Author: Nancy Foasberg

QC Library Hosts Earth Day Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon

This Earth Day, please join the QC Library for a climate changed-themed Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon!

No experience editing Wikipedia is needed – We’ll teach you everything you need to know.  If you’ve never edited Wikipedia before, this is your chance! Edit-a-thons provide a fun atmosphere and support from experts as we all work together to add references, expand articles, and improve the world’s biggest encyclopedia. This edit-a-thon will be digital, but Wikipedians and librarians will still be available with support, guidance, and suggested topics. Help ensure that climate issues are well-represented on Wikipedia. If you’re like us, you find yourself consulting Wikipedia on a regular basis! Wikipedia thrives on the participation of its editors; if you’ve ever added a reference or made a correction, no matter how small, you’ve made this resource better for everyone! However, as with most voluntary projects, Wikipedia tends toward systematic bias including corporate, racial, and gender bias, mostly because its editor base is not diverse enough. That’s one reason new editors are so important.

Edit-a-thons are also really fun! We’ll teach you the best strategies for ensuring your edits stick around, walk you through all the things you need to know, and cheerlead for you every step of the way. Bring a friend! While we can’t offer free refreshments in this online format, we can offer support and good company as we edit and create articles on climate change and climate justice. The entire Queens College community is welcome! We’ll be working all week, so please join for as much or as little as your schedule allows.

The Edit-a-Thon will kick off on April 22nd . Register on the Libray’s event page. We will meet in Zoom to introduce the edit-a-thon and get the edits started, but the edit-a-thon will continue through the week on Discord or Slack. We’ll meet again on April 30 to celebrate our work.

If you can’t make the April 22nd event but would still like to participate throughout the week, let us know! Contact Associate Professor Nancy Foasberg.

We hope to see you there!

Featured Resource: Alexander Street Press

If you’re looking for videos, you might want to check out Alexander Street Press!

This huge resource includes videos on all sorts of topics, from astronomy to gastronomy, and many different types of content as well! For instance, it includes:

  • Theatrical, musical and dance performances
  • Documentaries (including PBS documentaries)
  • Interviews
  • Instructional videos
  • Historical newsreels

A “channels” feature allows you to easily locate multiple videos on the same topic. A few examples:

Of course, there is much more!

The database includes some useful features to go with the videos.  Each video includes a transcript to help you navigate through it. Additionally, you can make clips or playlists to share with your class.

-Nancy Foasberg, Scholarly Communications Librarian.