Winter Term 2020 Library Data Application Developer Intern
One Library Data Services intern will collaborate with librarians to develop a web application using R and Shiny that will allow faculty, staff, and students across our campuses to explore data that measures how Middlebury faculty, students, and staff view library and computing services. The data will be extracted from the biennial Measuring Information Services Outcomes (MISO) Survey. The MISO Survey is a web-based quantitative survey sent to faculty, staff, and a sample of students at Middlebury every other year. The results of the MISO Survey help us to understand how the campus uses and values information services, as well as satisfaction levels with these services.
An interest in open source development and a desire to contribute to assessment technology at higher-ed institutions is important. The data from the survey will need to be cleaned and standardized before developing the Shiny application, and all scripts and development will need to be well documented with the goal of sharing the code with other institutions so that they will be able to build on the work done at Middlebury.
In addition to working with librarians to understand the data, clean it, and develop the Shiny web application, there will be opportunities to explore other facets of working in an information science profession, including shadowing Research & Instruction librarians in their work and informational interviews with a variety of library staff.
Projects/Responsibilities
- Write R scripts to clean and standardize SPSS data files for use in R/Shiny
- Develop a prototype Shiny web application for use by the larger Middlebury community
- In conjunction with the Digital Scholarship & User Experience Librarian and the Data Services Librarian, design and execute user testing of the prototype application
- Propose and, where possible, make revisions to the prototype based on testing
- Shadow select library staff in various library departments
- Document all aspects of the data cleaning and application development
- Keep a daily work/learning journal
Educational Goals
The Library Data Services internship offers students the opportunity to learn about library and information science careers for individuals with data science and/or programming skills. Librarians, even those who work primarily with data, wear many hats, and the intern will get a chance to see the wide variety of work that happens ‘behind the scenes’ in libraries. Through seeing the development of a web application from beginning to deployment, the intern will also gain valuable experience in project development, documentation, and sustainable programming. In developing and executing user testing of the application, the intern will gain experience in user-centered design, UX research, and stakeholder communications. Finally, the intern will gain experience in reflective self-assessment through keeping a daily work and learning journal.
Qualifications
- Computer science or data science experience preferred.
- Knowledge of the R programming language, including the RStudio IDE and the tidyverse package required.
- Experience with the R web application package Shiny preferred.
- Curiosity about library and information science, digital scholarship, or alt-academic careers strongly preferred.
- Strong documentation and communication skills required.
- The successful candidate will be required to sign a Non-disclosure Agreement due to the possible exposure to sensitive data.
- The successful candidate must be responsible, energetic, and able to work well both independently and as part of a team.
**Middlebury Only**
Please visit go/WTinternships for information on receiving credit (if desired) for Winter Term internships.