Wikipedia:Meetup/Chicago 11

Chicago Meetup

You're invited to an all-day edit-a-thon at the Joseph Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago!

With the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC), we are celebrating Women's History Month and aiming to improve Wikipedia's biographical coverage of women!

Shortcut

WP:SCRC

Click here for resources to get started for the event.

What, Where, and When?

Joseph Regenstein Library!

What? Editors of all experience levels are invited to: Help build and improve topics about women (biographies, organizations, events) in conjunction with the Special Collections Research Center. Here are just a few of the many resources available:

We'll be focusing our article work on topics such as:

Georgiana Simpson (Second black woman to be awarded a PhD in the U.S.)
University of Chicago Settlement House
Marlene Dixon (currently a redirect to Democratic Workers Party)

...and improving some existing biographies such as:

Where?

The Special Collections Research Center at the Regenstein Library, 1100 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60637-1596 ^{Google Maps link}

Nearest Transit Stations:

Red Line (Garfield)

After arriving at Garfield, take the 55 Bus eastward to 55th and Ellis and walk south along Ellis. Look to your left once you're approaching 57th & Ellis to find the Library.

Metra Electric (55th–56th–57th Street)

South Shore Line (55th–56th–57th Street)

Walk west along 56th. After passing University Ave, head south along a campus pathway that will lead you to the Library, which will be on your right.

Nearest Bus Lines: The Library recommends the #6 Jackson Park Express bus from downtown. Get off the bus at E. 57th Street and S. Stony Island. The library will be a 13 minute walk straight down 57th Street from the bus stop.

Parking: The closest parking garage to the library is located at Ellis Avenue and 55th Street. The visitor parking rate at Ellis Garage is $4 an hour, with a maximum charge of $20 for 24 hours.

When?

Wednesday, April 15th from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM.

What else do I need to know?

Please bring a photo ID (such as a driver's license or state ID) and arrive a little early to register for a day pass to the library. Registration is at the ID and Privileges Office at the front of entrance of Regenstein. Show your ID and be sure to mention you are attending the Wikipedia event in Special Collections. You will be not be charged for the day pass for the event.
Please register an account prior to the event if you do not have one yet. There are many benefits to having an account, like being able to make your own username and track your contributions.
Please bring your own laptops and power cords if you are able. Some laptops may be available to borrow, but please bring your own if you can. Plenty of desktops throughout the library will be available for use.
Free lockers will be provided for your personal belongings. Things like coats, backpacks, pens, and other materials are prohibited in certain areas of the Special Collections. See Reading Room guidelines here.
Free pizza will be provided for edit-a-thon participants. Food and drink will need to be restricted to certain areas in accordance with the Special Collections policies.

Join us!

Thanks everyone for a great event. Outcomes from the event are posted below.

Haven't edited Wikipedia before? No problem. Editors of all experience levels are welcome. We'll help you get setup with an account and get you started about how to edit Wikipedia. Let us know if you are coming by signing in below using four tildes (~~~~).

I'll be there!

I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 17:59, 24 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. I adjusted my travel itinerary accordingly. Tax Day, eh? I hope to hijack everybody at the conclusion of the day to Nightwish concert at Concord Music Hall, 2047 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, Doors: 6:00pm, Show: 6:45pm, Ages: ALL AGES, Tickets: $44.50 adv / $47.50 dos. The show is sold out and I do not have any tickets, but hey. It is N i g h t w i s h: it's also on the 18th, not 15th, so appropriate for our Pritzker powwow. --Mareklug ^talk 14:21, 4 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
. Buster Seven Talk 19:45, 6 April 2015 (UTC). I'll be there..~~.unless the Cubs are still winless in which case I will most likely be in the basement watching old tapes of the '69 team.~~ Although chances of a perfect season are no longer possible, 161-1 is still do-able!. . Buster Seven Talk 18:46, 9 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Airplaneman ✈ 21:25, 15 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for a great event. Beauxlieux (talk) 15:01, 16 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I might be able to make it

--Qazwiz (talk) 13:17, 8 April 2015 (UTC) but much more likely than the march event, sorry i didn't make it, here's hoping[reply]

I definitely can't make it, but contact me about future meetups

czar ⨹ 23:29, 3 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Orange Mike | Talk 00:01, 4 April 2015 (UTC) - gotta work during the week[reply]

Questions?

Please feel free to use the talk page to ask any questions about the event. Thanks!

Outcomes

Attendees

Article creation

Thalia Mara
Georgiana Simpson (currently drafted at User:I JethroBT/Georgiana)

Article improvements

Editing by the numbers

During the event, we collectively...

...contributed about 25 hours of time to learning about and editing Wikipedia,
...added 6403 bytes of information to Wikipedia pages/drafts,
...made 27 discrete edits to Wikipedia articles (Some edits were quite substantial, e.g. [1], [2]),
...added or began drafts for 2 new articles,
...and improved 5 existing articles! Some topics, like Maude Hutchins have continued to be worked on beyond the event.

Photos

I JethroBT presenting some fundamentals on articles and editing
The Special Collections reading room, fully prepared with great resources for the event thanks to the SCRC staff
Obligatory editing action shot: So much excitement!