Smathers Libraries Graduate Internship, Proposal, Page 1 of 8

Graduate Internship Proposal:Smathers Graduate Internship
in Building a Science Fiction Portal (“SF@UF”)

Internship Director: Sara Gonzalez (Marston Science Library)

Faculty Partner: Terry Harpold (Department of English)

Abstract:

“SF@UF” is a collaborative endeavor includingSmathers Libraries staff, research and teaching faculty in several academic units, and graduate student interns working in the field of science fiction studies, to improve the visibility and usability of UF’s diverse holdings in science fiction (SF), fantasy, and utopian studies through development of a web portal “SF@UF”. The project will also identify collection needs in these areas, and willimprove Library support of these materials with the rising profile of research and teaching in these areas at UF.

Semester(s)

3: Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019.

Project Overview/Description

Objectives & Goals

Science fiction (SF) scholarship is a field of risingimportance. UF faculty working and teaching in SF, fantasy, and utopian studies are internationally recognized for their contributions to the field. UF PhD dissertations with an SF focus are common and PhD graduates working in the field have secured excellent postdoctoral and full-time teaching positions. The graduate and undergraduate courses in SF taught at UF are popular. The Science Fiction Working Group, a research group of 25 faculty and graduate students, is developing new curricula and an undergraduate certificate in SF studies.

The SmathersLibraries own a diverse rangeof titles and journals in science fiction and speculative literature in multiple languages across its holdings. But the collection’s breadth, scope, and size are fairly unknown. A preliminary search of the UF catalog using the subject heading = “science fiction” shows close to 4000 matching titles. We know, however, that there are many relevant titles which are catalogued using other subject headings like (e.g., “Afrofuturism,” “utopia,”) that may be unknown to untrained catalog users, and that important established and emerging subcategories of SF (e.g., “climate fiction,” “feminist science fiction,” “Latinx science fiction,” “posthumanist fiction,” and others) may be difficult for users to easily find. Special strengths in SF in some of UF’s Special and Area Collections (notably the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature, the Suzy Covey Comic Book Collection,and the Latin American and Caribbean Collection) are not well associated with other SF holdings.

This project will help to raise the visibility and usability of UF’s holdings in SF, and to improve the Libraries’ support for students and scholars working in this field. It will also assist with collection development through identification of gaps and strengths of the SF holdings.

This internship will serve to:

Search and identifySF-related materialsacross a wide range of categories and relevant subcategoriesin the SmathersLibraries’ collection.
Visualize the collection, including mapping out gaps in coverage, and compare to major science fiction collections at peer and aspirational libraries (e.g., The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, University of California, Riverside; the Paskow Science Fiction Collection, Temple University; the Latin American Science Fiction Collection, University of South Florida.)
Build a user-friendly web portal to facilitate discovery and retrieval of titles in the collection by researchers working in SF at UF and elsewhere. In effect, the portal will present the user with a “virtual special collection” in SF that includes titles from across all libraries and special collections at UF. The portal will be a separate website linking from the George A. Smathers Libraries WWW site and from the WWW site of UF’s Science Fiction Working Group.

Deliverables

List of titles owned by the SmathersLibraries that fall under subject areas of science, fantasy, speculative fiction, and utopian studies, using best of practice rubrics for relevant catalog matching.
Comparison of UF holdings with peer and aspirational collections.
Web portal containing titles, linked to new Sierracatalog showing availability. The material will be categorized by subject, language, and national literature. The portal will feature usable hierarchical navigation to easily allow novice users to locate intersections.
At the close of the project, team members plan to collaborate on one or more publishable studies of the project, targeted at scholarly journals in library science and/or science fiction.

Activities

Spring 2018 – Searching and identifying SF materials owned by UF. Determine portal classification terms using best of practice models. These will be discovered by review of peer and aspirational collections, consultation with library cataloging staff, UF faculty teaching in SF, and by review of scholarly resources such as The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ( a standard international reference in the field of SF Studies. Apply for an IRB-02 for later usability assessment and interviews.
Fall 2018 – Prototype website design. Interview SF researchers and instructorsat UF and at other institutions to identify desirable site functionality and capabilities. Prototyping will take into consideration the upcoming migration to the new Sierra platform.
Spring 2019 – Build and user test SF portal, with aim of releasing the portal to the public in Summer 2019. The user testing will be performed with oversight by Laura Spears.

