Recognizing the need for warmth in the winter and the inefficiencies of manual paper processes, our project, sponsored by Pierce County Human Services, aims to streamline energy assistance processing for low-income residents. Through a centralized application portal and database, this user-friendly online platform, accessible via mobile and desktop, prioritizes equity in information access for low-income communities. By minimizing application errors and the need for phone calls or mail, residents gain faster access to energy assistance. We address critical access issues related to affordability and financial support in underserved populations, ensuring compliance and enabling robust data collection for informed decision-making.

For this capstone project, we explored a collection development challenge for Washington State's open data program. Specifically, we investigated data selection practices at leading government open data programs in the United States. “Selection” in this context refers to the range of practices that determine what and how much data is opened and ultimately published on open data portals. Our final report, which summarizes the state of data selection and best practices across the United States, will help Washington State Library connect individuals and communities to data that will help them flourish.

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 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.

As an expansion of Multnomah County Library’s evaluation of Spanish early readers, our team audited the Spanish language picture books at the Gresham branch, examining language and cultural representation through text, illustration, country of publication, and author/illustrator nationality. Our goals were to determine the collection’s cultural responsiveness for MCL’s patrons and to develop an assessment tool for MCL and other libraries. Findings indicate a need for more Mexican and Central American representation in the collection, and our assessment tool should be used as an iterative, dynamic document to be tailored for each library rather than a final, static product.

The Catastrophe Awareness Team project helps students stay safe in an emergency by sharing earthquake preparedness information for the Seattle area. Seattle lies over a number of large fault lines, making it particularly susceptible to earthquakes, and is in anticipation of ‘The Big One,’ an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or higher sometime in next 30 years. By targeting users new to the Seattle area, we provide directions to their nearest emergency shelter, a concise and downloadable preparedness guide, and a resource-filled quiz to reinforce knowledge. Ultimately, SEACAT is a one-stop shop for Seattle residents to gain baseline preparedness for earthquakes.

Our team developed a new website, sponsored by the non-profit organization, Seattle Health Information Management Association (SHIMA). This rebrand provides SHIMA the chance to offer new services, expand community outreach, and establish credibility amongst health informatics students and professionals, something they previously struggled with due to their outdated and disorganized website. We built the website from scratch utilizing React.js and Node.js, tailoring our tech stack with consideration to our client's low budget. We utilized free APIs and low-cost software tools, discussing the best options with SHIMA along the development journey, making for a heavily client-oriented project.

Our team developed a new website, sponsored by the non-profit organization, Seattle Health Information Management Association (SHIMA). This rebrand provides SHIMA the chance to offer new services, expand community outreach, and establish credibility amongst health informatics students and professionals, something they previously struggled with due to their outdated and disorganized website. We built the website from scratch utilizing React.js and Node.js, tailoring our tech stack with consideration to our client's low budget. We utilized free APIs and low-cost software tools, discussing the best options with SHIMA along the development journey, making for a heavily client-oriented project.

This project addresses the scarcity of resources in trauma-informed librarianship (TIL) by drawing on literature in trauma-informed care and pedagogy to create a book structured to equip librarians with foundational knowledge and practical implementation strategies. Divided into two sections, the book begins with the fundamentals of trauma- informed practices, then moves to TIL. Introducing six principles of TIL, each chapter offers theory and practical insights. By fostering understanding and offering actionable guidance, this project seeks to revolutionize library services, ensuring they are equitable and accessible for all, acknowledging the impact of trauma on individuals' engagement with information and community resources.

Team Eureka collaborated with PitchBook to leverage their rich, proprietary data on VC investments and NoSQL technology, to organize and visualize the data in a way that adds value for its customers. The team has developed an interactive visual experience based on a powerful knowledge graph database that empowers VCs and companies alike to explore their network and find the shortest path to their next investor or investment. Additionally, users can filter on AUM industry verticals amongst other dimensions. The shared vision is to fully integrate the feature into PitchBook’s product as an extension to its current offerings.