SJSU iSchool lecturer Laurie Putnam is looking for Info 298: Special Studies students to join the LIS Publications Wiki team. (Here’s more info on Info 298.)
The LIS Publications Wiki helps LIS professionals and students research publications and find the best venues and opportunities for publishing their writing. Used worldwide, the wiki is a collection of profiles that describe the contents and audiences of scholarly, professional, and lay publications of interest to the LIS community. We also include publishers of LIS books.
Join our team!
We currently have an opening for one or two students to support wiki content development and editing. Working with a small team, your job will involve:
- Fact checking, updating, and proofreading existing publication profiles to make sure they are accurate and useful. This coming semester our top priority is to complete an update of the LIS Scholarly Journals section, which covers a wide variety of publications on different aspects of library and information science, from school librarianship to technical services. Depending on the the interests of the team, we may also begin to tackle updates of the LIS Book Publishers and Civilian Publications sections.
- Researching and developing new publication profiles and adding them to the wiki. See Works in Progress for examples of publications we’d like to add. You may know of more!
- Writing wiki blog posts.
- Participating in other wiki support activities as time allows. Activities can vary depending on your skills and interests. Many Info 298 students have come back for a second semester to do specialized projects like create wiki user tutorials, develop tagging systems, solve technical WordPress problems, or write articles about the wiki to help spread the word in the LIS community.
What’s in it for you?
You will have an opportunity to:
- Earn three units of credit in Info 298: Special Studies (135 hours of work required).
- Put your research, writing, and editing skills to work.
- Learn about the variety of publications in which LIS professionals—perhaps you!—might want to publish.
- Learn to use or practice using WordPress and wikis (we are using a wiki plugin for WordPress).
- Work entirely remotely.
- Develop a resource that is used by LIS professionals and students around the world.
- Round out your resume with some unique and practical experience!
I just started working as an intern at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this summer. My boss told me I was accepted over other candidates because of the work I did on the wiki! He thought it sounded fascinating. The wiki project has had a large effect on my life already!
—Cathryn Gowen, Info 298 student
The skills we’re looking for
Please note that this is an editorial position, not a technical position. In addition to having completed the core courses, you will need to have:
- Top-notch research, analysis, writing, and editing skills
- Detail orientation and meticulous proofreading skills
- The ability to work independently and to collaborate with a team
- An interest in publishing
- Experience with WordPress and basic HTML (preferred)
To be eligible, you must have already completed Info 200, 202, and 204.
Interested?
If this sounds like the project for you, send an email cover letter, resume, list of courses completed, and anticipated graduation date to laurie [dot] putnam [at] wnxt.org. If you are interested in a particular aspect of the wiki and/or a particular type of library or library work (academic libraries, public libraries, book publishing, outreach, technology, etc.), please share that information as well. We appreciate your interest in the project!
(P.S. We expect to have additional openings for team members in future semesters. If you’re interested in the wiki but your dance card is full at the moment, contact Laurie anyway, and let’s keep in touch.)
(P.P.S. Occasionally we have a need for a WordPress expert who can help us with development. If you’re curious about this opportunity and have ideas about how we can improve the user experience on the wiki, contact Laurie.)
I was recently hired as the virtual services librarian at my local public library, where I will be in charge of website and database management. During the interview process, I was able to leverage my experience with the LIS Wiki as relevant experience. The interview team was very impressed at the work that is done on the wiki (not just by myself but also by others)!—Bethany Baker, Info 298 student