A short article in American Libraries cites statistics that Wikipedia's growth is slowing down. In 2007 the site averaged 60,000 new articles per month, and now it averages only 40,000. March of 2007 saw 820,000 editors creating and editing pages, but it vacillates from 650,000 to 810,000 per month currently.
Interestingly, "the most active 1% of editors make more than 55% of changes" (27). Some, such as Susan Beck the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) president, wonder whether or not it is time for more librarians to step up and compose/edit articles.
Why are there fewer editors and fewer articles written? Do other online applications compete for Wikipedia editors? Who gets motivated to write Wikipedia articles? Just those with a special interest in the topic at hand? Has Wikipedia lost its newness?
G.L. "Wikipedia Growth Slows." American Libraries (November 2009): 27.
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