Coordinating meetings, distributing fliers and making photocopies are more than just minute, everyday tasks—they are integral to building and sustaining social movements. This project explores how information practices were foundational to Seattle’s uniquely collaborative fight against HIV/AIDS, which was signified by partnerships between activist groups, local government, and University of Washington researchers. Based on interviews with ten local HIV/AIDS activists, this project highlights the ways that information can create possibilities for activism across axes of difference. While this project mainly focuses on local HIV/AIDS activism during the 1980s and 1990s, it provides a blueprint for activist imaginaries today and beyond.

For my project, I worked with a librarian at Pacific University to enhance 362 print records using the Homosaurus controlled vocabulary. Homosaurus is an international LGBTQ+ linked data vocabulary. The goal of this project was to improve the relevance and authenticity of the records' subject terms to make these resources more inclusive and more easily discoverable by university students. The records were updated in OCLC Connexion, so universities across the country will benefit from the record enhancement we accomplished.

During my Capstone project, I prepared archival assets in the Sephardic Studies Digital Collection to become publicly available on UW's Special Collections website. Preparation included assigning item-level metadata to over one hundred digitized accessions of Sephardic community history materials. I implemented metadata standards set by the Sephardic Studies Program in collaboration with UW Libraries, which leaned on Dublin Core, RDA, and local standards to make UW Special Collections’ first collection with non-English materials of mixed media discoverable. This project laid the foundation for publishing this singular collection of specifically Sephardic archival material, challenging dominant narratives of North American Jewish life.

Locating a concise material history of the book can be challenging due to the breadth of materials available. University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Rare Books and Book Arts curatorial area wanted a better way to display the vast items in their collections, while also providing information to people interested in the field. In response, we created an online interactive exhibit along with a physical exhibit that depicts and describes materials, tools, and techniques used in Western Europe and the United States through the 15th to 19th century. This provides an entry point for researchers through terminology and examples.

For those whose primary language isn’t English, finding books in one’s own culture can be difficult. In our project, we want to connect Indigenous people who speak minoritized languages with public library books in their native tongue. We envision an application built in collaboration with regional public libraries to encode less common languages or translated books in a way easily discoverable. Our target audience is indigenous people seeking to discover more books in their native language. However, we also consider public library systems as another stakeholder in our application, because they will facilitate the upload of data into our application.

This project aims to provide assistance to the Health Systems - Maternal Mortality Rates and Drivers (HS-MMRD) team at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) on the creation of a health facility classification and healthcare personnel mapping, for use on investigating why maternal mortality ratios have not decreased, despite an increase of deliveries in health facilities. A public interest article was written for the Think Global Health (TGH) website, which illustrates barriers to accessing maternal healthcare in Kenya, and includes an infographic of differences in travel times to birthing facilities for patients in urban versus rural areas.

This study examined the accessibility practices of commonly used partners for the Kitsap Regional Library system. Through research a survey designed to assess barriers to service was created and then used to assess the accessibility of five community partners through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens. Using the gathered data an internal community partner guide and accompanying training packet was created for the use of Kitsap Regional Libraries. In addition, feedback on the results of the survey has been offered to each community partner.

Your library needs its own Climate Action Plan now. Few North American libraries undertake proprietary climate action planning. LibCAPs is a simple guide to help libraries develop and implement their own Climate Action Plans (CAPs). LibCAPS synthesizes climate policy research, government agency guidelines, domestic and international climate action plan templates, library responses to climate change, and incorporates climate risk assessment tools. LibCAPs provides: Best Practices for writing and implementing CAPs Recommended risk assessment and modelling tools Roadmaps for actionable tasks Examples of collaboration Advocacy guidance for funding Policy ideas for your library and local government

Authentically enacting principles of participatory design, Liberating Literature installed a six-session, self-sustaining storytelling curriculum for children at Compass Housing Alliance, a facility that supports residents having experienced traumas related to homelessness. Extant research attributes distinct therapeutic value to the practice of community reading and links narrative building to both self-expression and resilience; thus, Liberating Literature employed collaborative design methodologies to ensure users both benefited from and enjoyed these protective practices. Upon the program’s conclusion, users communicated an interest in continuing work with Liberating Literature, as well as significant increases in creative confidence and sense of environmental agency through program ownership.

From our experience working in Longview, WA as a Longview Public Library employee and a Head Start Teacher Assistant, we noticed a need for families to engage with books, the outdoors, and each other. StoryWalks seemed like the perfect solution. From a Google Forms survey, a guest book, and informal conversations, our results showed that the approximately 187 participants overwhelmingly enjoyed the experience and wanted a permanent StoryWalk in our city. Since then our sponsor has secured the funding, we have quotes from vendors, and we are awaiting approval from Parks and Recreation to install a permanent StoryWalk.