ITS Interns Explore Library Services through Summer Projects

Over the summer, Information Technology Services’ 2024 internship cohort completed its inaugural ten-week program. Cohort participants developed and explored different technology projects pertaining to Smith College services, including surveying the wireless network, information security, classroom technology, and improving online resources to support Smith students; as part of this, two projects centered around resources in Neilson Library.

In one project titled “Digital Media Hub Program Review,” interns Juliette Bennett and Yuzhang Fu were tasked with analyzing room reservation and workshop data pertaining to the Libraries’ Digital Media Hub (DMH) as a way to understand space utilization and user needs. The goal of the project was to identify trends and relationships in the data in order to provide recommendations for optimizing space usage.

Bennett and Fu also reviewed the equipment loan process within the DMH and identified potential roadblocks for users looking to borrow equipment. Post internship, the team listed adding equipment, changing the process design, and improving functionality as ways to enhance the borrowing process.

In another project, interns Christine Dong, Tana Liu, Kayla Tillmon, and Mackenzie Martin performed a user experience (UX) study on the short-term laptop loan process through the Central Service Point (CSP) in Neilson Library.

The team created a survey asking participants to rate their experience using a loner laptop through the CSP. The study found that, on a scale of one to seven, 94.1% of respondents rate their experience at a four or higher. This and other data was used to provide recommendations on ways to improve the short-term laptop loan experience.

The ITS Internship Program is funded and supported by the Vice President for Information Technology & CIO. This year’s cohort included ten supervised projects across ITS, as well as more than 20 ITS staff supporting as supervisors or mentors.

Contact

Travis Grandy, Associate Director, Learning, Research & Technology: tgrandy@smith.edu