Student Spotlight: Eito Okino, Wikipedian-In-Residence
In 2017 UO Special Collections and University Archives hired our first Wikipedian-in-Residence. One of our goals in SCUA is to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion by illuminating hidden histories and providing access to information. Wikipedia aims to make public information accessible by summarizing both scholarly and non-academic sources, citing information from a range of perspectives, using neutral language, and providing hyperlinks in over 200 languages. Wikipedian Eito Okino spent this past term improving Wikipedia articles and organizing a Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon focused on Asian and Pacific American history. He details his experience below.
Name: Eito Okino
Major: Human Physiology
Year in School: Undergraduate
Job in SCUA: Wikipedian-In-Residence
Tell us a little bit about what brought you to Special Collections and University Archives? What made you want to work here, as opposed to other places on campus?
I saw the job posting and I thought editing Wikipedia articles for the library was a unique job. I used to edit some Wikipedia articles back in high school so I thought it would be fun to learn more better ways to edit Wikipedia articles and start editing again.
I was also interested in SCUA and I had been here in the past to look at a couple collections, so that is what got me more interested in the position.