Mind the Wikidata Gap Why You Should Care About Theological Data Gaps in Wikipedia’s Obscure Relative, and How You Can Do Something About It

Abstract

Wikidata, a community-curated knowledge base related to Wikipedia, affects our access to information, wielding more power than many realize. Seeing an opportunity for improving access to knowledge and promoting their collections, libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions have been experimenting with Wikidata in various ways. One burgeoning area of activity is in Wikidata’s scholarly citation data, but that participation has largely concentrated in the sciences, leaving a gap in its theological and religious studies coverage. This presentation demonstrates how this gap matters to theological libraries and shows how you can contribute to efforts to fill it, even in small ways. Delving into Wikidata can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. As long as you have basic computer skills, you can find a way to participate.