Though public libraries have shared internal data, such as circulation data, publicly via open data portals, bookmobile data sharing has been limited. Sponsored by the Washington State Library, and using data from North Central Regional Library as a pilot, the Open Data Wagon project researched, collected, and published library bookmobile data openly on data.wa.gov, along with a reusable dataset template. Because bookmobile operations can be expensive, this project aimed to encourage information sharing among libraries, expand funding opportunities for mobile services by supplying additional data, and heighten the value of library mobile services. More info: https://opendatawagon.github.io

The personnel at West Pierce Fire and Rescue rely on SharePoint for their centralized information storage and sharing platform. This project sought to analyzing the current website content, identify users’ satisfaction with the current site, and incorporate user feedback to help improve user experience and searching capabilities on the site. A written report to the department included a summary of the research findings, a topical overview of updated files, user-friendly wireframes, and a moving forward document highlighting additional recommendations to help improve the overall design and information sharing opportunities on the SharePoint site.

How might we plan user-friendly entrances for the library? For this project, we learned about and applied service design tools at UC Berkeley’s new Center for Connected Learning to provide library leadership with input on a redesigned entry experience. After learning about service design, we created six fictional personas and walked them through different entry scenarios to examine each step. Then we created easy-to-understand graphics to provide the UC Berkeley leadership team with planning materials. Any library can use service design tools to improve the experience of its users.

Providing digital access to government documents requires a collaborative effort from both Federal Depository Libraries and digital repositories. This project prepares for the digitization of government publications held within the University of Washington Libraries while promoting access to documents already held within certified digital repositories. First, I created an index of World War II and post-war items held by the UW Libraries that have not yet been digitized and subsequently compiled a workflow process to aid in future digitization projects. Additionally, I developed research guides to facilitate access to previously-digitized collections on repository sites such as HathiTrust and govinfo.

This project involved cataloging a 10,000-document collection of newly digitized, multilingual Law Library of Congress treaties and international agreements. The collection was classified by metadata elements in a master spreadsheet. To ensure users’ ability to fulfill collocating and finding bibliographic objectives, LCSH and indexer-derived keywords were appended to each record. Inconsistencies between records were resolved using OpenRefine and blog posts containing trend graphs and search tips were constructed to promote the collection. When published online, this content will encourage information literacy by helping the organization’s increasingly networked stakeholders navigate and interact with this content for the first time.

To address the information needs of the UW Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Leadership Team, we developed materials that analyze, assess, and provide training on Scalar, an open-source authoring and publishing platform. Through research and examination, we wrote a literature review that compared Scalar to similar publishing platforms, evaluated its accessibility, and examined its potential as an open digital scholarship platform. Additionally, we crafted learning resources and facilitated an interactive online workshop to assist librarians in identifying and promoting Scalar’s features and use cases for future students, faculty, and the broader research community.

The KRAB FM Lesbian-Feminist Radio Program was originally broadcast through the 1970s and 1980s in Seattle and was one of the earliest American gay and lesbian radio shows in the United States. This capstone creates an opportunity to engage with and explore local historical archival material in a different and more accessible way while also highlighting materials in special collections. The project aids in exploration and discovery opportunities while utilizing a format that is easily accessible in the current technological age. This project allows the discoverability of, and for, the Seattle Queer Community.

This project seeks to investigate how interlibrary loan (ILL) serves the queer community. Results indicate that many libraries are marketing their ILL services to patrons. Privacy issues occurred rarely. A large portion of the queer community gets their queer material from the library. This community appears to both know about and use ILL services. Reasons queer participants gave for not using the service range from privacy issues to not knowing how to utilize the service. ILL departments can better serve the queer community through targeting them in its advertising, creating inclusive policies, focusing on privacy, and looking into eBook lending.

The Readiness Acceleration and Innovation Network (RAIN), a biotechnology incubator, wondered whether they effectively collect data about their educational programming. They were concerned with effectively measuring their impact, as well as issues around underrepresented groups in the sciences. This project included in-depth background research, a data collection audit, analysis of organizational artifacts, and stakeholder interviews to make recommendations for their data collection and curation practices. Best practices were presented to collect demographic data about underrepresented groups and to make RAIN events more welcoming.

According to the landmark study done by the Center of Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente (1997), Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that happen in childhood can have lasting negative impacts on a person’s mental and physical well-being. Read-a-Rama is an early-literacy non-profit that works with children who come from diverse backgrounds, and life experiences that include trauma and ACEs. Read-a-Rama: A Trauma-Informed Care Approach involved the creation of five tailored trauma-informed care training modules and a comprehensive resource LibGuide for staff. This project will help staff foster a safe, collaborative, and empowered early-literacy environment through the principles of a trauma-informed care.