0:00:06.209,0:00:07.765
(speaking in Maori)

0:00:08.525,0:00:10.533
As has been explained,[br]I'm Siobhan Leachman.

0:00:10.533,0:00:12.604
I'm a Wikimedian from New Zealand.

0:00:12.604,0:00:14.440
I contribute to Wikidata,

0:00:14.440,0:00:18.113
as well as English Wikipedia[br]and the Wikimedia Commons.

0:00:18.113,0:00:20.400
I'd like to thank[br]the Wikimedia Foundation,

0:00:20.400,0:00:21.669
Wikimedia Deutschland,

0:00:21.669,0:00:22.680
and, in particular,

0:00:22.680,0:00:25.571
the organizing committee[br]of the WikidataCon

0:00:25.571,0:00:29.002
for enabling me to attend[br]this conference and present today.

0:00:31.100,0:00:32.336
Now, in this presentation,

0:00:32.336,0:00:34.422
I want to tell you about the vital role

0:00:34.422,0:00:39.565
I think Wikidata and Wikidata editors[br]can play in surfacing notable women.

0:00:39.565,0:00:41.481
I want to take you through my workflows,

0:00:41.481,0:00:45.981
ensuring that these underacknowledged[br]women and their work

0:00:45.981,0:00:47.895
can be added to Wikidata.

0:00:47.895,0:00:50.916
I want to show how the curation[br]of data on these women

0:00:50.916,0:00:54.981
can assist with the creation[br]of citable secondary sources.

0:00:55.917,0:00:58.067
This, in turn, can encourage and enable

0:00:58.067,0:01:00.381
the creation of Wikipedia articles[br]about these women

0:01:00.381,0:01:02.480
in a variety of languages.

0:01:03.620,0:01:04.804
Now, I'm sure you're aware

0:01:04.804,0:01:09.180
that Wikipedia editors are working hard[br]to write more articles on women.

0:01:09.750,0:01:13.152
Examples of projects[br]focusing on this type of work

0:01:13.152,0:01:19.110
are the Women in Red project[br]or the WikiProject Women Scientists.

0:01:21.032,0:01:23.103
But one of the main hurdles[br]I've experienced

0:01:23.103,0:01:25.589
when attempting to write[br]about women in Wikipedia

0:01:25.589,0:01:27.843
is the notability criteria.

0:01:27.843,0:01:29.266
When writing articles on women,

0:01:29.266,0:01:32.199
I've found this criteria[br]can be a challenge to achieve.

0:01:32.199,0:01:34.637
I've discovered women[br]are less likely to be written about

0:01:34.637,0:01:36.847
in citable secondary sources,

0:01:36.847,0:01:38.773
and this has particularly[br]been brought home to me

0:01:38.773,0:01:44.836
when I've attempted to write articles[br]about women and the scientists pre-1950.

0:01:44.836,0:01:46.744
However, just like in our Wiki projects,

0:01:46.744,0:01:50.831
there are plenty of researchers[br]and creators of secondary sources

0:01:50.831,0:01:53.551
out in the wider world[br]attempting to change this.

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They just need to be pointed[br]in the direction of these women,

0:01:56.306,0:01:59.159
and I believe Wikidata can be their arrow.

0:02:01.313,0:02:05.481
Now, yes, like Wikipedia,[br]Wikidata has a notability criteria

0:02:05.481,0:02:06.657
that must be met.

0:02:06.657,0:02:09.128
But this criteria is a much lower bar.

0:02:09.128,0:02:13.033
I'm advocating using Wikidata[br]to get a foot in the Wiki door

0:02:13.033,0:02:15.024
for unrepresented groups.

0:02:16.154,0:02:17.658
By adding these women to Wikidata,

0:02:17.658,0:02:19.143
editors can then make it easier

0:02:19.143,0:02:22.815
for the data about them[br]to be collated, curated, and linked.

0:02:22.815,0:02:26.990
In doing so, it would make it easier[br]for researchers and writers,

0:02:26.990,0:02:29.827
the generators of these vital[br]secondary sources,

0:02:29.827,0:02:31.004
to find these women

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and then to use the data[br]to guide their research.

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Once coverage reaches[br]the Wikipedia notability threshold,

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Wikipedia editors can then create articles[br]on these underrepresented people.

0:02:41.863,0:02:44.184
Now, I want to show you[br]how I put this into practice,

0:02:44.184,0:02:47.372
to take you through how I started[br]on this data journey,

0:02:47.372,0:02:49.426
and to give you examples[br]of the collaborations

0:02:49.426,0:02:52.321
I and others like me[br]have managed to forge,

0:02:52.321,0:02:54.579
enabling this type of work to be done.

0:02:55.719,0:03:00.127
Now, I tend to focus on data about women[br]in the field of natural history--

0:03:00.127,0:03:03.332
these women scientific illustrators,[br]collectors of specimens

0:03:03.332,0:03:07.454
as well as women scientists,[br]such as botanists and zoologists.

0:03:07.454,0:03:08.907
I became interested in these women

0:03:08.907,0:03:12.380
when I started volunteering[br]for the Smithsonian Transcription Center.

0:03:12.380,0:03:15.468
I helped transcribe[br]natural history specimens

0:03:15.468,0:03:18.656
or scientific handwritten field notebooks,

0:03:18.656,0:03:21.792
and, in doing so, I frequently[br]came across women,

0:03:21.792,0:03:24.651
many of whom had contributed[br]specimens to the Smithsonian

0:03:24.651,0:03:27.118
or had undertaken scientific research.

0:03:27.838,0:03:31.695
At the same time, I was volunteering[br]for the Biodiversity Heritage Library,

0:03:31.695,0:03:33.030
or BHL.

0:03:33.030,0:03:37.854
Now, BHL is the world's[br]largest open-access digital library

0:03:37.854,0:03:42.111
of biodiversity literature and archives.

0:03:42.111,0:03:45.468
Much of the biodiversity literature[br]they host is historic

0:03:45.468,0:03:47.521
and therefore in the public domain.

0:03:47.521,0:03:51.811
They've got an extensive collection[br]of scientific illustrations in Flickr.

0:03:51.811,0:03:55.834
So I would tag those images[br]with not just taxonomic names

0:03:55.834,0:03:58.389
but as well as illustrated tags.

0:03:58.389,0:04:02.695
That metadata is in turn ingested[br]and stored into BHL.

0:04:02.695,0:04:06.300
The hope is to use those tags[br]to become searchable

0:04:06.300,0:04:09.389
at some point in the future[br]on BHL's website.

0:04:09.389,0:04:14.831
But as an added bonus, many of these tags[br]have been incorporated into Wikicommons

0:04:15.338,0:04:18.874
as a result of those Flickr files[br]being bulk uploaded

0:04:18.874,0:04:21.410
by other Wikicommons editors.

0:04:21.410,0:04:24.146
It was while transcribing[br]with the Smithsonian

0:04:24.146,0:04:27.185
I met and started collaborating[br]with another volunteer,

0:04:27.185,0:04:28.536
Michelle Marshall.

0:04:28.536,0:04:30.324
Both of us were avid taggers

0:04:30.324,0:04:31.692
of BHL images,

0:04:31.692,0:04:32.961
and while doing this work,

0:04:32.961,0:04:37.043
both Michelle and I[br]were enthusiastically kept encouraged

0:04:37.043,0:04:41.786
by Grace Constantino, the BHL Outreach[br]and Communications Manager.

0:04:42.876,0:04:45.664
And while tagging, we would again[br]come across women,

0:04:45.914,0:04:48.119
so many women, amazing women,

0:04:48.119,0:04:51.507
about whom there appeared[br]little known or written.

0:04:51.507,0:04:54.696
Some of these women[br]would be illustrating multiple articles,

0:04:54.696,0:04:56.991
books, and scientific publications.

0:04:56.991,0:04:59.508
Others would be writing[br]the books or articles,

0:04:59.508,0:05:04.000
amassing collections of specimens,[br]or having species named after them.

0:05:04.000,0:05:09.029
Both Michelle and I were really keen[br]on making known more about these women,

0:05:09.029,0:05:11.674
but there was very little[br]about them on the internet.

0:05:11.674,0:05:12.808
Every once in a while,

0:05:12.808,0:05:15.919
there would be a women[br]who had significant coverage,

0:05:15.919,0:05:19.242
enough so there was a Wikipedia article[br]created about them,

0:05:19.242,0:05:21.994
but this was an exception[br]rather than the rule.

0:05:21.994,0:05:25.000
This lack of coverage[br]was frustrating to both of us,

0:05:25.000,0:05:28.795
and, as a result, I became keen[br]on learning how to edit Wikipedia.

0:05:29.925,0:05:34.711
Both the folk in the Smithsonian[br]and BHL were extremely encouraging.

0:05:34.711,0:05:36.797
They too were keen[br]on addressing this issue

0:05:36.797,0:05:38.384
of underrepresented women

0:05:38.384,0:05:41.231
and wanted to highlight[br]notable women in their collections

0:05:41.231,0:05:43.759
via various WikiProjects.

0:05:43.759,0:05:45.863
So both Michelle and I[br]started researching,

0:05:45.863,0:05:48.267
me with the aim of writing[br]Wikipedia articles,

0:05:48.267,0:05:52.785
her with the aim of writing blog posts[br]and enriching the BHL Instagram account.

0:05:54.044,0:05:57.665
Now, on the rare occasion we managed[br]to find enough sources and references

0:05:57.665,0:06:02.874
to get these women over[br]the English Wikipedia notability criteria,

0:06:02.874,0:06:04.576
I'd actually write an article.

0:06:04.576,0:06:07.949
But as I've explained, this tended to be[br]the exception rather than the rule.

0:06:07.949,0:06:10.903
Historically, much[br]of these women's illustration work

0:06:10.903,0:06:13.191
was not regarded[br]at the time of their creation

0:06:13.191,0:06:15.077
as being worthy of comment.

0:06:15.077,0:06:19.184
At most, they received a passing remark[br]in the reviews of the publication

0:06:19.184,0:06:22.640
or perhaps an acknowledgment[br]by the author of the work.

0:06:22.640,0:06:26.679
This lack results in them[br]being overlooked by library catalogs,

0:06:26.679,0:06:30.231
and they and their contributions[br]were simply not recorded.

0:06:30.231,0:06:32.741
They created scientific illustrations

0:06:32.741,0:06:35.695
so didn't tend[br]to exhibit in art galleries.

0:06:35.695,0:06:38.950
The art was created to enhance[br]the scientific publication

0:06:38.950,0:06:41.303
and wasn't treated as a stand-alone work,

0:06:41.303,0:06:44.024
worthy of critique and public display.

0:06:44.024,0:06:46.558
It was, therefore, very rare[br]to find enough sources

0:06:46.558,0:06:50.738
to get these women artists[br]over the notability hurdle.

0:06:50.738,0:06:52.252
But we tried.

0:06:52.822,0:06:55.476
Working together, Michelle and I[br]began researching these women

0:06:55.476,0:06:58.548
and gathering our information[br]into a Google spreadsheet,

0:06:58.548,0:07:02.140
Often, we'd track down enough data[br]to work out who they were,

0:07:02.140,0:07:05.142
the works they contributed to,[br]and who they worked for.

0:07:05.142,0:07:07.730
BHL recently enabled a full text search,

0:07:07.730,0:07:11.620
which has significantly improved[br]our ability to find information on them.

0:07:11.620,0:07:15.358
We'd search for and, if we were lucky,[br]find external identifiers,

0:07:15.358,0:07:17.413
such as the BHL creator ID

0:07:17.413,0:07:20.300
or the Stuttgart Scientific[br]Illustrators Database ID,

0:07:20.300,0:07:23.304
or if we were really lucky, a VIAF ID.

0:07:23.304,0:07:24.874
However, there was no guarantee

0:07:24.874,0:07:27.889
an external database[br]identifier would exist.

0:07:28.879,0:07:30.468
So we'd tag their plates in Flickr,

0:07:30.468,0:07:33.087
collate our research on these women[br]in our spreadsheets,

0:07:33.087,0:07:35.074
and then wait for more books and articles

0:07:35.074,0:07:38.112
and institution blogs[br]and research to be generated.

0:07:38.112,0:07:41.167
For me, getting them into Wikipedia[br]was the gold standard,

0:07:41.897,0:07:44.940
but I could stretch[br]the notability criteria only so far.

0:07:44.940,0:07:47.377
My first Wikipedia article[br]on a woman botanist

0:07:47.377,0:07:49.180
was nominated for deletion,

0:07:49.180,0:07:52.553
and ever since that experience,[br]I've been extremely careful

0:07:52.553,0:07:57.193
about ensuring I did everything possible[br]to meet the notability criteria.

0:07:57.193,0:07:58.929
But I was actively looking for ways

0:07:58.929,0:08:02.401
to make our work[br]more impactful and effective.

0:08:02.401,0:08:04.872
Now, at this point,[br]I know what you're thinking,

0:08:04.872,0:08:06.659
what about Wikidata?

0:08:06.659,0:08:08.578
And I completely agree.

0:08:08.578,0:08:12.818
As soon as I discovered Wikidata,[br]I took the leap and started editing.

0:08:12.818,0:08:14.605
But, again, unfortunately,

0:08:14.605,0:08:18.078
I came up against[br]the Wikidata notability criteria.

0:08:18.078,0:08:20.365
Early on, I had an item deleted

0:08:20.365,0:08:24.508
due to my failure to meet[br]even the Wikidata notability criteria.

0:08:24.938,0:08:28.060
I was having to meet even that low bar.

0:08:28.570,0:08:31.299
But this was all part[br]of my learning by mistakes,

0:08:31.299,0:08:34.476
and I soon adapted[br]my workflow to allow for this.

0:08:36.156,0:08:40.113
I realized I could ensure these women[br]met the Wikidata notability criteria

0:08:40.113,0:08:43.586
by creating at least[br]one valid WikiCite link.

0:08:43.586,0:08:45.377
So my workflow started

0:08:45.377,0:08:48.761
with me creating a Wikicommons[br]category page for these women

0:08:48.761,0:08:52.666
and then manually adding[br]this category to her illustrations,

0:08:52.666,0:08:55.388
the illustrations that had been[br]previously uploaded

0:08:55.388,0:08:57.224
from the BHL Flickr feed

0:08:57.224,0:09:00.239
into Wikicommons by other editors.

0:09:00.239,0:09:02.269
Once the category page was created,

0:09:02.269,0:09:04.619
I would then create[br]a Wikidata item for that woman,

0:09:04.619,0:09:07.107
including that category in the item.

0:09:07.946,0:09:09.093
I'd then begin to collate

0:09:09.093,0:09:11.673
all the information[br]and research we'd found out

0:09:11.673,0:09:13.467
about that particular woman.

0:09:13.917,0:09:17.782
I would autogenerate[br]a creator page in Wikicommons

0:09:17.782,0:09:19.727
via that Wikidata item.

0:09:19.727,0:09:24.238
I'd improve the structured data[br]of the scientific art in Wikicommons

0:09:24.238,0:09:27.656
by adding the creator markup[br]to each of her images.

0:09:27.656,0:09:30.828
And I believe this assists[br]with the structured data on Commons

0:09:30.828,0:09:34.241
as it links the Wikidata item[br]to the artist

0:09:34.241,0:09:37.006
and to the work in Commons.

0:09:37.006,0:09:39.443
I'd like to emphasize[br]this was a manual process.

0:09:39.443,0:09:42.070
I wasn't working from established dataset.

0:09:42.070,0:09:45.822
There is no established dataset[br]for these women that I can find.

0:09:48.509,0:09:51.830
I would also use the reference section[br]of the Wikidata statements,

0:09:51.830,0:09:54.266
not just to reference[br]the statements themselves,

0:09:54.266,0:09:56.153
but also with an eye to help collate

0:09:56.153,0:09:58.909
all the links we discovered[br]during our research.

