Special Projects in Librarianship and Archival Practice - SI 699

Proposal open date: June 1
Proposal close date: November 2
Project timeline: January-April
Project duration: 15 weeks
Number of projects needed: 15

SI 699: Special Projects in Librarianship and Archival Practice Syllabus

Description

In SI 699: Special Projects in Librarianship and Archival Practice, master's-level graduate students lead special projects relating to instruction, service design, assessment, collections, community engagement/outreach, or other areas or librarianship or archives.

Deliverables

Deliverables will vary by project and are based on the client needs and project scope. Examples may include:
- Final report with recommendations
- Digitization plan for archive
- Tool kit of resources
- Reference guide

Client Requirements

Level of engagement for course/program
- 30-60 minute weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the student team
- Regular feedback and communication to student team based on the course schedule
- Introduction to stakeholders and users for interviews and/or data gathering
- Access to organizational data, systems and/or resources necessary to project completion
- Attend final presentation
- Complete project evaluation
Special requirements for the course/program
- Provide 100 hours of work per student (students may work individually or in teams of two)
- Provide a range of work that is diverse, allows for autonomous decision making and requires significant non-clerical duties
- Be amenable to students scoping the project further once client match is confirmed

Past Projects

Archival Recommendations. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) lacked an online database for digital records. Students identified, analyzed and recommended solutions for archival infrastructure to make it easier for users and staff to search for and access records with consistency.
Developing a Museum Digital Preservation Policy. Students collaborated with the Swedish American Museum to create a tailored policy and a set of implementable processes for preserving digital content.
Mobilizing Library Resources for Rural Community Outreach. Students worked with Menominee County Library to expand its wi-fi hotspot program. Students created an assessment tool for internet use and a plan for the library to use existing mobile resources to build relationships in the community.
Collections Diversity Audit. Students assisted the Clinton-Macomb Public Library in performing an audit of their collections for diversity, equity and inclusion. Students cleaned the collected data, assessed it and presented the information in a report to library staff and management.

Client Testimonials

"The student helped us explore what qualitative assessment might look like for our organization related to collections assessment and how it might inform decision-making processes. This would directly affect faculty, staff and students in their ability to access and browse materials in our collections. It was very helpful to have someone take the time to review this aspect of our work and provide us with considerations for the future."
- Emily Rodgers, University of Michigan Library Environments
"The student gave me a plan of action and recommendations that saved me a couple of months of research—months I didn't have. Her plan will allow the archive to hire a student assistant and provide access to archival data for the whole campus."
- Julia Daniel Walkuski, University of Michigan Dearborn Mardigian Library

Past Clients

Contact us

Engaged Learning Office | [email protected] | (734) 763-1251

Please complete this form to submit a project proposal for one of our client-based courses or other programs, or to receive information about these opportunities throughout the year.