15 September
We are working with Wikimedia UK to improve online articles relating to The National Archives, as part of the GLAMwiki (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) initiative.
Wikipedia is the seventh most popular site on the internet. It is the first place that many people go to find information and it is home to a vibrant community of editors. Around 40,000 people contribute to English-language Wikipedia each month and we want their help, and yours, to share and improve knowledge about our collections across Wikipedia, WikiCommons and Wikisource.
Visit The National Archives' project page on English language Wikipedia and find out how you can participate - from translating articles and carrying out research to giving us your ideas about where we should take this exciting collaboration next.
Quick access to museum artefact information on your smartphone
As part of this project to increase digital engagement we have used the QRpedia service to link some of our museum exhibits to articles on Wikipedia. In the on site museum at Kew, visitors can use their smartphones to scan QR (quick response) codes next to the exhibits. QR codes are barcodes that can be read by smartphones to link physical and virtual documents.
The QR codes will allow visitors to the museum to explore more information on particular displays than can physically be provided on written captions. They can also deliver pages (where they exist) in the language of the user's handset.
Visitors to the museum will also be invited to contribute their knowledge to The National Archives-related articles on Wikipedia.