0:09:58.909,0:10:00.877
I wanted to leave a research trail,

0:10:00.877,0:10:03.382
making it easier for me and others like me

0:10:03.382,0:10:04.730
to find these links

0:10:04.730,0:10:06.871
and then write either secondary sources

0:10:06.871,0:10:10.054
or, if appropriate,[br]a Wikipedia article on these women.

0:10:10.944,0:10:13.114
Obviously, if external[br]identifiers existed,

0:10:13.114,0:10:14.634
I wanted to include them.

0:10:14.634,0:10:16.069
Again, to my disappointment,

0:10:16.069,0:10:19.415
despite the prestige[br]of the works they were illustrating,

0:10:19.415,0:10:23.731
many of these women[br]were not listed in external databases.

0:10:23.731,0:10:25.480
I would always check VIAF,

0:10:25.480,0:10:28.244
the Virtual International[br]Authority File database.

0:10:28.244,0:10:29.775
But, from my personal experience,

0:10:29.775,0:10:32.647
there appears to be[br]a bias against illustrators,

0:10:32.647,0:10:34.482
no matter what their gender.

0:10:34.482,0:10:36.068
I admit this is anecdotal

0:10:36.068,0:10:39.875
because I'm unable to find[br]any research to support this.

0:10:39.875,0:10:44.131
But VIAF would often list[br]the author of the [inaudible] publication,

0:10:44.131,0:10:46.068
but not the illustrator.

0:10:46.068,0:10:47.554
And this would even be the case

0:10:47.554,0:10:51.394
even if the illustrations made up[br]a large proportion of the work,

0:10:51.394,0:10:55.409
or the woman was thanked profusely[br]on the dedication page.

0:10:57.553,0:11:00.908
I would also check the Stuttgart[br]Scientific Illustrators database.

0:11:00.908,0:11:02.862
This is one of the most[br]comprehensive databases

0:11:02.862,0:11:04.732
for scientific artists.

0:11:04.732,0:11:06.835
Sometimes the woman would be in there,

0:11:06.835,0:11:08.554
but sometimes not.

0:11:08.554,0:11:10.357
Although a fabulous starting point,

0:11:10.357,0:11:13.863
this database wasn't[br]as comprehensive as I needed.

0:11:13.863,0:11:17.903
But the wonderful thing about it[br]was how responsive its creator,

0:11:17.903,0:11:20.482
the History Department[br]of the University of Stuttgart,

0:11:20.482,0:11:22.427
was to emails.

0:11:22.427,0:11:24.463
Both Michelle and I would write to them,

0:11:24.463,0:11:28.980
including our research[br]on particular women illustrators,

0:11:28.980,0:11:31.441
asking for these women to be included.

0:11:31.441,0:11:33.596
Again, there is a threshold to this.

0:11:33.596,0:11:34.964
I certainly wouldn't write to them

0:11:34.964,0:11:37.302
unless I had reasonable[br]supporting evidence

0:11:37.302,0:11:39.481
to justify their inclusion.

0:11:39.481,0:11:42.962
But the information they needed[br]to generate an external identifier

0:11:42.962,0:11:47.535
was definitely less than what was needed[br]to do a Wikipedia article.

0:11:47.535,0:11:50.907
Folk in charge of this database[br]were very grateful for our input,

0:11:50.907,0:11:53.894
and once our research[br]was confirmed by them,

0:11:53.894,0:11:56.380
they would add these women[br]to their database

0:11:56.950,0:11:59.481
and then would generate[br]an external identifier.

0:11:59.481,0:12:04.796
They were also able to access resources[br]that neither Michelle nor I had access to.

0:12:04.796,0:12:09.170
Often, more data was added[br]on these women in the DSI database

0:12:09.170,0:12:11.743
as a result of their further research.

0:12:11.743,0:12:15.047
A Wikidata property had already[br]been created for this database,

0:12:15.047,0:12:16.448
and so once awarded,

0:12:16.448,0:12:20.534
it was an identifier I could then add[br]to the woman's Wikidata item.

0:12:22.676,0:12:27.406
Now, Michelle and I also contacted[br]the BHL about these women.

0:12:27.406,0:12:30.221
This is where our collaborative[br]relationship with Grace

0:12:30.221,0:12:31.790
came to the fore.

0:12:31.790,0:12:34.872
Grace would encourage us[br]to submit a request

0:12:34.872,0:12:38.480
that the woman's name be added[br]to the BHL catalog record.

0:12:38.480,0:12:42.040
This is a more convoluted process[br]than it might appear.

0:12:42.040,0:12:46.831
BHL metadata is sourced[br]from numerous contributing institutions.

0:12:47.431,0:12:49.602
Since it was a cataloging change,

0:12:49.602,0:12:54.027
the BHL protocol required that the change[br]be submitted as a change request

0:12:54.027,0:12:58.144
to the BHL cataloging group[br]for review and final approval.

0:12:58.634,0:13:01.740
So, again, to obtain[br]the change to the catalog

0:13:01.740,0:13:04.059
and the subsequent external identifier,

0:13:04.059,0:13:06.914
it wasn't an easy rubber stamp process.

0:13:06.914,0:13:10.371
We had to back up our request[br]with sources and proof

0:13:10.371,0:13:12.506
in order for the catalog to be changed.

0:13:12.506,0:13:15.394
However, because we were doing[br]this relatively frequently,

0:13:15.394,0:13:18.432
the catalog group[br]became used to our requests

0:13:18.432,0:13:20.896
and were very appreciative of our efforts.