Additional Funding Sources: None

Additional Academic Evaluation Elements:None

Resources needed and committed to complete the project:

The intern will use a workstation at Marston Science Library designated for graduate interns. It is anticipated that software needed for web development is either available on MSL workstations or through UF Apps.

Impacts on other departments

Cataloging: The intern will receive instruction on subject classification and basic cataloging by David van Kleeck.

Library IT: The intern will consultwith Todd Digby and Library IT to build and launch a web portal.

Special Collections: As indicated above we anticipate that substantial material within Special Collections should be included in this web portal. Jim Liversidge, Suzan Alteri, and Paul Losch have agreed to serve as a resource for the graduate student to assist with identifying and locating relevant materials.

Assessment: Laura Spears will provide expertise and guidance regarding IRB approval, collection analysis, and usability testing.

Benefits/Broader Impacts to the Intern

The intern for each of the three semesters of the grant will have established interest and expertise in SF studies and digital humanities. The primary benefits of the project will be: 1) participation in a large interdisciplinary and collaborative digital project, which experience is of increasing value in the job market; 2) participation as co-developer of a significant bibliographic tool for SF research and teaching; 3) playing principal roles in the support of SF-related research and teaching at UF, helping to set, as it were, the agenda of this increasingly important area of study at the University; 4) development of expertise in cataloguing and bibliographic best practices and the design and testing of user interfaces for users of research library collections; 5) co-authorship of the published studies of the project.

Benefits/Broader Impacts to the Libraries

“SF@UF”will benefit the SmathersLibraries by defining the extent and scope of its collection in SF.This is valuable for collection development by identifying gap areas that should be remedied. We anticipate that the project will also strengthen cooperation in this field of research between the Libraries and the growing number of faculty and graduate and undergraduate students working in this field of study.

Benefits/Broader Impacts to the Academic Unit

Improved visibility and usability of Smathers Libraries’ holdings in SF are of benefit to all UF faculty working and teaching in this field and to their graduate and undergraduate students by way of 1) facilitating targeted uses of Library resources in the field; 2) identifying collection areas in which UF is already strong and areas in which there are collection needs (this knowledge can shape curricular decisions and faculty purchase recommendations); 3) helping to raise the profile of SF at the University, which will help to attract undergraduate students to courses, graduate students to graduate programs with emphases in SF, and demonstrate to the profession that UF is an institution where SF is expertly taught.

Student Learning Outcomes

The interns will develop valuable experience with:

Practical work life in an academic research library
Developing an understanding of library classification schemes
Strengthening web development skills and building a digital portfolio

Metrics for Project Deliverables

Spring 2018

Taxonomy of SF classification terms

Comprehensive list of SF titles within the Smathers Libraries’ collection, matching terms of the taxonomy

Fall 2018

Prototype of SF@UF website

Interview 5+ SF researchers for input about portal functionality

Written analysis of comparison of UF holdings with 3+ peer and aspirational collections

Spring 2018

Web portal complete

Usability testing completed with 3+ faculty and graduate students

Roles of the Internship Director and team members

Sara Gonzalez(Marston Science Library) will serve as Internship Director and co-supervise the intern, work with her/him to develop best-of-practice analysis and documentation of SF holdings with regard to Library standards, and coordinate support of her/his research development work across the Libraries.

Terry Harpold(UF Department of English) will co-supervise the intern, work with her/him to develop best-of-practice analysis and documentation of SF holdings with respect to the field of SF studies, and coordinate support of the project with members of the Science Fiction Working Group.

In this highly collaborative initiative, the team members will work closely with and meet with the interns on a regular basis (see below, “Plan of Activities” to determine project priorities, method, schedule of deliverables, and set timetables for next project phases).

The internship position will be filled by three different students (beginning with Karina Vado, a graduate student in English working on Latin American and U.S. minority SF). Before each intern’s semester appointment draws to a close, the next intern will be brought into the team so that she or he will be up to date on the project’s progress and ensure continuity between semesters.The tasks and responsibilities for each semester require distinct expertise and thus the need for three different position descriptions.

