This will enable us to share our experiences, lessons learned and best practices with a wider audience of documentation professionals.
In addition, we intend to write detailed articles and reports on our project, which we will publish on online platforms such as Let's Connect, Diff specialist blogs and relevant Telegram/Whastapp discussion forums. In this way, we will be able to reach a wider audience and provide detailed information on our methodology, results and recommendations.
we plan to publish our actions on the WikiEducation journal page. This platform offers particularly suitable visibility for our project, as it is followed by a community interested in education. By sharing our experiences, working methodology and results on this page, we'll be able to provide education enthusiasts with detailed information on our approach to tackling the professional world of education in West Africa.
By presenting our approaches on the WikiEducation journal page, we aim to inspire other members of the community to get involved in similar projects, share their own experiences and collaborate to promote education and knowledge sharing in the region. This platform is therefore an invaluable tool for amplifying the impact of our project and encouraging the community's ongoing commitment to education.
Part 3: Metrics
[edit]7. Wikimedia Metrics results. (required)
In your application, you set some Wikimedia targets in numbers (Wikimedia metrics). In this section, you will describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used.
| Target | Results | Comments and tools used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 15 | 58 | We used the invitation tool provided by the Foundation to accurately count the number of participants in our training courses.
Some examples of invitation links[edit] |
| Number of editors | 15 | 50 | Of the 58 participants, at least 50 contributed to Wikimedia projects by editing, creating or improving content during or after the activities. |
| Number of organizers | 3 | 3 | As part of the R@/Bibliothécaires project, three organizers ensured the implementation of activities by providing the necessary time, support and expertise. |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 15 | 37 | 218 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 100 | 314 | 314 |
| Wikidata | 150 | 1419 | 219 |
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | 10 | 15 | 15 |
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | 10 | 37 | 24 |
| Wikivoyage | 0 | ||
| Wikibooks | |||
| Wikiversity | |||
| Wikinews | |||
| Wikispecies | |||
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
8. Other Metrics results.
In your proposal, you could also set Other Metrics targets. Please describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used if you set Other Metrics in your application.
| Other Metrics name | Metrics Description | Target | Result | Tools and comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
9. Did you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results? (required)
No
9.1. Please state what difficulties you had. How do you hope to overcome these challenges in the future? Do you have any recommendations for the Foundation to support you in addressing these challenges? (required)
Part 4: Financial reporting
[edit]10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)
2470382
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
4062.8
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Provide the link to the financial report https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XrWLCN6qDcTs95lqDj-h1VNl_pdLq9JeOavWDt1lD8/edit#gid=0
12.2. If you have not already done so in your financial spending report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal. (optional)
13. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?
No
13.1. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.
N/A
13.2. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?
N/A
13.3. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.
N/A
14.1. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?
Yes Your response to the review feedback. 14.2. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?
Yes
14.3. Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.
Yes
15. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here. (optional)
First of all, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Wikimedia Foundation. We would also like to extend a big THANK YOU to the Grant Committee for understanding the importance of our grant proposal. Our original intention was to complete this project in just one month. However, thanks to the understanding and decision of the Funds Committee, we were able to extend the timeframe to two months. This extra time enabled us to realize the importance of carrying out this project with care and rigor, and gave us the opportunity to establish efficient working methods and synergy from start to finish. We also had time to reflect on what had worked in previous activities, what needed to be improved for the next ones, and above all, to enable participants to fully assimilate the lessons and correct themselves during the physical or online sessions.
What's more, the fact that we received the funds before the start of the activity was invaluable. This enabled us to quickly anticipate any unforeseen circumstances and ensure the smooth running of our program. This grant opens up real horizons for better understanding our approach to French-speaking librarians.
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A