0:13:21.506,0:13:24.105
If the necessary criteria was satisfied,

0:13:24.105,0:13:26.564
the institutions were prepared[br]to edit their metadata,

0:13:26.564,0:13:29.634
and in doing so,[br]create another external identifier,

0:13:29.634,0:13:31.905
the BHL creator ID.

0:13:31.905,0:13:34.710
At around the same time[br]we were undertaking this work,

0:13:34.710,0:13:37.517
BHL, in its intern program,

0:13:37.517,0:13:40.319
was collaborating[br]with other Wikidata editors.

0:13:40.319,0:13:45.060
The BHL resident [Katie Nika][br]was working with Andy [Mebert]

0:13:45.060,0:13:48.431
trialing adding[br]BHL creator IDs to Wikidata.

0:13:48.431,0:13:54.023
The original test case was 1,000 names[br]into the Mix-n-Match tool,

0:13:54.023,0:13:55.219
But, subsequently,

0:13:55.219,0:13:58.731
the whole created dataset[br]was uploaded into Mix-n-Match,

0:13:58.731,0:14:02.556
allowing the matching[br]of BHL dataset to Wikidata items.

0:14:02.556,0:14:07.017
This dataset is huge and continues[br]to be worked on by editors today.

0:14:07.697,0:14:09.098
Due to the lack of resources,

0:14:09.098,0:14:14.157
unfortunately, BHL can't continue[br]Katie's work in Wikidata,

0:14:14.157,0:14:17.713
but there are very encouraging[br]of folk reusing their data

0:14:17.713,0:14:20.293
and their collections and WikiProjects.

0:14:20.953,0:14:26.143
Now, editors have also approved[br]several BHL Wikidata properties,

0:14:26.143,0:14:28.096
not just for the creator ID,

0:14:28.096,0:14:32.453
but also the bibliographic ID,[br]page ID, and item ID.

0:14:32.453,0:14:35.541
And, as a result, it's now possible[br]to link these women illustrators

0:14:35.541,0:14:37.962
to their works via Wikidata.

0:14:37.962,0:14:41.668
Obtaining a creator ID[br]and therefore a Wikidata item

0:14:41.668,0:14:45.234
can ensure a cascade[br]of linked open data on them

0:14:45.234,0:14:48.913
that can raise the visibility[br]of these women to researchers.

0:14:48.913,0:14:51.417
Slowly, I began to feel[br]we were making real difference

0:14:51.417,0:14:52.870
in surfacing these women.

0:14:52.870,0:14:54.980
At least now when folk googled them

0:14:54.980,0:14:56.910
the Wikidata item would appear

0:14:56.910,0:15:00.632
and images they had created[br]would show up in the image feed.

0:15:00.632,0:15:05.189
Our research, tags, blogs,[br]Wikidata items, and external identifiers

0:15:05.189,0:15:06.659
brought about by our requests

0:15:06.659,0:15:07.983
were all coming together,

0:15:07.983,0:15:10.947
making these women[br]much more easier to discover.

0:15:11.667,0:15:14.365
Grace had already been using[br]our tagging work

0:15:14.365,0:15:16.409
in the BHL social media feeds

0:15:16.409,0:15:20.114
to highlight the illustrations[br]in the collections.

0:15:20.114,0:15:23.536
Member institution librarians[br]were writing blogs on these women

0:15:23.536,0:15:27.393
and raising their visibility[br]to a variety of audiences.

0:15:27.393,0:15:30.948
These edited, well researched[br]and referenced blogs

0:15:30.948,0:15:32.635
were a definite step in the ladder

0:15:32.635,0:15:36.853
towards obtaining citable sources[br]for Wikipedia articles.

0:15:37.693,0:15:39.395
But our work really came to the fore

0:15:39.395,0:15:42.230
when BHL held their "Her Natural History:

0:15:42.230,0:15:45.906
A Celebration of Women[br]in Natural History" campaign.

0:15:45.906,0:15:49.062
This was a multi-institutional,[br]multi-platform campaign

0:15:49.062,0:15:50.252
to raise awareness

0:15:50.252,0:15:53.969
and to celebrate the contributions[br]of women to natural history.

0:15:53.969,0:15:56.245
This campaign resulted[br]in numerous outcomes,

0:15:56.245,0:15:58.226
many of which had a direct impact

0:15:58.226,0:16:01.378
on the richness of the metadata[br]available on these women.

0:16:02.048,0:16:03.618
So the BHL cataloging group

0:16:03.618,0:16:06.510
added more female contributors[br]to the BHL catalog,

0:16:06.510,0:16:09.254
generating more external identifiers.

0:16:09.254,0:16:11.981
More images by the women[br]were added to the Flickr feed,

0:16:11.981,0:16:14.954
and these were either[br]in the public domain or openly licensed

0:16:14.954,0:16:17.507
so were able to be uploaded[br]into Wikicommons.

0:16:17.507,0:16:18.995
Numerous blog posts were written

0:16:18.995,0:16:21.314
by the employees[br]of the member institutions.

0:16:21.314,0:16:25.070
Some of these blogs used the research[br]Michelle and I had undertaken

0:16:25.070,0:16:26.071
as a starting point,

0:16:26.071,0:16:28.262
picking it up and running with it.

0:16:28.262,0:16:29.497
These blogs often resulted

0:16:29.497,0:16:32.666
in the discovery of new resources[br]and sources of information

0:16:32.666,0:16:34.352
that assisted in pushing[br]some of the women

0:16:34.352,0:16:37.589
over the notability threshold[br]for a Wikipedia article.

0:16:37.589,0:16:40.862
During the campaign, there were also[br]three Wikimedia workshops:

0:16:40.862,0:16:42.598
the Wikimedia District of Columbia

0:16:42.598,0:16:44.953
ran a workshop concentrating[br]on generating and improving

0:16:44.953,0:16:47.106
Wikipedia articles on these women;

0:16:47.106,0:16:50.579
two additional workshops[br]were organized by Esther Jackson

0:16:50.579,0:16:53.422
and jointly hosted[br]by the New York Botanical Garden

0:16:53.422,0:16:56.005
and the Wikimedia New York City.

0:16:56.005,0:16:59.860
The first workshop focused[br]on editing tags to the BHL Flickr feed

0:16:59.860,0:17:04.217
and the second workshop focused[br]on editing Wikidata and Wikicommons.

0:17:04.217,0:17:06.555
These events made use[br]of research [inaudible]

0:17:06.555,0:17:09.559
that Michelle and I had undertaken[br]in the preceding years.

0:17:09.559,0:17:10.747
Worklists were generated

0:17:10.747,0:17:13.415
by both the spreadsheets[br]Michelle and I had created,

0:17:13.415,0:17:16.991
as well as from Wikidata items[br]that I, along with other editors,

0:17:16.991,0:17:18.557
had helped create.

0:17:18.557,0:17:22.136
And this campaign, I think,[br]shows how effective Wikidata can be

0:17:22.136,0:17:25.084
in assisting with[br]the interlinking of knowledge.

0:17:25.084,0:17:27.605
The Wikidata items became[br]a leaping-off point,

0:17:27.605,0:17:30.136
providing a framework enabling research

0:17:30.136,0:17:33.698
to be collated and writing to commence.

0:17:35.918,0:17:37.921
Now, this is just one example[br]of a collaboration

0:17:37.921,0:17:40.852
that can improve linked[br]open data on these women.

0:17:40.852,0:17:43.197
Once these women[br]have a presence on Wikidata,

0:17:43.197,0:17:45.504
the item itself can be put to use.

0:17:45.504,0:17:46.613
An example of this

0:17:46.613,0:17:49.107
is women natural history[br]specimen collectors.

0:17:49.107,0:17:52.228
Many underacknowledged women[br]contributed to scientific knowledge,

0:17:52.228,0:17:54.361
collecting specimens,

0:17:54.361,0:17:57.188
and these are held[br]in museums and herbaria.

0:17:57.188,0:17:59.509
As more and more[br]of these collections are digitized,

0:17:59.509,0:18:02.363
more of the collectors[br]are coming out of the woodwork.

0:18:02.363,0:18:03.781
There are now sites being developed

0:18:03.781,0:18:07.035
to assist scientists in getting[br]the recognition they deserve

0:18:07.035,0:18:09.441
from their fieldwork and collecting.

0:18:09.441,0:18:12.811
The site I've recently been utilizing[br]is Bloodhound Tracker.

0:18:12.811,0:18:16.033
It uses the ORCID ID or the Wikidata item

0:18:16.033,0:18:19.062
to link the collector[br]to their collected specimen

0:18:19.062,0:18:23.663
via the Global Biodiversity[br]Information Facility, or GBIF.

0:18:23.663,0:18:29.071
Collection information is a rich vein[br]of data on early woman scientists,

0:18:29.071,0:18:32.878
particularly as at that time,[br]they'd been unable to publish works

0:18:32.878,0:18:34.698
or join scientific societies

0:18:34.698,0:18:36.992
due to the social norms of the day.

0:18:36.992,0:18:39.790
Wikidata can be used[br]to collect information on these women,

0:18:39.790,0:18:46.350
linking the information held on them[br]from archives, libraries, and museums,

0:18:46.350,0:18:49.672
or to the scientific literature,[br]based on the specimens they've collected,

0:18:49.672,0:18:52.226
or the species[br]that have been named after them.

0:18:52.226,0:18:54.166
Once a Wikidata item is created

0:18:54.166,0:18:56.466
and sufficient metadata[br]has been added to it,

0:18:56.466,0:18:57.741
the Bloodhound Tracker site

0:18:57.741,0:19:01.774
will then automatically ingest details[br]about those women into its site.

0:19:01.774,0:19:04.830
Contributors can help those women[br]claim their collections,

0:19:04.830,0:19:07.217
enriching not just the linked open data,

0:19:07.217,0:19:10.510
but ensuring these women[br]get the credit for their vital work.

0:19:10.510,0:19:14.229
But, again, Wikidata notability criteria[br]can be a challenge.

0:19:14.229,0:19:16.165
If the women collected significantly

0:19:16.165,0:19:17.189
but didn't contribute

0:19:17.189,0:19:19.730
either to the published record[br]or as an illustrator,

0:19:19.730,0:19:23.677
it can be difficult to hurdle[br]the notability criteria for Wikidata.

0:19:23.677,0:19:26.465
However, as more and more libraries,[br]archives, and museums,

0:19:26.465,0:19:33.026
and genealogical databases are gaining[br]Wikidata external identifiers,

0:19:33.026,0:19:34.822
it's becoming easier for these women

0:19:34.822,0:19:37.233
to become notable[br]for the purposes of Wikidata

0:19:37.233,0:19:40.671
and then use Wikidata[br]to link them to their works.