Plan of Activities for Each Semester Covered

Spring 2018

Attend the Library Orientation and CV/resume workshop

Present internship outcomes to both appropriate Library staff and members of the SFWG

Intern will meet weekly with supervisors

Specific Activities:

Search and identify SF materials owned by UF
Determine portal classification terms, using best of practice models.
Develop list of peer and aspirational collections
With guidance from internship supervisors and Laura Spears, apply for IRB-02 for usability testing

Fall 2018

Attend the Library Orientation and CV/resume workshop

Present internship outcomes to appropriate Library staff and members of the SFWG

Specific Activities:

Continue to refine portal classification terms
Prototype website designInterview SF researchers and instructors to identify site functionality
Compare UF holdings with peer and aspirational collections

Spring 2019

Attend the Library Orientation and CV/resume workshop

Present internship outcomes toappropriate Library staff and members of the SFWG

Specific Activities:

Develop web portal in consultation with Library IT
Conduct user testing of web portal

Brief position description for the internship

Smathers Graduate Internship in SF@UF – Spring 2018

Pay Rate: $15/hour. Number of students needed: 1.

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, up to 10 hours per week (total of 160 hours/semester)

Note: This intern has already been identified as Karina Vado,a Florida Education Fund McKnight Doctoral Fellow, and a PhD student and instructor in the Department of English. Her primary areas of research and teaching are in feminist and multi-ethnic science fiction and fantasy studies, critical (mixed) race and gender studies, utopian studies, and the history of medicine. At UF, she serves as Senior Coordinator of the Latino Educational Advancement Program (LEAP), an academic success initiative offered by Hispanic-Latino Affairs. She is also an editorial assistant for the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association’s open-access online journal, “Dialogue: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy.”Karina’sinterdisciplinary dissertation project, tentatively entitled Mapping Bloodlines, Engineering Utopia: Genetic Futurities and Race Mixture in American Speculative Fiction, participates in and contributes to larger conversations examining the re-presentation of race and racism in SF and SF criticism.

Summary of Responsibilities and Duties

Under supervision by the Internship Director and Faculty co-Supervisor, intern will develop a list of classification terms used in science fiction and related material. These terms will be used to develop a comprehensive search strategy, in partnership with subject specialists and curators, to create a list of SF titles owned by the Smathers Libraries.

Qualifications

Required

Strong searching skills
Knowledge of usability testing protocols

Good oral and written communication skills
Be able to work independently with strong organizational skills

Preferred

Understanding of Library of Congress classification
Experience searching the library catalog
Familiarity with major SF collections and libraries

Smathers Graduate Internship in SF@UF – Fall 2018

Pay Rate: $15/hour. Number of students needed: 1.

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, up to 10 hours per week (total of 160 hours/semester)

Summary of Responsibilities and Duties

Under supervision by the Internship Director and Faculty co-Supervisor, intern will refine classification terms relevant to science fiction and assign to holdings in the UF collection. The intern will also prototype the website design through interviewing SF researchers and instructors to identify site functionality. Using the list of peer and aspirational collections created in Spring 2018, the intern will compare and analyze those collections with the UF SF holdings.

Qualifications

Required

Experience with web design including accessibility best practices
Good oral and written communication skills
Be able to work independently with strong organizational skills

Smathers Graduate Internship in SF@UF – Spring 2019

Pay Rate: $15/hour. Number of students needed: 1.

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, up to 10 hours per week (total of 160 hours/semester)

Summary of Responsibilities and Duties

Under supervision by the Internship Director and Faculty co-Supervisor, intern will develop a web portal featuring SF materials held by the Smathers Libraries. The intern will consult with Library IT as needed to ensure that the website conforms to Smathers Libraries and UF general web standards. Intern will also conduct usability testing to ensure that the new portal meets the needs of SF researchers at UF.

Qualifications

Required

Experience with web development, using HTML or other web-based programming languages
Knowledge of usability testing protocols
Familiarity with accessibility standards for web design

Good oral and written communication skills
Be able to work independently with strong organizational skills

Preferred

Expertise withAPI web services
Demonstrate strong graphic design skills