Asian Pacific American Heritage Month for 2017 is nearly over. But that doesn’t mean our awareness of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States should cease. Which is why the #WikiAPA call for action is ongoing and important. Regardless of time or place, #WikiAPA seeks to continuously expand and improve upon the entries of APAHM names, places, and historical events inside the Wikipedia reference base. Whether that’s elaborating on a figure’s biographical information, giving context to an invention or discovery, citing press articles about an event or engagement, etc.
These events more broadly are known as edit-a-thons and #WikiAPA is an edit-a-thon with a specific topical purpose. And no you don’t have to be an “expert,” simply have knowledge that doesn’t already exist in Wikipedia that is worth reading to better understand an article on Wikipedia. Especially for subjects that are otherwise marginalized or simply overlooked.
For instance from a recent NBC News article on this approach:
While Wikipedia is often the first site many internet users visit when looking up a celebrity or historical event, those who are searching specifically for topics related to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders often find the online encyclopedia lacking.
“It’s one of those things Wikipedia is trying to tackle,” Andrew Lih, a professor of journalism at American University and a longtime Wikipedia contributor, told NBC News.
The author of the book “The Wikipedia Revolution: How A Bunch of Nobodies Created The World’s Greatest Encyclopedia,” Lih said that while he believes Wikipedia has been more inclusive than the Encyclopedia Britannica and other storied encyclopedias, “It’s still quite short of where it should be. It’s is still written by mainly Western male contributors.”
Edit-a-thons can be a few people, or rooms full of people with sponsors and food & drink:
https://twitter.com/BibliotecariaT/status/868241567689039872
https://twitter.com/BibliotecariaT/status/868216075950882816
and a couple shots from a couple years ago, showing that the effort is ongoing and continuous:
Alright! #wikiAPA Chicago is a go! pic.twitter.com/KuUFjE0xzi
— Annie Pho (she/her) (@catladylib) September 30, 2015
Spending this Friday evening at @oaklandmuseumca uploading some articles to Wikipedia! #WikiAPA #dragonfruitproject pic.twitter.com/DRUCwd3zbf
— Lavender Phoenix (@lav_phoenix) September 19, 2015
Do what you can. Improve the knowledge base that is Wikipedia – we all use it!