Jump to content

User:FNartey (WMF)/Sandbox/1lib1ref 2021

From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki
This page contains changes which are not marked for translation.

#1Lib1Ref runs every January 15th to February 5th and every May 15th to June 5th. Join the Campaign! Translate the banner



Wikipedia is an invaluable part of every researcher's process. More references make Wikipedia a better reference tool.Thanks for joining us! Your goal today is to add one reference to Wikipedia!


[[<tvar|help>The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Help</>|Here are instructions for adding references]].


Wikipedia articles operate on an assumption of "Verifiability". Every statement in an article should be "verifiable" in a footnoted source. By adding a footnote to a reliable source in any Wikipedia article, you help Wikipedia readers worldwide.

When adding a reference, please include the hashtag #1Lib1Ref in the edit summary so that we can track participation.


What makes a source good to add as a reference in Wikipedia?

  • Published: in a source with a reputation for editorial quality, and peer-reviewed if possible.
  • Reliable: it's a source you'd point a patron to if they wanted to know more.
  • Supports the text: the source should back up what is stated. If it doesn't, but is a good general resource for the topic (such as a specialty encyclopedia), consider adding the source to a "further reading" section.

Though Wikipedia favors open-access or publicly available sources, this is not a requirement: using appropriate offline, rare, or hard to access sources might be the best option.


Note: If you can't find any supporting source for a claim, remove the claim from the article and add a note to the article's Talk page about what you removed and your research. Here's more information about Talk pages.

Further reading: identifying reliable sources.

I want to edit

Why Should I Participate?

How to add a citation; 1pager

Because anyone can edit Wikipedia, the Wikipedia community has developed a core strategy to ensure the quality of information in its articles: including footnotes to reliable sources to allow Wikipedia readers to "verify" the information. The simplest way to engage with Wikipedia is to work on existing citation neededs, in your preferred language. You can find these in English or 57 other languages. "

Readers and editors who don't feel confident about a piece of information in an article can add a "citation needed" tag next to that statement. These tags are similar to reference questions: members of the public asking for reliable research to back up the information they are reading. English Wikipedia alone has over 509,480 citation needed statements.

Thousands of articles need more references; 173,662 articles on English Wikipedia have no references at all.[1] Imagine if every librarian in the world took 15 minutes to address one of the citation needed queries! Wikipedia would greatly reduce these gaps.

Fill a needed citation

Do you already have or have you already found a reference for a statement in an article that lacks citation? Watch the resources below to learn how to add a citation on Wikipedia.


  • How to add a citation (Video)

I don’t know how to find a citation needed tagged statement?

Are you in search for a citation needed tagged statement? Look no further, watch the resources below to learn how to find an article to add a reference to on Wikipedia using the Citation Hunt tool, a gamelike tool that will offer random citation needed statements.

Quick Steps

  1. Let the tool suggest a citation needed statements for you, or use the search menu at the bottom to choose a category (Wikipedia's version of a tag) of article that you have a special expertise in (for example, British novels or Provinces of Afghanistan ).
  2. Go to the article, find the statement
  3. Click edit in the section header
  4. Add the source using the [[<tvar|help>The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Help</>|guidelines here]]
  5. Remove the "Citation needed" template (highlight and backspace in Visual Editor, or remove the template which adds that tag (it looks like {{citation needed}} ))
  6. Add the hashtag #1lib1ref to your edit summary
  7. Save the page.
Further resources

  • How to add a citation using citation hunt (GIF)
    How to add a citation using citation hunt (GIF)
  • How to add a citation using citation hunt (Video)


Find an article with sourcing problems

Wikipedia articles are frequently tagged for not having references to support information in the article. These articles can be found in automatically generated lists on English Wikipedia and in more than [[<tvar|wikidata>wikidata:Q5897849</>|55 other languages]].


If you are interested in working on articles from a particular topic area on English Wikipedia, there is an index of work for those topic areas. Here is how to use it:


  1. Visit [<tvar|tool>https://bambots.brucemyers.com/cwb/index.html</> the index of articles on Wikipedia that need cleanup]
  2. Select a topic you are interested in and click on the "by cat" link.
  3. Look for the "Sources Lacking" section
  4. Click on an article that you would like to work on.
  5. Add a reference to the article (see [[<tvar|help>The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Help</>|instructions here]]).


Want to do more?

Adding an external link of further reading can provide additional insight to an article. Visit our page on external links and further reading to learn more.



Get Editing Help

I want to organize

Do you want to organize a #1lib1ref event in your community?


#1LIB1REF has been used by many communities to recruit new members as well as onboard new librarians into the Wikimedia space. The campaign approach is to have a big impact with little efforts by providing basic steps to add references to improve articles of your interest on Wikipedia. Leveraging the organization of the campaign can be a unique opportunity to improve thematic topics of concern from your country or region. #1LIB1REF is a powerful way to also solve the gaps that exist on Wikipedia by improving the reliability and sources to information that exist on uncovered or underrepresented communities. Below are some resources that share general guidelines as well as highlighted experiences of how the campaign has been organised in different parts of the movement.


Organizer's Guide Case Studies

I want to share

You can also participate in the campaign by extending the reach of the campaign through sharing of the campaign resources within your circles, on social media, with your institution or neighbouring institution. Let's get the word out!


Don't forget to use the hashtag #1Lib1Ref!

Retrieved from "https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:FNartey_(WMF)/Sandbox/1lib1ref_2021&oldid=21192297"