Manual of Style
For general editorial policies see also the Editorial_Policies page. This biographical directory follows the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style [1], with a few modifications and enhancements. Consult the editors if you have any questions. See also our Template page.
- The Mediawiki help pages are at [2]
- Some Mediawiki functions have not yet been enabled so for the time being presentations may need to be simplified.
- Articles should concentrate on documentation and information science with minimal attention to other aspects of the individual or organization, especially when articles with a wider scope exist in the English Wikipedia (or elsewhere) where those other details are likely to be expertly written and updated. Cite those articles instead of copying them. They should be listed in the Further Reading section. Examples: Vannevar Bush. Wilhelm Ostwald.
- Unlike most obituaries, articles should be evaluative and from a neutral point of view. Nevertheless, selective citing of obituaries is not discouraged.
- Explanation of why the subject is notable is needed. A concise explanation of particular distinctive contributions is strongly encouraged: Examples: Norbert Henrichs, Jason Farradane, Robert Pagès.
- Publications: Many biographees and organizations published extensively. The Publications section should be quite selective with brief annotation encouraged. Whenever possible identify and cite a more complete list elsewhere. Where none is known please compile and publish one. If need be, such a list can be published here as a separate article, e.g. see Patrick Wilson Bibliography.
- When the title of an article includes an accent (diacritical) a cross-reference from a title without accents should also be made and should forward automatically, e.g. Bozo Tezak [3].
- Non-English articles in the language of the biographee will be allowed non-anglophone experts are more likely to contribute if they can write in their own language and because in some cases that language will allow more scholarly precision. We will need to arrange for a parallel English translation page.
- Titles of positions held, institutions, and in bibliographical citations in languages other than English should be given in their original form. English translations should ordinarily be added in [square brackets], e.g. Hrvatska enciklopedija [Croatian Encyclopedia].
- Every entry should have a Further Reading section even if it only lists an obituary or directory entry.
- Personal or professional papers in an archive should be identified and noted in a Papers section.
- The External References section (positioned as the last appendix) is intended for a bulleted list of recommended generally relevant websites or other resources, each accompanied by a short description. Specific links to particular documents should all be in the body of the article. (Wikipedia articles often fail to follow with this Wikipedia policy).
- Articles for individuals and organizations primarily active in a non-English language may be written in that language. An English translation will need to be added as a parallel article.
- There should always be a link to (and preferably from) the corresponding English Wikipedia article and for non-anglophone individuals and organizations the corresponding article in corresponding language Wikipedia. Example: "Walter Schürmeyer" [German] Wikipedia [link]
- Harmonization with the English and other Wikipedias can be achieved by:
- Always supplying an External Link in our stub or article to the English Wikipedia page and/or an excellent page in another language Wiki;
- Adopting and adapting text from the Wikipedia article if it strengthens the documentation and information science part of our article. Other aspects not so much;
- Strengthening the other Wikipedia article, when appropriate, with respect to the biographee’s role in documentation and information science;
- When feasible, adding an external link from the Wikipedia page to our article.
Selected Articles
The following articles are suggested as models to follow: