Recognizing Women on Wikipedia: Preserving the Past, Shaping the Future

It takes a devoted community of editors to keep Wikipedia accurate and up to date. On a rainy March morning in Washington, D.C., a group of AIP team members came together and became a part of that community, some of them for the first time.

Anyone with internet access can edit Wikipedia, but it’s the dedicated and knowledgeable editors who keep the platform a reliable source for the endlessly curious. This editing event, known as an “edit-a-thon,” was one way AIP celebrated Women’s History Month in 2026.

The team’s focus on increasing the visibility and accomplishments of women in the physical sciences made Women’s History Month the perfect time to host this event. This was AIP’s first company-wide edit-a-thon in a few years. The event was organized and hosted by members of AIP’s library team in collaboration with Wikimedia District of Columbia’s programs and partnerships manager, Ariel Cetrone. The library team sent out a company-wide invitation to colleagues to learn how to edit Wikipedia and collectively contribute to the visibility of women in the physical sciences — no prior editing experience was required as they were ready to train anyone new and give a refresh to returning editors.

“People at AIP have a wide range of expertise and we knew they could help our team make meaningful contributions to Wikipedia,” said Corinne Mona, a librarian at AIP. The community shares a passion for the physical sciences, and thanks to the AIP librarians and archivists who organized this event, participants were fully equipped with resources and a list of incredible women to learn about and make meaningful updates for.

In the past, some edit-a-thons have led the team to discover lesser-known women to research and properly identify online — and some of those women were on the working list for this event. The library team assembled a collection of women’s stories that were ready to be updated online and attendees were ready to dive in.

“Editing Wikipedia pages was enjoyable and a great way to connect with the science community,” said Latoya Crowe, attendee and senior director of marketing and engagement at AIP. “Corinne and her team helped us learn valuable skills to improve content focused on physical scientists.”

Those who attended the edit-a-thon had access to both virtual and physical resources, including books provided by the Niels Bohr Library & Archives . You could feel the collective focus in the room as everyone sifted through the information individually, jotting down notes as they researched. You could feel the collective focus in the room as everyone sifted through the information individually, jotting down notes as they researched.

Allison Buser, an AIP archivist and attendee with prior experience as a Wikipedia editor, considers the website a key hub of knowledge and resource discovery.

“Wikipedia should always be a starting point for identifying trustworthy sources of information. It is inspiring to see the community of contributors that work to ensure pages are curated and maintained with integrity,” said Buser. “As a confluence of shared knowledge, it feels especially critical to work toward equity and make sure a more robust reflection of society and events is documented.”

These efforts to highlight the stories of women who have shaped the physical sciences are made possible by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation . Preserving stories is just one way that AIP is working to recognize and celebrate women who have and continue to shape the field. A few of the women flagged by AIP librarians and archivists for the event were identified through their ongoing “Mrs. Scientist” project – a project that recognizes more Faces of the Physical Sciences .

“The Luce grant has allowed us to focus on work that uplifts women in the field,” said Mona. “It is augmenting the work that we are doing by giving us the time and space to make it possible.”

This edit-a-thon was organized and hosted by AIP librarians Corinne Mona and Karina Cooper, AIP archivist Ben Henry, AIP archives fellow Dorothy Tang, and Wikimedia District of Columbia’s Programs and Partnerships Manager Ariel Cetrone.