0:19:40.671,0:19:43.210
I believe similar workflows[br]to what I've outlined

0:19:43.210,0:19:46.081
can be used for other[br]underrepresented groups.

0:19:46.081,0:19:49.992
By actively working to achieve[br]the notability criteria for Wikidata,

0:19:49.992,0:19:52.141
and then expanding the Wikidata items

0:19:52.141,0:19:55.225
to highlight the contributions[br]of underrepresented people,

0:19:55.905,0:19:58.231
it's possible to improve their visibility.

0:19:58.231,0:20:01.422
This, in turn, assists with the generation[br]of secondary sources

0:20:01.422,0:20:03.675
and creates a virtual cycle

0:20:03.675,0:20:06.548
of information creation,[br]sharing, and linking.

0:20:06.548,0:20:08.568
By being proactive and collaborative,

0:20:08.568,0:20:12.307
it's possible to work towards[br]eliminating underrepresentation.

0:20:12.857,0:20:14.076
Thank you.

0:20:14.076,0:20:16.197
(applause)

0:20:28.797,0:20:31.304
(women) Have you found any publication

0:20:31.304,0:20:38.065
in which all of the illustrations[br]actually need their own item?

0:20:39.242,0:20:41.837
I think there will be;[br]there definitely is.

0:20:41.837,0:20:44.926
But if I went down that rabbit hole...

0:20:46.986,0:20:48.432
I've got to stop somewhere,

0:20:48.432,0:20:50.419
and I'm just trying[br]to concentrate on the women.

0:20:50.419,0:20:56.613
But, yes, there are classics[br]of biodiversity literature

0:20:56.613,0:21:01.904
that not only should have[br]an item for the book itself

0:21:01.904,0:21:03.823
but also for each illustration.

0:21:03.823,0:21:06.461
I mean, Elizabeth Gould[br]immediately springs to mind.

0:21:06.461,0:21:08.113
Every piece of art that she ever did--

0:21:08.113,0:21:10.033
(woman) I would just say Maria Sibylla...

0:21:10.033,0:21:12.482
Yep, she's a classic too.

0:21:18.030,0:21:20.200
(man) James [Heald].[br]While you've been working on this,

0:21:20.200,0:21:22.949
do you think that the way[br]the notability criteria

0:21:22.949,0:21:25.229
have been being applied has changed?

0:21:25.229,0:21:27.947
- Is there are drift in a good direction?[br]- Yes, I do think it has.

0:21:29.477,0:21:32.212
Other than that first item being...

0:21:32.982,0:21:35.004
I admit it was partially my mistake.

0:21:35.004,0:21:38.313
I did the item, and I didn't have[br]an external identifiers,

0:21:38.313,0:21:43.270
and it seemed, because of the lack[br]of the information I provided,

0:21:43.270,0:21:45.223
I am not surprised it got deleted.

0:21:45.223,0:21:46.993
Now I'm more experienced.

0:21:47.333,0:21:50.331
But, saying that, I'm pretty sure[br]I could put the same thing in nowadays

0:21:50.331,0:21:51.774
and it wouldn't get deleted.

0:21:51.774,0:21:53.453
I actually do think it has improved.

0:22:01.708,0:22:03.187
(James [Heald]) Different question.

0:22:03.187,0:22:05.223
I've seen on your Twitter sometimes,

0:22:05.223,0:22:08.897
you've found women's work[br]credited to their husbands.

0:22:08.897,0:22:10.992
- Oh God, yes![br]- Would you say a bit more about that?

0:22:11.952,0:22:14.258
Okay, there's a whole problem...

0:22:16.328,0:22:18.323
Specifically, what gets me

0:22:18.323,0:22:20.683
having to be peeling myself[br]off the ceiling with rage

0:22:20.683,0:22:23.904
is when the women botanists[br]go out and collect

0:22:23.904,0:22:28.195
and they're known[br]under their marriage name,

0:22:28.195,0:22:32.741
and then they put[br]their specimens into the herbaria

0:22:32.741,0:22:34.505
and the herbaria have a database,

0:22:34.505,0:22:35.989
they transcribe the names,

0:22:35.989,0:22:38.987
but they don't have[br]a space in their database

0:22:38.987,0:22:41.503
for the vital, important missus.

0:22:41.503,0:22:45.940
And so what happens is that always,

0:22:45.940,0:22:47.342
if it's pre-1950

0:22:47.342,0:22:49.078
and the guy's known for being prolific,

0:22:49.078,0:22:50.347
check his wife,

0:22:50.347,0:22:53.669
because most of the time[br]either she's typing

0:22:53.669,0:22:56.440
and helping him produce[br]the scientific papers

0:22:56.440,0:22:58.827
or she's out there collecting with him.

0:22:58.827,0:23:02.183
Yes, that's a definite problem[br]that I have been raising

0:23:02.183,0:23:03.384
with a lot of the herbaria.

0:23:03.384,0:23:04.386
They just keep saying,

0:23:04.386,0:23:07.274
"Our database doesn't have[br]a place for the missus,"

0:23:07.274,0:23:10.250
and I say, "Find a place[br]because it's important."

0:23:10.793,0:23:11.957
Yeah.

0:23:18.347,0:23:20.679
(man 2) What other domains[br]will you copy this to?

0:23:20.679,0:23:23.902
Because you're now doing it[br]for a very specific subject.

0:23:23.902,0:23:25.254
What comes to mind?

0:23:29.108,0:23:30.321
It's a good question.

