Project Description:

Communiversity, a grassroots education initiative powered by TMT Youth Community Foundation, maintains a library of over 2,500 community resource materials—including books, zines, academic articles, and historical documents related to African American literature, Southern labor, revolutionary history, and women’s liberation.

Currently, these materials are not digitally cataloged and inaccessible to virtual learners and researchers. This creates a gap in visibility, searchability, and engagement.

We are seeking a team of IT students to design, build, and document a working prototype of an online library catalog system to help the Communiversity team better manage and share this rich collection.

Project Type:

• Website or Web Application Prototype
• Database Design and Implementation
• IT System Audit Report
• Technical Training Material or User Guide

Project Timeline:

Milestone Date

Experience Start July 8, 2025

Kick-Off & Scope Meeting July 9, 2025

Project Planning & Goal Setting July 18, 2025

Midpoint Check-In & Progress Report October 1, 2025

Prototype or Draft Solution Due November 4, 2025

Final Presentation & Deliverables December 1, 2025

Experience End December 1, 2025

Project Scope & Objectives:

Students will:

• Audit existing digital asset management practices
• Design a responsive web-based catalog UI (HTML/CSS/JavaScript)
• Build a basic backend/database (e.g., MySQL, Firebase, MongoDB, or SQLite)
• Create a search and filter system based on title, author, category, or keyword
• Build upload/input forms for staff to add new resources
• Produce Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERDs) and basic schema documentation
• Prepare a user guide and technical manual for internal training

Project Activities May Include:

• Conduct an IT System Audit of Communiversity’s current file/asset structure
• Design a relational database, including ERDs, data definitions, and sample entries
• Build a front-end prototype for public and staff use
• Develop basic cybersecurity practices (e.g., access control, anti-spam)
• Explore cloud hosting feasibility for long-term scalability
• Write a training document for Communiversity’s staff and volunteers

Deliverables:

• A functional prototype of a web-based library catalog
• Database design documentation, including ERD and SQL schema
• A system audit report with recommended improvements
• A project plan with timelines, role assignments, and feature roadmap
• A final presentation deck for stakeholders
• A technical manual and end-user guide

Learning Outcomes & Student Skill Development:

Students will gain hands-on experience in:

• Front-end and back-end web development
• Database modeling and implementation
• IT project planning and audit writing
• User experience (UX) design
• Writing technical documentation for real-world applications
• Collaborating with a nonprofit client with a strong social mission

Ideal Learner Profile:

• Undergraduate IT, Computer Science, or Information Systems majors
• Comfortable using GitHub, Replit, Visual Studio Code, or other dev environments
• Familiar with HTML/CSS/JS; optional experience with React, Vue, or Bootstrap
• Knowledge of MySQL, MongoDB, or Firebase (or willing to learn)
• Interested in digital equity, cultural preservation, or nonprofit tech support

Why This Matters:

This project will provide Communiversity with a scalable foundation to digitize and democratize access to over 2,500 culturally and politically significant resources. It will enable the platform to engage new learners, researchers, and communities online.

The prototype created by the student team will serve as a launchpad for future development and onboarding of youth interns into tech careers through maintenance, tagging, and content curation.