Currently, migration to the new Epic Developer Community platform is underway and the current metadata management system and list are not effective for technical writers.Our project aims to create scalable and intuitive designs for the convenient and efficient application of metadata and the effective management of that metadata. Our projected future state includes compiling a complete set of metadata terminology, prototyping metadata application in the new EDC Authoring tool, and prototyping a new metadata manager through a novel platform.

I developed a seminar that teaches undergraduate students, specifically English majors, about a newer form of cataloging in a way that negates the need for any prior knowledge about cataloging. My seminar takes a look at the folksonomy created and maintained in the popular fanfiction website Archive of Our Own (AO3) and how it is different from other forms of cataloging. I do this in part by emphasizing the difference between folksonomies and taxonomies and by comparing the AO3 folksonomy to the library of congress subject headings (LCSH). This seminar is able to be taught anywhere at any time.

The Audiology Clinic at Seattle Children’s Hospital offers hearing aid trials and loaners to its patients. Access to sound during a child’s formative years is crucial to developing speech and language. This service was managed inconsistently across several disparate spreadsheets, making the process inefficient and reporting capabilities time-consuming. This project aimed to rebuild and replace the existing system, streamlining clinic operations and centralizing its data. This improved data source enables reporting capabilities to support clinic leadership in data-driven decision-making. The system is designed to grow with the clinic and meet its and its patients' changing needs.

The Military Legal Resource Collection was adopted by the LoC, originally from the William Winthrop Memorial Library at the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General (JAG)’s Legal Center and School. Over time the collection has grown by building on top of it's legacy information architecture, and thus this project aims to review this collection in its entirety to propose changes for a more uniform, accessible, and comprehensive navigation and user experience for LoC visitors. Additionally, due to the collection's history with JAG, this capstone will be mindful its historical legacy to JAG and make appropriate suggestions with care and respect.

Wex is an open-access legal encyclopedia and dictionary. Wex uses a tagging system adapted from a homegrown system used by LII staff in the late 1990s. Over time, terms have been added/indexed but the tagging system has remained the same. Currently, the organization and navigation for the Wex subject categories is confusing for users to navigate. Due to some constraints, the taxonomy cannot be overhauled completely and research on law taxonomy is limited. This project is the first step in improving the findability of terms for everyday users by updating the Wex taxonomy by adding, deleting and updating categories.

I’ve worked with an independent video store, Movie Madness, to clean their database of 90,000+ film titles to ensure consistency, accuracy, and completeness of every record. They acquired a new POS system in 2015 that acts as their film database which made it simple for them to input new film information. However, they had a backlog of film data that was not moved over with a consistent framework in mind. My work to clean this data has made their reports more accurate, created a consistent cataloging schema, and made the online search experience for their customers much smoother and enjoyable.

Because of the rarity of their collections, archives are notoriously inaccessible. For most of their history they were reserved for curators and researchers. But history should be accessible to everyone, regardless of background or geography. Digital technologies are the best way to do this, but their application takes a level of funding that is not always available to archives. The purpose of this project is to add an open source tool that libraries and archives can use in the process of creating digital collections. It turns digital scans into searchable documents, allowing for ease of browsing.

This project consists of a review of digital collections on the Library of Congress Law Library website, focusing on increasing findability and accessibility. The specific collections covered by this project are the Statutes at Large and the U.S. Code. Though the two collections carry much of the same information, the accessibility needs are different. I have made a series of recommendations based on user-centered design to update the research guide and other supplemental materials, increase efficacy of metadata, and redesign existing organization of the collections. I have also included suggestions for outreach programs to expand the collections’ use.

Washington Trails Association (WTA) is a non-profit organization that promotes and preserves hiking trails within Washington State, ensuring they are well-maintained and accessible. The staff at WTA utilizes a digital asset management system, Image Relay, to store images used for media development. WTA staff are frustrated with the inefficiencies of existing, non-standardized workflows throughout Image Relay. Collaborating closely with WTA leadership, we have analyzed existing processes and developed new training documentation to optimize WTA’s usage of Image Relay. Our project ultimately aims to enable WTA to focus on storytelling and public lands advocacy by reducing time spent on menial tasks.

Verse is a new programming language developed by Epic Games and is used by creators in UEFN for custom Island creation. The Epic Developer Community website currently does not have a Verse taxonomy, making Verse-related document retrieval and code searching on their snippet repository difficult. This project looks to generate Verse taxonomy terms to enhance searchability, ensuring relevance and quicker information retrieval, and a repository redesign to improve code posting and findability, thereby enhancing user experience and engagement through content organization. These improvements benefit Epic by optimizing usability, increasing engagement metrics, and reducing indirect costs associated with software development.