Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
News

Ford Presidential Library Hires a ‘Wikipedian in Residence’

By Jake New January 28, 2013
Michael Barera
Michael BareraJay Jackson, U. of Michigan

When Michael Barera began frequently editing Wikipedia content in 2007, he made his edits under the user name TFCforever, a reference to his favorite soccer team, the Toronto Football Club.

Some five years later, Mr. Barera, now a master’s student at the University of Michigan School of Information, has a new user name (his own) and a new internship title to go with it: “Wikipedian in residence” at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

When Michael Barera began frequently editing Wikipedia content in 2007, he made his edits under the user name TFCforever, a reference to his favorite soccer team, the Toronto Football Club.

Some five years later, Mr. Barera, now a master’s student at the University of Michigan School of Information, has a new user name (his own) and a new internship title to go with it: “Wikipedian in residence” at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.

The library, housed at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor’s north campus, is the first presidential library in the United States to hire a Wikipedian in residence.

It’s a position that now exists at several institutions, including the National Archives and the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, with the British Museum being widely cited as the first place to hire a Wikipedian in residence, in 2010. Until he learned of that hire, Mr. Barera says, he had never thought of editing Wikipedia in-house at an archive, library, or museum.

“This was a Smithsonian-level, incredible institution, so right off the bat it gave the position a legitimacy,” Mr. Barera says. “And I thought, ‘Wow, this is a possibility.’”

One of Mr. Barera’s main efforts has been uploading images to Wikimedia Commons, an online database of more than 15 million files that are free to use. Of the 2,100 of his own images he has added to the database, he says, nearly 200 are in use on Wikipedia.

“This is stuff I created just for the heck of it, something as simple as I wanted a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, but then it’s shared and other people are benefiting from it,” Mr. Barera says.

In 2012, Mr. Barera found like-minded students when he joined the Michigan Wikipedians, a club that was the first of its kind at an American university. Then, last fall, Mr. Barera and the Michigan Wikipedians attended a Wikimedia Foundation seminar where he met Bettina Cousineau, the exhibit specialist at the Ford Library and Museum.

The master’s student soon began volunteering at the library, finding Wikipedia articles about President Ford for the library and museum’s staff to fact-check, among other tasks. That led to his internship as the library’s Wikipedian in residence, which began in January.

His job is to foster and maintain a relationship between the library and the Wikipedia community. Mr. Barera says he has seen institutions in the past—like the German archives Bundesarchiv and Deutsche Fotothek—start similar positive connections with Wikipedia before, only to see the affiliation fizzle out over time.

“They kind of soured at the end,” he says. “I don’t want that to happen at the Ford library.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
The Workplace Libraries
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Protesters attend a demonstration in support of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, March 10, 2025, in New York.
First Amendment Rights
Noncitizen Professors Testify About Chilling Effect of Others’ Detentions
Photo-based illustration of a rock preciously suspended by a rope over three beakers.
Broken Promise
U.S. Policy Made America’s Research Engine the Envy of the World. One President Could End That.
lab-costs-promo.jpg
Research Expenses
What Does It Cost to Run a Lab?
Research illustration Microscope
Dreams Deferred
How Trump’s Cuts to Science Funding Are Derailing Young Scholars’ Careers

From The Review

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky
Photo-based illustration depicting a close-up image of a mouth of a young woman with the letter A over the lips and grades in the background
The Review | Opinion
When Students Want You to Change Their Grades
By James K. Beggan
Photo-based illustration of a student and a professor, each occupying a red circle in a landscape of scribbles.
The Review | Opinion
Meet Students Where They Are? Maybe Not.
By Mark Horowitz

Upcoming Events

Chronfest25_Virtual-Events_Page_862x574.png
Chronicle Festival: Innovation Amid Uncertainty
07-16-Advising-InsideTrack - forum assets v1_Plain.png
The Evolving Work of College Advising
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin