Wikipedia Lover, Not a Hater: Harnessing Wikipedia to Increase the Discoverability of Library Resources

Abstract

During the spring of 2010, the University of Houston Libraries Digital Services Department began an initiative to promote existing and upcoming collections in the University of Houston Digital Library and drive traffic to the online repository. Spurred by an OCLC report (De Rosa et al. 2005) that only two percent of college and university students began research by consulting library resources, University of Houston Digital Services staff sought to add content from the University of Houston Digital Library to Wikipedia in order to insert primary source digital materials into the research workflow of students and faculty. As a result, referrals from Wikipedia to the University of Houston Digital Library have increased significantly and the pilot project is now the basis for an ongoing University of Houston Digital Services program. The structure and direction of the pilot project were a collaborative effort between University of Houston Digital Services staff and a University of North Texas Library and Information Science intern participating in the University of Houston Digital Services Digital Library Internship Program. Through this case study the authors cover the evolution of the University of Houston Digital Services Wikipedia pilot project and its growth into a permanent program. The authors also outline the workflows and procedures of the project and describes in detail the challenges and successes of the pilot Wikipedia project at University of Houston Digital Services. Included are lessons learned for libraries and cultural institutions interested in establishing a similar program.