How to Run an Edit-a-thon for Your Library’s Staff

Turn digital drudgery into a party

Posted on May 18, 2026 in Blog Posts

If there’s one piece of advice I have for updating lots of web pages or documents, it’s this: turn it into a party.

If your library’s staff is facing a huge amount of drudge work, like updating a hundred documents manually, you can make the task approachable by coordinating an edit-a-thon, an event in which staff members gather in a room for a couple of hours to tackle editing together.

The edit-a-thon could take the form of a LibGuides shindig, a website cleanup, or an accessibility event.

Benefits of an edit-a-thon

• It’s collaborative: many hands make light work! Plus, when you’re all in the same room, you can bounce ideas back and forth or answer quick questions.
  
  
• It’s time-boxed: block out 2–3 hours to focus on editing, then get back to your regular work.
  
  
• It can be fun: play music, share snacks, and chitchat in between tasks that require focus.

You might need an edit-a-thon if…

• Your LibGuides need updating. Which ones don’t list any references published after 2020? Which ones have been orphaned after staff departures?
  
  
• Your website has accessibility issues. Do web pages use headings? Do any links contain the words “click here”? (Check out more hidden accessibility errors.)
  
  
• All your handouts need to reflect a change. Do you have a new logo? Or do you have a new search tool and need to update instructions and screenshots?
  
  
• You have a lot of PDFs. Can they be deleted? Can they be turned into a format that’s easier to edit? If you share these files publicly, do they follow accessibility guidelines?
  
  
• Your intranet is a mess. Honestly, whose intranet isn’t a mess?

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Ways to make a mountain of work accessible

Do some prep work ahead of time so that you and your colleagues can get right to work when the edit-a-thon begins.

Have a starter list of URLs or documents that need updating.

Identify these in advance and share the list at the edit-a-thon. If you can, sort the list so that the items most in need of updating are at the top.

Focus on just the top five issues.

Make a list of all the problems you can spot. Using an external rubric might be useful, like an accessibility checklist (great for web pages) or tips for universal design for learning (great for handouts and presentations!).

Then share the list of just the top five most commonly occurring issues with your colleagues. Include examples (both good and bad) and how to fix the problem.

Divvy it up.

Save this step for the edit-a-thon so folks can choose what they want to work on.

Provide goodies

This is nonnegotiable. If you can finagle snacks and coffee/tea, that’s amazing. At one of the edit-a-thons I’ve attended, we had warm biscuits with apple compote delivered—that line of the email invitation alone guaranteed my attendance! But honestly, just a candy bowl can bring your attendees joy.

Can’t do food? No problem—scrounge up some high-quality stickers or, better yet, create custom ones for your event. Years of doing user research have taught me that people will do almost anything for a cool sticker.

Example invitation

Join us for an in-person edit-a-thon to make our intranet pages and instruction handouts accessible!

Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Location: Teaching Lab

Bring your own web pages, documents, or intranet pages, or choose from our list of pages that need some TLC. We’ll show you how to make practical accessibility improvements, like adding meaningful headings, moving non-tabular content out of tables, and using colors with enough contrast. Training, coffee, and snacks will be provided!

During the edit-a-thon

Start with a friendly introduction. Take 5–10 minutes to explain the point of the event, do a brief training on any specific issues you’re asking people to fix, and share any documentation or checklists.

Be a helpful floater. Let everyone know they can ask you questions about how to do certain updates or fix specific issues. If you expect 10+ attendees, recruit a colleague to be a floater, too.

Gamify it! Keep a counter of documents or errors fixed. This creates a sense of shared accomplishment as the numbers tick up, and it’s a great stat to share in annual reports, news items, and internal staff messages. Real examples from edit-a-thons in which I’ve participated:

• 12 PDFs updated, 7 PDFs deleted, and 1 PDF converted into web content
• 34 old web pages deleted
• 110 pieces of web content checked for accessibility
• 17,000+ accessibility errors fixed across 7 web applications (!!)

Celebrate accomplishments. At the end, share the counter (if applicable), thank everyone for participating, and celebrate the progress you’ve all made!

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Acknowledgments: Shout-out to the organizers of the Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thons, which inspired me to do library-focused edit-a-thons. Big thanks to my colleague Beth Ashmore for organizing some of the most fun edit-a-thons I’ve attended!

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