Just Say No to Just Think Critically is an information literacy curriculum for college freshman taking a seminar-style, interdisciplinary course on drug policy. Included were lesson plans for two in-class instruction sessions, three breakout sessions with project groups, as well as a LibGuide and pre/post assessment. Grounded in critical instruction theory -- a lens especially suited to this complex topic -- the instruction goal was to frame information literacy as an empowering, lifelong mindset, not just a skillset for academic research. Concepts were applied in student projects at a harm reduction event, which also demonstrated peer-to-peer information sharing.

The University of Washington (UW) Seattle has a variety of in-person writing centers with a one-on-one conversational model. With growing online degree programs creating new demands, writing centers have become interested in online writing support services. Our team used focus groups, interviews, and surveys to analyze how online tutoring could change accessibility. We drew upon perspectives of writing center administrators, tutors, users, and potential users to gain a better understanding of barriers to access. We found that online tutoring could improve access for those who experience disability, commute long distances, identify as English Language Learners (ELL) or are non-traditional students.

Our capstone project addresses the issue of improving phishing awareness among employees at UW Medicine. The project consisted of three phases: i) Designing and sending bait phishing emails targeting new employees who just completed their orientation (which included a presentation on phishing, and a warning that they would be phished), ii) Sending out a questionnaire to those employees asking why they did or did not click on the bait phishing email, iii) Designing and drafting a short, interactive, and engaging learning module to educate employees on how to identify phishing emails.

Since launching in Fall 2015 as the University of Washington Libraries’ main discovery system, Ex Libris Primo has not been subjected to formal usability testing. Additionally, the UW Triennial Survey showed high dissatisfaction and negative feedback from students, faculty, and staff regarding the current library search experience. To improve their experience using the UW Libraries Search, we conducted user testing, analyzed the data, and provided design recommendations for implementation before the release of the newest iteration of Primo (Fall 2017). Our hope is for these recommendations to make a more user-friendly search system for UW library users.

Since its formation in 2013, the iSchool Career Services department has proven to work effectively for Informatics & MSIM students, but a persistent challenge remains with students in the MLIS program. Utilizing surveys of current students, alumni, and faculty and a comparison of best-practices across ALA-accredited institutions, this project conducted a review of Career Services in order to identify information gaps between the department and the LIS student body, craft recommendations to address issues discovered, and facilitate an improved experience for both this student population and Career Services staff.

Seattle Pacific University (SPU) requested a review of its declining reference services for the first time in eighteen years. To make recommendations for SPU’s references services, information was collected from three sources. First I reviewed several items: the library itself, current students at SPU, the needs of millennial students, and a literature review of reference service trends over the past ten years. Second, eleven local academic libraries were surveyed to learn how similar institutions are offering reference services. Third, reference service and database use at SPU’s library were reviewed. Based on this information, changes to reference services were proposed.

According to many studies, older patrons that struggle with technology will often turn to their library for support. Our sponsor noticed this trend at Kitsap Regional Library’s Sylvan Way Branch. However, two issues were apparent: first, there were inherent privacy concerns in helping patrons with their online needs and second, many patrons needed extensive help beyond the time that could reasonably be devoted to helping one patron. Through observation and research, our team created a series of handouts on a variety of targeted topics. Our work bridges the gap between protecting information privacy, education, and staff time constraints.

PitchBook Data is an online data platform that provides research, financial information, and resources to analyze private companies, investments and funds, private equity and venture capital. PitchBook wants to explore new ways to surface insightful information to their users by allowing them to discover more information beyond what they were searching for, making it a one stop shop for all of their VC research needs.

I teamed up with the UW Libraries Teaching and Learning Group International Student/ELL Subcommittee to continue an investigation done by a capstone group in 2016. While the previous year’s project focused on reaching out to international students about their concerns, I reached out to the librarians and library staff at UW to see how conscious they are of the needs of the international student population and how they address those challenges. Through the course of the project I also gathered more information about what programs our international students are coming from in order to better inform staff and future training.

One Equal Heart Foundation is working with the Tseltal indigenous community in Chiapas, Mexico, to develop the first known Tseltal language library and archive, with the goal of preserving Tseltal language and culture. This Tseltal House of Wisdom is part of a larger community development initiative called Sistema Integrada de Información y Evaluación Tseltal (SIET), which includes a community radio station and fotohistorias-style evaluation project. We conducted capacity-building workshops in Chiapas emphasizing inventory, cataloging metadata, and digitization. We also provided recommendations on archival storage materials, and wrote a paper describing the intersection of Indigenous Systems of Knowledge and LIS theory.