Presenter(s)

• Andrew Lih Wikimedia

Originally submitted by email on Sep 30, 2022, 10:07 PM Eastern US:

Format: Professional Forum or Paper
This session discusses the experiences of three years of the Smithsonian Institution\’s Open Access (OA) program, covering its technical implementation, its role in furthering the Smithsonian American Women\’s History Initiative (AWHI), and its engagement with Wikipedia and its related Wikimedia projects. Since its launch in February 2020, the OA program has experienced positive outcomes and unusual successes that provide unique insights for other GLAM organizations.
Among the topics to be discussed:

An overview of the implementation and impact of the Smithsonian\’s Open Access program.

The benefits of Open Access content, including search engine optimization, utilization in voice assistant applications, and algorithmic uses for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Smithsonian\’s work with Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons) to make their collections more widely available in the digital realm by working with the world\’s largest multilingual reference work.

How the AWHI has used open access collections data and public programming to improve available knowledge about women\’s content, including: women aviators and scientists, Black women in food history, First Nations, Asian American and Pacific Islander historical figures.

With the Smithsonian planning two new national museums focused on American Latinx and women’s history, how the OA program can support the immediate needs of promoting knowledge equity with digital content.

Speakers:
Kelly Doyle, Smithsonian AWHI Open Knowledge Coordinator
Ryan King, Smithsonian Open Access Initiative
Effie Kapsalis, Smithsonian Office of Digital Transformation
Andrew Lih, Smithsonian Wikimedian at Large