Wikipedia:Past Masters

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Past Masters
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The Past Masters database is a collection of definitive scholarly editions of canonical authors' work published by InteLex Corporation. Each work includes an extensive introduction, editorial commentary on textual editing choices, and footnotes contextualizing the work. They vary in depth and type from text to text.

We have access to two of their ten collections in this initial pilot: The Women Writer's Collection and The Religious Studies Collection. We expect the sources to be useful for individuals interested in expanding the articles about individual works by the authors in the collection and the biographies of the authors as well as the women's, philosophical and religious topics in which the authors were engaged.

Access to these databases requires allowing a browser cookie issued by Past Masters.

Requirements[edit]

• You have your preferences enabled to receive email messages on English Wikipedia or on your home wiki linked from your application; (see Special:Preferences)
• You have an account that is a minimum of 6 months old
• You have a minimum of 500 edits to the encyclopedia
• You do not already have access to this resource through another library or institution

If you don't quite meet the experience requirements but think you would still be a strong candidate for access, feel free to apply and you may be considered

Expectations[edit]

Approved editors may

• Search, view, retrieve, and display portions of restricted content;
• Electronically save portions of restricted content;
• Print out single copies of portions of restricted content;

Approved editors will not

• Share their account logins or passwords with others, or sell their access to other parties
• Mass scrape or mass download Past Masters content
• Systematically make printed or electronic copies of multiple extracts of restricted content available for any purpose.
• Datamine metadata without permission, in order, for instance, to use metadata for auto-created stub articles.
• Violate any terms and conditions which appear on the particular pages of the Past Masters website they are accessing.

Private and confidential information

• By applying to the Program, you understand and agree that your name and email address may be shared with representatives of the Wikimedia Foundation, The Wikipedia Library, and Past Masters. Wikipedia Library organizers contracted under the Wikimedia Foundation will abide by the Wikimedia Foundation privacy policy and associated confidentiality agreements. Volunteer representatives of the Wikipedia Library are neither employees nor contractors of the Wikimedia Foundation (or Past Masters), but they have signed confidentiality agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation with regards to the personal information they may handle for the Wikipedia Library.

Citation[edit]

• Editors should always provide original citation information in addition to linking to Past Masters resources, per WP:V and WP:SAYWHEREYOUGOTIT.
• Editors should not provide bare links to restricted Past Masters pages
• Note (subscription required) in the citation, where appropriate
• Respect the copyright of Past Masters, in accordance with Wikipedia's copyright policy and their terms of use
• Cite resources in line with the citation examples provided below or with the examples provided by Past Masters

Note that citation styles vary by article; editors can use the style most appropriate to the articles they are working with so long as the citations are complete.

Example

<ref>{{cite book |last=Shelley | first=Mary Wollstonecraft | authorlink=Mary Shelley | title=The Journals of Mary Shelley, 1814–1844|edition=electronic | editor1-last=Feldman | editor1-first=Paula R. | editor2-last=Scott-Kilvert | editor2-first=Diana | year=2004 | isbn=978-1-57085-608-2 | publisher=InteLex Corporation | location= Charlottesville, Virginia, US | subscription=yes |url=http://www.nlx.com/collections/110}}</ref>

• Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (2004). Feldman, Paula R.; Scott-Kilvert, Diana, eds. The Journals of Mary Shelley, 1814–1844 (electronic ed.). Charlottesville, Virginia, US: InteLex Corporation. ISBN 978-1-57085-608-2. (subscription required (help)). 

Further participation[edit]

You can help The Wikipedia Library share this partnership:

• Add {{Wikipedia:Past Masters/Userbox}} to your user boxes. This helps us share our project with other experienced users.

Apply[edit]

What to expect with TWL account processing
	Make sure to read this before sending emails to account coordinators inquiring about your account status. Our current average account distribution cycle (from sign up to account access), is 27 days. We are working on improving this. Step 1: Application screening We will begin screening applicants within a few weeks of opening applications, usually as the number of applications approaches or exceeds the number of accounts available. At that time the account coordinator will place an {{Approved}} ( Approved), {{Unapproved}} ( Not approved)or {{ToBeDone}} ( Pending or waitlisted) status to your account. If you signed up after the initial call for applicants, process may not happen immediately if accounts are not available. Step 2: Email and Google Form After you have received approval for an account, you will be contacted via a Wikipedia email from the account coordinator; be sure to check your spam folder. The email will contain instructions for filling out a Google form with the required information for access. Step 3: Waiting for partners to activate accounts There are several steps of subsequent processing, including waiting for a batch of users to submit information, emailing partners, and waiting for partners to activate accounts. Expect this process to take as long as two weeks; we try to make it take less time, but there are a lot of variables at play. Step 4: Using access Once the account is activated either the volunteer coordinator or the partner will send you an email with access information. Follow the given instructions, and make sure to actively use your access to improve Wikipedia content! Changes coming soon We recognize this process can be frustrating and take a while: we think so too. We are in the process of developing a digital tool to make this process more user friendly and make it easier for us to give you access to partners. Interested in helping process accounts or coordinate Wikipedia Library activities? Apply at Wikipedia:TWL/Coordinators/Signup to become a volunteer account coordinator.
Stuck or need help? Try our IRC channel #wikipedia-library

Add yourself at the bottom of the list with a line starting with #{{user8|USERNAME|Project=code}} (eg. {{user8|Example|Project=en}}) followed by an explanation of why you believe the access would be beneficial to you. It is a good idea to include in your application text: your depth of experience with Wikipedia and other WM projects, your editing areas benefited by access to Past Masters, and examples of your commitment to content creation.