GLAM on tour at the JMB

The program for participants featured writing workshops, talks on the museum’s history and architecture, and input on topics from the collection and exhibitions. Equipped with plenty of new knowledge and even more new questions, the Wikipedians immersed themselves in museum life for three days. Which articles are missing from the online encyclopedia? Which could usefully be expanded using new information and images? How can Jewish themes be more strongly anchored in Wikipedia?

Some of the volunteer authors contributed their own projects, while others drew inspiration from the museum’s featured themes. As a result, 21 biographical articles were produced that very weekend, most of them focusing on Jewish women such as Bettina Adler, Clara de Hirsch, or the female members of the Rothschild family, as well as on Alexander Gutfeld and Theodor Schocken. In addition, 14 thematic articles were published, dealing with Jewish cemeteries in Brandenburg or the Beelitz Jewish Educational Institution. It became clear: Many articles on Jewish traditions and holidays are often brief or even contain errors. The consensus after three days: There is still much to research, write, correct, and explore in greater depth to adequately represent Jewish topics and perspectives on Wikipedia. The GLAM on tour stop at the JMB marked the beginning of this effort.  

GLAM on tour

The Wikimedia Foundation’s GLAM on tour project ‒ GLAM stands for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums ‒  encourages local-level networking between Wikipedia volunteers and cultural institutions. Wikipedians and those working in cultural bodies will get to know each other, creating and cultivating personal relationships between Wikipedia groups and cultural institutions. The objective is to build long-term collaborations that will give rise to trustworthy and freely accessible Wikipedia content.

Digital Museum

In both the physical and the digital world, the JMB is the central platform for Jewish history and culture in Germany. It gives people all over the world the opportunity to freely access its materials. That includes building collaborative projects designed to embed the museum in society and reinforce solidarity. The JMB is happy to have the Wikimedia Foundation, which supports Wikipedia, as its partner in the open distribution of reliable knowledge about Jewish themes and perspectives.