In times of information overload, misinformation, and fake news, preserving and accessing humanity’s cultural memory is crucial. Participating in Wikimedia projects–platforms built on open knowledge–is a political act advocating for global access to information and culture as a fundamental human right. In Wikimedia projects, librarians, editors, information professionals, readers, authors, and all those interested in the universe of culture and science contribute to the construction of a more diverse digital sphere when they use their voices to serve the public good.
From this standpoint, the global campaign #EveryBookItsReader is an invitation to improve information about books, authors, and oral histories on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Participants contribute to the preservation and access of accurate information around our cultural memory.
Launched in 2023 by a team of volunteer librarians and held every April to mark World Book Day (April 23rd), the campaign invites volunteers to contribute to Wikimedia projects, such as Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikisource, Wikiquote, Wikibooks and others, by improving information about books, authors, and oral narratives.
#EveryBookItsReader is an invitation to contribute to Wikimedia projects in various ways: organizing or participating in group editing events focused on the campaign theme or solo editing Wikipedia articles about your favorite books are examples of ways you can contribute.
The campaign name references the third among Ranganathan’s five laws of Library Science, the campaign prioritizes linguistic and cultural diversity by featuring a logo and hashtag in a variety of languages, expanded over the two editions of the campaign (2023 and 2024):
#CadaLivroSeuPúblico – Portuguese
#EveryBookItsReader – English
#КожнійКнизіСвійЧитач – Ukrainian
#Carteașicititorulei – Romanian
#CadaLibroSuPúblico – Spanish
#ACadaLlibreElSeuPúblic – Catalan
#ChaqueLivreSonPublic – French
#AdOgniLibroIlSuoPubblico – Italian
#Gbogboìwél’ònkàrẹ̀ – Yoruban
In 2023, the campaign featured a logo created by Brazilian designer Andreia Tiemi who, in 2024, developed a new, more minimalist version to better accommodate linguistic diversity, which is reflected in the different lengths of each logo. Both versions can be accessed through Wikimedia Commons, but the use of the current version is recommended.
Based on the idea that organizers of regional activities have the autonomy to develop their actions, #EveryBookItsReader has a leadership team–formed by volunteers–whose purpose is to work to build a common culture around the campaign’s objectives and create the conditions for its growth and sustainability. In 2024, the team developed a campaign website and, this year launched a Portuguese version.
The 2025 Outreach Dashboard is now available and we hope to surpass the outstanding results of previous years which demonstrated the commitment of hundreds of people to open knowledge and the #EveryBookItsReader campaign.
| Wikipédia – Data | Edition 2023 | Edition 2024 |
| Programs | 16 | 12 |
| Editors | 152 | 338 |
| Words added | 1.96M | 6.68M |
| References added | 4.15K | 13.8K |
| Article views | 483K | 7.9M |
| Articles edited | 4.25K | 29.3K |
| Articles created | 973 | 2.02K |
| Wikimedia Commons – Data | Edition 2023 | Edition 2024 |
| Uploads | 3.75K | 3.92K |
| Wikidata – Data | Edition 2023 | Edition 2024 |
| Items created | 1.13K | 1.84K |
| Descriptions added | 1.14K | 4.1K |
| Labels added | 748 | 3.23K |
| Qualifiers added | 234 | 542 |
| References added | 238 | 29.3K |
| Lexemes created | 2 | 46 |
Monitoring these efforts through the Outreach Dashboard is a way to unify the various efforts of this collaborative network and to foster learning by sharing results and best practices.
The activities of the #EveryBookItsReader campaign can take many forms. One example comes from a Wiki contest held in Brazil in 2024; which will be repeated and built upon in 2025. The 2024 success was the result of a partnership between Wikimedia Brasil and two librarians, the contest invited the community to enrich Wikipedia with information about Brazilian books and authors. This year, to broaden the reach of the initiative, on April, in-person meetings will be organized in various Brazilian libraries and institutions, promoting collaborative writing on the largest online encyclopedia.
Wiki Encontro 2024, an in-person meeting held at Instituto de Pesquisa e Memória Pretos Novos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
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