We set up a “Creative Corner” craft table in the Suzzallo and Odegaard Libraries to explore how encouraging librarians to “play” and be creative in the workplace affects creativity, stress levels, and the workplace environment. Research has shown that giving employees time to take a break and do a non-work related activity with their co-workers can improve office relationships and foster more creative approaches to problem-solving. We implemented a 6 week program of rotating crafts and also provided supplies such as coloring sheets and crayons for staff to use at the table. In the last week of the program we sent out an email survey to assess what people thought of the Creative Corner tables and how it affected their moods and stress levels. We documented the process and our recommendations on how this program could be continued at UW Libraries in the future for the benefit of library employees.

From 1979 to 1992, El Salvador was engulfed in a bloody, political civil war, with over 75,000 civilian casualties. In the early 1990s, several NGOs and a UN Truth Commission began systematically documenting human rights atrocities perpetrated during the war, using personal testimonies, military records, and other documents. Each database was designed differently, utilizing the technologies available at the time. These files changed hands multiple times over the next 25 years, with limited accompanying documentation; information about metadata values has long been lost. Working with the UW Center for Human Rights and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group, our team developed a data management plan and an initial data dictionary for one database. Researchers ultimately hope to examine, standardize, and map fields across databases, providing a fuller picture of the human rights violations committed and supporting the efforts of surviving family members, scholars, and legal teams for truth and accountability.

For decades, Kitsap Regional Library staff have saved materials related to the library’s organizational history, and these materials have evolved into the Kitsap Regional Library Collection. But without the benefit of clear policies outlining its scope and boundaries, physical storage has become a problem, and staff lack guidance for the final disposition of materials that may not belong. Our work began by defining its scope through the expansion of a collection policy. We refined existing inventory tools into one inventory and assessment tool that describes currently held materials and structures the processing of future additions, and we produced documentation to guide staff through its use. Finally, we created a finding aid to provide a high-level overview of the collection. Our work defining and describing the Kitsap Regional Library Collection will leave staff able to identify, locate, and use its holdings, and with access to easy-to-use tools to continue processing efforts.

Seattle Prep will celebrate its 125th anniversary next fall. Establishing an archives fulfills a need for a program dedicated to the collection, organization, and preservation of items that document the history of Seattle Preparatory School. The archives will connect the present Seattle Prep community with the past, by making these materials accessible, and promoting their use for publications, exhibits, and research. This project began with a preliminary inventory of historical items throughout the Seattle Prep campus, in order to plan for the space and supplies needed for proper archival storage. Boxes of items were moved onto new shelving and prioritized for future processing. Archival policies were drafted including a Mission Statement, Collection Policy and Access Policy. Finally, a Long Term Plan was drawn up, giving direction to archival work that will be done, with a unique focus on student involvement.

The development of robust support for digital scholarship--work that focuses on the juncture of technology and traditional humanities and social science scholarship--is an increasingly important role of academic libraries. UW students and faculty have been and are doing innovative work in this area, but
support from the library and other campus groups has been inconsistent. In consultation with the UW
Libraries' Digital Scholarship Task Group, we conducted a needs assessment of faculty and graduate
students working on digital projects. Through a series of focus groups, interviews, and reviews of
successful programs at other institutions, we have identified key needs as well as potential training and
tools to meet those needs. Our key recommendations include: dedicated physical space for scholars and faculty to do their work, centralized and visible support for those seeking guidance, project matchmaking to pair scholars with ongoing projects, front-loading programs early in the academic year, and institutional and leadership consistency.

According to a recent national study of ebook usage, between 2013 and 2014 demand for ebooks grew more among middle school students than any other educational group (School Library Journal, 2014). Gildersleeve Middle School is BYOD (bring your own device) but the library’s collection includes only two ebooks. Our project was to develop a complete proposal for an ebook collection that would significantly expand the existing collection and reflect the culturally and linguistically diverse student population. We developed a proposal that detailed students’ information needs, evaluated several vendors, proposed specific titles for acquisition, developed a budget, and outlined innovative ways to promote the new collection. Now, thanks to this project, the librarians at Gildersleeve have a complete proposal for developing a new ebook collection, as well as a list of recommended ebooks to purchase. The only thing left for them is to implement the proposal and grow their ebook collection.

Community members turn to their public libraries for reliable health information. Public library staff must remain aware of the most relevant resources and services to refer their patrons to, though many libraries have limited resources to dedicate to staff continuing education on this topic. The National Network of Libraries of Medicine Pacific Northwest Region (NN/LM PNR) meets this need by providing free continuing education support regarding consumer health to public library staff and other information professionals in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington states. This project engaged public library staff in Idaho in focus groups and interviews to learn more about their current efforts, needs, and perceptions regarding community health information and services. An analysis of these findings led to recommendations for NN/LM PNR to strengthen their outreach to public libraries in Idaho and elsewhere, to enhance local library responsiveness to community health information priorities.

Modern public libraries are a hub of innovation and information, but among all the valuable services libraries provide, research shows people still visit public libraries for one primary reason: To find books to read for pleasure. This project offers a new way to connect readers with books through an interactive quiz on the San Jose Public Library website. The quiz suggests books from the library’s collection that have been handpicked by library staff members. It can easily be reproduced to recommend books for a variety of genres and audiences, or even to suggest non-book items such as DVDs, eResources or library programs. By directing users to relevant and useful items within the library in their quiz results, this digital tool serves the community by providing expert recommendations and also helps market the library’s various collections and services. Finding your next favorite book has never been easier!

In many cultures, oral storytelling and folktales are an important tool for elders to share the intimate lore and cultural norms with future generations. Individuals and institutions are coming to the realization that generations of stories are being lost. Efforts to preserve these treasures have largely been dedicated to oral histories and personal narratives. Folk Mic is a publicly-accessible online repository for recordings of folktales. The project creates a framework for any storyteller, amateur to professional, to add their folktales and original stories. Furthermore, users are able to search for the stories using newly developed metadata and to develop more sophisticated metadata as the project grows in size. Folk Mic promotes the value of hearing and seeing a storyteller weave a tale rather than simply reading it. Now, future generations will have an online database where they can watch, hear, and record more storytellers.

The non-profit organization Forest to Furniture promotes good Forest Stewardship practices and works to connect together the chain of people involved in woodworking, including Land Owners, Sawyers, Truck Drivers, Woodworkers and Clients. People need a website to connect. The website serves three goals: to be accessible to clients, to connect members of the woodworking industry together and to inform the greater public. This website includes an information page, a page of partners and a blog to highlight different stewardship practices in the philosophy of Forest to Furniture. The purchaser gets to know the story of their furniture- the land it came from, the age of the tree, the hands it touched. Forest to Furniture adds value to the otherwise mundane task of selecting furniture by empowering people to recognize that their choice in furniture is about more than just the furniture- it’s a vote for the process that created it.