The uncataloged paperback collection at the Puyallup Public Library was long overdue for collection maintenance, updated signage, and a collection index. The capstone sponsor also wanted to reduce the collection to just the shelves attached to the fireplace, so that the freed shelves could be used for passive programming. As part of this project, I weeded the collection from over 800 books to around 380 and selected around 60 acquisitions from patron donations, totaling to around 430 books at project completion. Patrons and library workers benefit from improved signage, books organized by author, and the extensive collection index.

For over 100 years, The Daily Utah Chronicle has published the student voices of the University of Utah. Many of these stories have been archived, but there are significant chunks missing. Just over 23% of the Chrony’s work has not been archived, and there are no procedures in place to keep the archive updated. I wrote a manual for them containing an in-depth analysis, a plan of action, and a concise archival process for leadership to implement. This will provide a clear path to archiving the past, and be a good compass for preserving the student voices of the future.

This project evaluated models for the preservation and redistribution of the collocated Law Library of Congress digital collection material within the American Memory Project “Evolution of the American Conservation Movement, 1850-1920” collection, which has been decommissioned, making access to this material difficult. Keeping these materials together and accessible provides users with a historical context for current conservation activities and legal proceedings. The final models selected are sub-pages highlighting the collection on the Statutes at Large digital collection Articles and Essays page, a cascading timeline StoryMap showcasing important years, and In Custodia Legis blog posts promoting the aforementioned models.

Skagit Valley College (SVC) has been collecting historic materials for decades but never had the chance or the resources to organize and house them. This project seeks to lay the groundwork for an archive, offering access to materials for the upcoming centennial anniversary in 2026 and beyond. The project outcomes, including processes, recommendations, and documentation, are designed to pave the way for SVC to carry forward with standardized practices for the project. These outcomes will set the foundation for a lasting resource that will provide insights into the college's past and guidance for future endeavors in education and community engagement.

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.

The digital format used to make handwritten letters articles available on the archive may not be the best way for everyone to read the file’s content. To make the archive’s materials more accessible to a larger audience, I used optical character recognition software and hand-typed all 90 files in the archive and edited the transcriptions to create as faithful a representation of the handwritten content in a digital text format as possible. These transcriptions, in combination with the scanned archive materials, will help share the experiences of those impacted and incarcerated in a Civil Commitment Facility in Illinois.

To counteract rising censorship of queer art and literature, we partnered with the Washington State Poet Laureate to launch an anthology of LGBTQIA+ poetry submitted by authors of all experience levels from across the state. Using web development, indexing, and design skills acquired through the MLIS program, our team built an online repository that blends the nuance of a special collections archive with the user-friendliness of a digital publication. This year, the Poet Laureate will tour the state and share the anthology as a teaching tool in support of ArtsWA’s mission to make diverse art accessible in Washington communities.

Partnering with KEXP's digital asset manager, my project addresses limitations in the station’s music genre cataloging scheme. Through data analysis, reparative metadata work, and end-user consultation, it assesses KEXP’s "world music" metadata completeness and diversity. It also examines DJs' information needs for music retrieval. Drawing from knowledge organization and digital preservation, I propose recommendations for improving music title stewardship in KEXP's digital asset management system, Dalet Galaxy.

The Seattle Archdiocese Archives holds a collection of about 300 rare books from as early as the 16th century. Prior to our project, these materials were unorganized and therefore inaccessible. Throughout our time working with the collection, we assessed its contents, entered content metadata into an organized database, and ultimately made materials accessible to researchers. Our goal was to make the contents of the rare book collection findable and accessible through detailed organizational work and the development of a maintainable database.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the importance of making museum materials accessible to the public via the internet. While photographs are useful for this purpose, 3D models create unique opportunities to view objects from all angles. The goal for this project was to create an online toolkit that includes all the information a small cultural heritage institution needs to create 3D models of their objects and make them available online. In this way, cultural heritage institutions will be able to create more dynamic online exhibits, invite guests to see objects in new ways, preserve more fragile artifacts, and more.