0:23:33.771,0:23:36.856
I think anything[br]where people get disappeared,

0:23:36.856,0:23:39.761
where they're not credited for their work,

0:23:41.261,0:23:42.882
it tends to be where they get lost.

0:23:42.882,0:23:46.872
So something historic[br]and the data just isn't linked.

0:23:46.872,0:23:50.111
For me, women are the classic example.

0:23:50.111,0:23:53.098
But I also think if there's, for example--

0:23:54.598,0:23:59.542
one that does spring to mind[br]is artists in New Zealand,

0:23:59.542,0:24:05.231
Maori artists, for example,[br]who get acknowledged to oral history,

0:24:05.231,0:24:07.623
but there are no written works,

0:24:07.623,0:24:13.181
and so the scholarship could possibly be[br]a problem later on down the track.

0:24:13.971,0:24:18.624
I think that was a group that's ripe[br]for using this type of work,

0:24:18.624,0:24:20.393
to try and get identifiers for them,

0:24:20.393,0:24:23.064
to make them more notable,[br]to get them into Wikidata,

0:24:23.064,0:24:26.270
so that then researchers[br]are pointed towards them

0:24:26.270,0:24:29.932
and can start doing the research[br]needed to rediscover them.

0:24:36.853,0:24:39.744
(woman 2) Okay, so I do[br]a lot with women artists,

0:24:39.744,0:24:44.489
and what I've found,[br]apart from the married name thing,

0:24:44.489,0:24:48.259
is they also tend to stay local,

0:24:48.259,0:24:51.294
so they don't move and cross borders.

0:24:51.294,0:24:54.266
It turns out notability[br]is very highly correlated

0:24:54.266,0:24:56.670
with the number of borders[br]you cross in your lifetime.

0:24:56.670,0:24:58.377
Right, yeah.

0:24:59.717,0:25:02.395
To tell you the truth,[br]I actually find that a benefit.

0:25:02.395,0:25:05.668
It's much easier to disambiguate[br]someone if they don't shift.

0:25:05.668,0:25:07.870
If they've been in one place,

0:25:07.870,0:25:10.234
you can then find the database,

0:25:10.234,0:25:13.399
like the births or deaths[br]or marriages database,

0:25:13.399,0:25:18.188
and you can work out[br]on the basis of their address

0:25:18.188,0:25:22.194
or you can find them[br]a lot easier if they don't shift.

0:25:22.194,0:25:26.571
It's when they shift, and they change[br]from maiden name to married name

0:25:26.571,0:25:29.040
that it can get really difficult.

0:25:29.040,0:25:30.249
(woman 2) Yeah.

0:25:35.090,0:25:36.868
(woman 3) Just adding to the question

0:25:36.868,0:25:40.331
that was asked earlier[br]in what field you could use this.

0:25:40.981,0:25:46.850
If it's a case where people[br]are disappearing or are not visible,

0:25:46.850,0:25:49.231
meaning that for women, in my opinion,

0:25:49.231,0:25:51.107
that would mean like everywhere.

0:25:51.107,0:25:52.184
Yeah.

0:25:54.194,0:25:57.902
(woman 3) One of the things I work on[br]is Delftware pottery workshops,

0:25:57.902,0:26:02.193
and that was an official job[br]in the 17th century.

0:26:02.193,0:26:08.152
And when the potter died,[br]there needed to be a new potter

0:26:08.152,0:26:15.080
that was inscribed[br]in the official guild book,

0:26:15.080,0:26:17.497
- unless his wife could take over.[br]- Ah!

0:26:17.497,0:26:20.394
(woman 3) And then she could take over[br]without that diploma,

0:26:20.394,0:26:21.808
or whatever you want to call it,

0:26:21.808,0:26:23.264
sometimes for years.

0:26:24.094,0:26:26.582
And it would be attributed to her husband?

0:26:26.582,0:26:31.925
(woman 3) Yes, because the pottery[br]is always attributed to the owner.

0:26:34.045,0:26:37.300
And they're like one line[br]in the official encyclopedias...

0:26:37.300,0:26:38.451
This doesn't surprise me.

0:26:38.451,0:26:41.557
...where the women are like taking care[br]of the business for 10 years

0:26:41.557,0:26:44.394
[and say for a job][br]of their husband for two years,

0:26:44.394,0:26:46.865
but all the pottery items[br]would be marked--

0:26:46.865,0:26:51.105
I think this is a really good example[br]of how Wikidata can actually be used

0:26:51.105,0:26:52.775
to surface these women

0:26:52.775,0:26:55.981
and have something[br]to hang the scholarship off,

0:26:55.981,0:26:58.073
so that then, eventually,

0:26:58.073,0:27:03.659
the more people who don't struggle[br]to try and find the base information

0:27:03.659,0:27:06.752
can then start the research,[br]and the in-depth research

0:27:06.752,0:27:08.901
that's required to surface these women.

0:27:08.901,0:27:12.290
Wikidata, I think, is the easy way[br]to have a framework,

0:27:13.050,0:27:16.816
a skeleton to hang the bare data[br]that you've got on

0:27:16.816,0:27:19.818
to enable that research to happen.

0:27:19.818,0:27:21.087
Yeah.

0:27:22.173,0:27:24.665
(man 3) I'm sorry we are out of time.

0:27:24.665,0:27:27.522
We have the lunch break now, so thank you.

0:27:27.522,0:27:29.695
Well, come talk to me[br]if anyone else has any questions.

0:27:29.695,0:27:31.480
(applause)