FAQ

1. How do I use your site?

There are multiple ways to use WKDL to find useful resources. From the home page, you can type keywords into the search box, browse collections or items, click on recently added items, or check out the featured collection and items. In any list of items or collections, you can sort by title, date added, or creator depending on what would be most helpful. These links are found on the top right of each list.

2. Do you have an advanced search?

Yes! Whenever you see the search box, you will see three dots next to it. Click on that button to search by query and/or record type or click on Advanced Search to see many more options to limit and guide your search.

3. How are items chosen for inclusion on WKDL?

Items are chosen by two staff members in the Office of the Gender and Women's Studies Librarian, one of whom is a librarian and the other is a librarian-in-training. We are intentional about the resources we choose to include in WKDL. First and foremost, we look for items that are freely available on the Internet that are by or about women and girls around the world. We focus on items that might take time or skills to find, items that include robust and pragmatic information that people from around the world can understand and adapt to their own circumstances, and for resources that are from a variety of viewpoints from academic to grassroots activism. We want to highlight work being done by women on the ground, that from women and organizations who otherwise might not have affiliations to higher education. We aim to boost the signal of as many local, women-run and women-focused resources and organizations as possible.

In addition, we look at things like:

Currency (Is the site being maintained?), accuracy (Is the information correct?),
Design (How usable is the site? Is it full of broken links or spelling errors?),
Content (Is the content relevant to what our users are looking for?),
Authority (Who is responsible for the site? Were people who the information affects included in its creation?),
Bias (From what perspective is the information being presented? What is the affiliation of the creator(s)?),
and more.

4. Can I make suggestions for resources to include on WKDL?

Yes, please do! We depend on you to let us know what organizations are doing great work in your country on the ground, to suggest resources that may be helpful to other women around the world. You can direct suggestions to Karla Strand at karla.strand@wisc.edu.

5. What are the goals for WKDL? Great question!

Currently, we are still moving items from the old site to this new Omeka platform. It is taking some time, so we appreciate your patience. We are beginning to look for funding that would help support our work with adding resources to WKDL and getting the word out about it around the world.

Ideally, we aim to begin to add original documents and records to the site from local grassroots organizations and individuals who may be interested in making their items available digitally. These could be working files, strategic plans, assessment plans, photographs, histories, publications, or other documents that the organization or individual would like to make digitally available to others. We want to help preserve your work as well as make it visible and usable to others! If you are interested in learning more about this possibility, please contact Karla Strand at karla.strand@wisc.edu.

6. How can I help?

In lots of ways!

Send us links and descriptions of resources we could add to WKDL that aren't there yet.
Let us know if you have a collection of documents that you would like to include.
If you are interested in making a monetary donation, we'd be happy to speak more with you.
If your organization is interested in partnering with us or sponsoring our work, we would love to discuss the possibilities!

Just contact Karla Strand at karla.strand@wisc.edu with any suggestions, ideas, questions, or comments.