In response to a school librarian’s concern about underutilization of library resources and services, we developed surveys to gather baseline qualitative and quantitative data about student and faculty use and expectations of the library. We found that many students and faculty lack the time to seek out meaningful relationships with the library, contributing to inconsistent information literacy instruction and underutilization of library resources and services. We reviewed the data with our sponsor and co-developed ideas for addressing barriers to library usage, including partnering with student groups to brainstorm outreach initiatives and advocating for an integrated information literacy curriculum.

This project focused on moving Douglas County Libraries away from solely using circulation outputs as the means of understanding their collection's success. Using interviews, surveys, and research on existing scholarship, the project provided the library system with new ways of thinking about collections and their success in meeting the needs of the library's community. Recommendations provided by the project focused on gathering qualitative data from the library's users to understand and evaluate why users interact with library collections and how collections facilitate or do not facilitate positive change in the lives of patrons.

Children’s collection development and programming is implemented by adults based on librarians’ knowledge of what children might need. Libraries are missing direct input from elementary-aged children regarding books and programming. Our Capstone team created a research-based framework to implement Children’s Advisory Boards (CABs) in libraries. In a CAB, a group of children advises the library on collection development and programming. Using best practices that emerged during our eight test CABs, we created a toolkit for our sponsor, the Collaborative Summer Library Program. Librarians nationwide can use this toolkit to invite children’s voices into their libraries.

The Clark Library serves over 5,000 patrons at the University of Portland. I conducted a collection assessment to understand user behavior and determine areas of growth for ebook resources. I compared usage of ebooks and print books by subject area using ILS data, consortium reports, and vendor reports. The assessment revealed valuable relationships between format preference, users, and subjects, especially in the humanities disciplines. The strengths and weaknesses of each subject area and format will inform collection development decisions for future budget years and will benefit the library patrons by more closely meeting their research demands.

The Public Health Department of Seattle and King County maintains a comprehensive collection of data called the Community Health Indicators (CHI) dataset. These indicators aim to measure health behaviors, health outcomes and demographics of King County residents. The CHI online data portal draws in a broad range of users, including researchers, nonprofits, policy-makers and concerned citizens. However, some users had difficulties navigating and understanding this website. Our team utilized a user-centered design approach to create a three-part solution to tackle these problems. Our solutions include: 1) information reorganization and search functionality, 2) video tutorials, and 3) data visualizations.

We redesigned a tool, called the Broadband Connectivity Assessment, which supports advocacy for high-speed internet access in underserved communities in the US. We conducted user research and interviewed participants who piloted of a beta version of the tool. While responses were overwhelmingly positive, there were challenges which made the tool difficult to use. We offer solutions through a redesign of the user experience and architecture of the tool. Because the needs of participants vary, our final design recommendations focus on creating a tool that is flexible and can be adapted to the needs of any community.

Children and teens who are hospitalized and/or with special needs are groups of patrons who can benefit from library resources, but most of them may not be able to visit libraries to seek information or attend the programs that they like due to health problems. The Hand-in-Hand Portal aims to facilitate the information needs of hospitalized young patrons and/or children and teens with special needs, which allows them to have opportunities to engage in library programs, look for library resources and interact with library staff from San Francisco Public Library.

The usability of online collections is predicated on their information architecture and the quality of user experience design. Institutions investing in digitizing collections are dually tasked with creating an online experience that intuitively facilitates casual and curated browsing, search features, and logical connections to relevant content. Utilizing qualitative research methods - structured interviews, usability tests, affinity mapping, etc. - this work sought to discover the challenges faced by cultural institutions who provide online collections, and how those collections might be experienced by lay users. The resulting identified trends indicate an industry-wide need for improved user experience design and information architecture.

Thousands of people in Washington State are released from correctional custody every year to face the challenge of reentering the community. This research provides simple data that enables public libraries to better understand the challenges and needs of the formerly incarcerated people they serve, and design effective services and outreach to engage those who are not already library users. By collecting data directly from formerly incarcerated people, this study was able to form a rough profile of the community and discern patterns of need, information seeking behavior, and library perception and awareness.