Lakeside Middle School has a bustling library. The space accomplishes a lot, but it could accommodate the students better. The shelves are not easy for students to browse, and loud and quiet activities happen simultaneously in the relatively small space. Working closely with the students, I and the librarians at Lakeside redesigned the library space to accommodate these multiple uses and to allow for the organization of the books by genre. We expect to see an increase in circulation and have students happier with the space they helped design.

TradeUW is an online shopping platform that allows University of Washington students to buy and sell secondhand clothing items while aiming to reduce waste, cost, risk of scams, and promote a safe shopping experience. These are just a few of the key information problems present in the fast fashion industry that people actively partake in. As a result with TradeUW, college students are better able to shop both efficiently and effectively while accounting for both the negative environmental and personal complications that come with clothing shopping. Our project impacts the lives of others by encouraging and promoting fashion sustainability.

Genrefication is a growing trend in meeting library patron needs. “Research has shown that a genrefied fiction collection is simpler for students to use and locate books” (Sweeney 2013; Dunne 2015). Our capstone project completed all of the planning steps for Ms. MacDonald, the librarian at Hamilton International Middle School, as her regular day-to-day duties did not allow enough time to plan a large scale project. Using strategies such as space mapping, participatory design, data analysis, and graphic design, we completed the planning portion. Additionally, we created a step-by-step guide for genrefication and adding new materials to Destiny Follett software.

With 1 million species on the brink of extinction, it’s clear that the endangered animal crisis is becoming increasingly severe each day. By providing high school and college students with the appropriate resources, they can be the leaders of change needed to protect our ecosystems. Habitat is a website designed with the intention of guiding students by providing them with personalized resources based on their hobbies, that they can easily integrate into their lifestyles. With this project, we strive to help students realize the urgency of the crisis and make sustainable changes to make a positive impact on our ecosystems.

The Lambert House LGBTQIA+ Youth Center houses a large special collection of queer and trans books but has lacked a clear classification system with a functional digital, remotely accessible catalog and check-out capabilities. I built off of previous work by adding or amending approximately 400 digital records to the public-facing collection, recommending subject heading changes to increase accessibility for intersectional identities, and weeding almost 300 materials for archival, donation, or disposal. I am continuing work with Lambert House to develop clear documentation of policies, ensuring a smooth transition to future volunteers and better serving LGBTQIA+ youths’ information needs.

With students turning to school libraries as a space for time away from the more academic aspects of school, MakerSpaces are increasingly popular. Five high schools in the Seattle Public School District (SPS) currently have resources dedicated to MakerSpace activities. MakerSpaces provide students with a creative outlet and opportunities for de-stressing, social emotional learning, and collaboration. This project set out to design facilitated and unfacilitated projects and programming for students at Ballard High School through the library MakerSpace. Informed by student feedback, the result is a project bank of activities, kits and workshops that can be used in MakerSpaces anywhere.

There is not enough emphasis on learning about the ocean in and outside the classroom. This, combined with rising concerns about climate change, inspired us to continue developing Marine Rescue. Marine Rescue is a game for elementary students to learn about human impacts on marine wildlife in the Pacific Northwest. Through interactive stories and short games, students build empathy for native species such as salmon and seagulls, and helping to solve their problems through fun, educational games. We hope that this will inspire the next generation to take action against ocean pollution and help solve climate change.

The goal of this project was to help a preschool-8th grade independent school to evolve their Innovation Vision through research about stakeholders goals, review of existing resources, collaboration with other school learning lab spaces, and a foundation in the school’s own mission. By synthesizing input from each of the stakeholder groups with my MLIS experiences, I was able to write an Innovation Vision for the school, along with a specific list of observations and suggestions for development of their new Innovation Center. This Vision will serve as a guide for the evolution of the Innovation Curriculum in the coming years.

As children around the world are spending less time outdoors compared to previous generations, their screen time has increased. This can negatively impact their nature-related science learning, as well as cause a decline in their behavioral and emotional development. NatureCollections is a mobile app that seeks to harness the power of emerging technologies to engage elementary school children in an exploration of the natural world. Leveraging kids’ love for collecting things, the app encourages kids to go outside and have fun while developing a stronger connection with their natural surroundings.