iSchool Capstone

2015

Project Logo

Artifacts of Loss: Memorial Artists’ Books

The Book Arts Collection at the UW Libraries Special Collections includes modern artists’ books as well as works on bookbinding, typography, and other historical printing topics. As a non-circulating library, Special Collections must rely on tools such as exhibits to show users the depth and range of their materials. "Artifacts of Loss" is a unique exhibit installed to highlight a selection of meaningful and evocative artists’ books. In addition to the exhibit itself, tangible results of the project include an exhibit catalog, and a comprehensive list of considered works, which will be used by the collection’s curator and catalogers to improve thematic subject headings. The exhibit allows greater visibility of the Book Arts Collection to prospective users. Beyond that, it addresses a universal, yet deeply personal, aspect of life. The feedback we have received has illustrated the incredible impact this exhibit has had on viewers.
Project Logo

At the Right Time: Materials for Children Experiencing Divorce

Divorce, for children, can have strong emotional and behavioral repercussions, and can cause lasting mental health issues. Therapists work diligently to help families through this, but aren't experts in publishing. This can lead to a reliance on dated materials that may lack depth, currency and accessibility. Armed with an understanding of some of the issues that divorce causes children, Megan and Chelsea worked with therapist Carol Mapp to create an annotated bibliography of high-quality, accessible titles. It addresses issues beyond divorce, including anxiety, grief, moving to a new home and academics. The structure was designed to enhance usability, and is broken down by issue and age range. This project creates a clear, concise resource of supportive texts that can be browsed or searched with ease. This list can be used to guide decisions on materials used in specific bibliotherapy sessions, as a collection development tool, and even shared with clients.
Project Logo

Attracting Millennial Shoppers

Attracting Millennial Shoppers Abhaya Pothina(MSIM), Pavani Piduru (MSIM), Resha Manjrekar (MSIM) The millennial generation is the biggest in US History with a major economic impact. Our study marks the first new phase of millennial research at Costco that would impact shopping for millions of millennials. As the Baby Boomer population which is Costco’s largest customer base today declines, its major customer base will gradually shift to the Millennials. In order for Costco to maintain its status as the second largest retailer in the United States, it is integral for Costco to attract young shoppers. Our project is aimed towards conducting field research to study millennial perception, their retail behaviors, lifestyle and needs to understand how Costco can enhance value proposition for millennials. The secondary focus of our research is to determine shopping variations between US-born and foreign-born millennials. Our Capstone project provides Costco with viable recommendations and best practices that align with Costco’s culture and business goals.
Project Logo

Beyond BiblioTEC: Creating a Sustainable Pop-up Makerspace Toolkit for Public Libraries

Makerspaces— creative environments dedicated to active learning—are a growing trend in libraries; however, without a contingency plan for sustaining makerspaces, the momentum that libraries have harnessed from the “maker movement” could halt to a standstill. Our research took us to Kitsap County, where nearly 258,000 patrons are served by the regional library system. BiblioTEC (Technology, Education, and Community) is an IMLS award-winning STEM learning lab at Kitsap Regional Library. In order to enable the continued success of BiblioTEC as they enter a new phase of development, we created a Pop-Up Makerspace Toolkit for use in public library learning initiatives. We developed a scalable outcome-based curriculum to provide informal learning for at-risk youth and designed transferable models for library learning labs. Through our work in the community we have helped Kitsap Regional Library strengthen their educational outreach and empower patrons to learn, dream, and make.
Project Logo

Board Recruitment Knowledge Management Solution

In today’s increasingly complex and transparent global environment, the board of directors is required to balance short-term pressures with developing high performing, trustworthy and sustainable organizations. Recruiting directors with the relevant experience and expertise to provide guidance, support and inspiration for the organization is critical to achieving this balance. Korn Ferry Canada is a leadership talent consulting and executive search firm that provides a range of board advisory services including recruiting, assessment and board effectiveness. With offices located across unique and diverse geographies, regional information silos and ad-hoc processes have emerged. This project investigates existing workflows and resources and compares them against the team’s information requirements. The Knowledge Management solution includes recommendations for improving the quality of candidate and client information being accessed, captured, shared and reused for board recruiting. If implemented, the Knowledge Management solution will improve operational efficiency for Korn Ferry Canada’s board practice team.
Project Logo

Bontology

Colliers International, a commercial real estate company, currently faces problems with sharing information across their organization. Their organization houses many data silos which contain important client, deal, and referral information. Some of this data is accessible to employees but much of it is held privately within regional office databases and is difficult to share due to data formatting issues. Their information silos prevent them from capitalizing on opportunities that could be made simply by connecting the dots across databases. Bontology (business onotology) is a unique software that is comprised of three parts: a realtor’s dashboard, custom ontology, and conversion software. Bontology’s conversion software works with our custom ontology to connect disparate relational databases in a triple store. The dashboard allows Realtors to view sophisticated data analytics and houses a powerful internal search. Bontology now provides Realtors actionable items that will help drive profit and identify gaps in current business practices.
Project Logo

Bremerton Community Assessment for the Kitsap Regional Library System

The Sylvan Way branch, located in Bremerton, Washington, is the largest branch of the Kitsap Regional Library system, and is one of two branches serving the Bremerton area. For this Capstone project, we partnered with KRL to discover untapped patron communities and relationships by analyzing area demographics while utilizing recent assessments of KRL and other library systems. Additionally, we focused on ways to create and strengthen the library’s relationship with the area’s two largest employers, the Department of Defense (comprising of Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Hospital Bremerton, and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard) and Harrison Medical Center. As result of our analysis, the Sylvan Way branch is poised to offer more support in the form of strengthened partnerships and more tailored programs to their existing and new patrons.
Project Logo

Building a Legacy: Digitization and Outreach at the NBBJ Archives

As an architecture firm, NBBJ has had Swedish Hospital Medical Center as a long term client since 1936. This has resulted in almost 80 years of architectural records, which have design, legal, technical, intellectual, cultural, and historic value for both the architectural firm and the hospital. NBBJ recently moved their architectural records to a secure off-site location which has opened up space but increases the waiting period for architects who need to access the drawings for current projects. For this project we selected, digitized, and publicized within the firm a selection of architectural drawings related to projects with Swedish Hospital Medical Center. We then created a video to promote the digitized records and documentation for future digitization projects. This project strengthens the working relationship between the hospital and the architecture firm and ensures that the drawings will continue to serve as a means for inspiration for many years to come.
Project Logo

CherryTime

Everyone has something they can donate to charity, but many do not have the time. Existing applications that aim to make charity convenient have focused on monetary donations while neglecting physical donations. Non-profit organizations need physical items that many individuals own, but do not use. CherryTime is a web application that seeks to enable anyone with limited time to donate physical items. With CherryTime, donations take minutes. Users can find nearby donation sites, give to charity, and continue their day. The list of sites is community-provided and community-maintained. Non-profit organizations can specify exactly what they need and monitor the health of their donation sites. CherryTime gives users a lens into the needs of their community and gives them the power to make a difference.
Project Logo

Cisco Dash

The proliferation of Internet connected devices in the home has brought with it a disparate array of user interfaces. Use of multiple devices often means changing from one interface to another, yielding a disjointed experience. Further, a massive amount of information is collected and stored in these devices. Cisco Dash is a web application that serves as a single location to view and use Internet of Everything devices. It also provides an enterprise-grade analytics platform to give users the capability of making smart living decisions at home.