Aisha attended Pratt Institute from Spring 2023 to Fall 2025. Throughout her time at Pratt, she worked on a variety of projects at the crossroads of Information and Knowledge Management, Accessibility, Design, Technology, Research, and more. This portfolio highlights a range of those complete projects, and is a non-exhaustive, but representative, sample of work that demonstrates competence with the Pratt MLIS learning outcomes: Foundations of Library & Information Studies, User-Centered Services, Technology, Research, and Ethical/Creative/Critical Practice.
An Exploration of Cross-Language Information Exchange Among Researchers on the Web
An assignment in INFO-601: Foundations of Information in Spring 2023 required students to, “Select a topic that you [thought] might be relevant to your future career. Research the topic and write a paper that either reviews the topic broadly or focuses on the few current/interesting/important aspects. [...] In reviewing the topic, [you should] identify trends, come up with recommendations, highlight the pros and cons, costs and benefits, or find other ways to express your own views and critical analysis of the issue. All your recommendations have to be grounded in prior research or personal experience.” (INFO 601-01: Foundations of Information Syllabus, Dr. Irene Lopatovska) The deliverables for this assignment were an approximately 2000-word research paper and a 10-minute in-class presentation.
I approached the topic of multilingualism in libraries and information services broadly, then narrowed it to fit the scope of this research paper and assignment after preliminary research. This work achieves two learning outcomes: Research and User-centered Services. I conducted research using reliable sources on user needs and gaps in multilingual information technology/services, and applied my findings and recommendations to improve services in this area centering a diversity of users - non-English predominant/multilingual users.
Considering Identity in Digital Collections at Thomas J. Watson Library
During my time as a library fellow at Thomas J. Watson Library, I worked on a cataloging project to identify and catalog a subset of contemporary records by or about women, LGBTQIA+, and/or BIPOC American artists. I contributed to this project over the course of an academic year and presented a summary of my work at Pratt’s 2025 InfoShow in a 10-minute presentation. I also wrote up a short blog post for Watson’s library explaining the work and its impact.
Cataloging for Representation helps Watson better understand the diversity of its holdings; this allows them to highlight and amplify the voices of diverse artists with greater ease and provide more access to them. To do this work, I had to apply a critical lens to the practice of cataloging and negotiate a variety of tensions around language, identity, and more, achieving an Ethical/Creative/Critical practice learning outcome.
The major assignment in INFO-663: Metadata Design in Spring 2025 required students to, over a semester-long project in a group, "[...] produce a metadata application profile (MAP). Teams of 3-4 students [...] complete a series of group or individual assignments to build up the components of the MAP. Each team [worked] with a set of 15-20 sample objects. The project [culminated] in a final MAP documentation manual and a 10-minute group presentation.” (INFO 663-01: Metadata Design, Alexandra Provo)
I worked with two other students on this project, Nene Villalobos and Collin O’Connell. I served as a project manager throughout this project to ensure our group stayed on track with milestones and met all project objectives. My significant, more technical contributions to the project were leading and contributing to our domain model mapping session, compiling the initial draft of our element set, and creating a metadata entry mechanism and instructions for our cataloging team.
This work achieves the Technology learning outcome by demonstrating effective use of a variety of digital tools and services for information organization, access, retrieval, use, and preservation and management of a digital collection of ETDs.
In collaboration with the New York Public Library Correctional Services program, as part of INFO-652: Reference and Instruction, I answered 3 reference questions from incarcerated people over the Spring 2023 semester. The goal of the project was to provide accurate and relevant information to the patrons within the constraints of the NYC jail system and to write a short reflection on the process.
Writing responses to the reference questions involved research, knowledge curation, and organization, as well as adherence to the NYPL Correctional Services formatting and program requirements. This project achieved two learning outcomes: Foundations of Library and Information Studies and User-Centered Services. Through researching the topics patrons presented to me, I was introduced to information collection and organization standards. Critically, I learned how to search for and vet reliable information sources. This project also introduced me to core concepts of knowledge organization delivery for a specific audience. To write a useful reference letter, I had to keep in mind the situation, location, and diversity of the incarcerated patrons I was serving.
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