What’s new in The Wikipedia Library? (April-June 2024)

As we wrap up the financial year 2023-24, we can share that we partnered with 12 new organisations and added 14 new content collections to The Wikipedia Library in the last 12 months. Twelve of the 14 collections are included in the Library Bundle, which gives immediate access to all eligible editors. Seven of the new collections are in a  language other than English. This focus on diversifying the language of materials in the Library will continue this year. 

Here’s what changed last quarter. 

New partnerships

We partnered with three new organisations in the last three months and they are now available in the library.

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is providing access to IEEE Xplore for Wikimedians. This collection offers quality technical literature in engineering and technology and was first requested by the community in the Suggest page of The Wikipedia Library. This collection is in the Library Bundle so the content is available instantly to all eligible editors. 
• We partnered with Central European University Press, making their eBooks available to Wikimedians for free. This access is provided through JSTOR, which is already available in the Library Bundle. The press release for this partnership includes a quote from librarian and Wikipedia editor, Claudia Serbanuta: “Through partnerships like CEU Press, the Wikipedia Library provides crucial resources to editors in our region and worldwide who are not affiliated with academic institutions and don’t have access to research libraries. Together, we are building a repository of knowledge that transcends borders, enabling individuals to explore, learn, and contribute to our collective understanding of our shared history.” 
• We also partnered with l’Informé, an independent media organisation based in Paris. Thanks to Fabien from the French Wikimedia community who helped us secure this partnership!

The Wikipedia Library now has a dedicated page on the Foundation’s website to explain why the world’s top publishers partner with Wikipedia. Please feel welcome to use this page in your own outreach to potential partners. 

Extending access

In the last three months Brill, Al-Mahnal and World Scientific extended access for another year. 

In April, Perlego gave every participant in the EveryBookItsReader campaign access to their eBooks catalogue of more than a million titles. This is the second consecutive year that Perlego has supported this multilingual campaign to improve information about books and authors.

Let’s Connect and community conferences

In April, the Let’s Connect team organised a Learning Clinic introducing  The Wikipedia Library and explaining how we build partnerships. You can find the slides and recordings here in English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

We will be presenting a lighting talk about The Wikipedia Library at Wikimania and will also be attending WikiCon North America in October. We look forward to connecting in-person soon.