Start of the Semester Reflection and Tips
Posted January 28, 2026 by Mary Kassman
It is hard to believe that I’m starting my last semester at SLIS! This past year and half has been busy, but I’ve loved every second of it! I’ve taken three semesters of classes, completed my field placement for LIS 438, interviewed for countless jobs and internships, and have been working two jobs. This semester I am taking LIS 462: Establishing Archives and Manuscript Programs, LIS 472: Digitization Project Planning and Management, and LIS 505: Preventative Conservation. For 462, I am looking forward to learning more about the management side of archives, and working on my advocacy skills. For 472, I am looking forward to actually getting some hands-on digitization experience! I feel like this is the one area of archives that I need more experience in, and to be able to actually work on digitizing materials from the Simmons Archives is exciting. Lastly, for 505, I’m looking forward to getting hands-on preservation experience. Preservation Management was my favorite class I took last semester, and being able to apply the skills I learned in that…
Online Only Semester
Posted January 27, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hello everyone! I am very excited to get back into the swing of things after winter break. This semester looks a little different for me though, as I have enrolled in only online classes. While I normally enjoy having a combination of online and in-person classes, there are a few benefits to having strictly online classes. The first benefit of online classes is the flexibility. You can attend classes from wherever. This could be as simple as choosing to attend from your kitchen versus your bedroom, or choosing to attend class from your apartment or while visiting your family and friends. Furthermore, if you are taking asynchronous online classes, the weekly assignments can be completed on your own schedule. Another benefit to having only online classes is that there is no commute. You simply open up your device and you are in class. This gives you so much extra time that would have otherwise been spent heading to campus. The third and most important benefit however, is seeing your classmates’ pets on Zoom. Nothing is…
NDAs and Privacy Ethics in Libraries and Archives
Posted January 26, 2026 by Laura Kiely
Something we talk about in a variety of courses here at Simmons is how we as librarians and archivists maintain the privacy of our patrons. I am a big advocate for individual privacy, and while I recognize the need for some internal usage data, the overall privacy of users is paramount for the maintenance of continued trust from the public. The ALA has the official statement on privacy here: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/privacy. What I am interested in discussing today is the presence of NDAs in libraries and archives, two of which I have encountered recently at work! I will not disclose where or what about (for obvious reason), nor will I discuss the specific wording of these NDAs, this is instead a reflection upon how privacy works in libraries and archives. All of the ideas expressed here are my own opinions and do not reflect the positions of the places I work. I have found that, in general, the laws and ethical limits on sharing information about libraries extends mainly to the patrons of the library. Public…
Preparing for the Semester
Posted January 12, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
As winter break is coming to a close, it is important to start preparing for the upcoming semester. Before each semester starts, I complete a couple of tasks that help me feel confident and ready for my courses. Here are some tips and tricks to help you do the same. First, I refamiliarize myself with my class schedule. I like to both physically write it out, as well as enter it into my phone calendar. For my in-person classes, I also make sure that I know exactly where the classes are taking place. This will limit any confusion and anxiety I may have during that first week. For my online classes, I make sure I note which ones are asynchronous and which ones are synchronous. For my asynchronous classes, I set up a specific and weekly time–as if it were a synchronous class–to view the lectures and work on the assignments. For my synchronous classes, I make sure that I have a physical space available, where I can attend the class. This also includes informing…
Winter Reading
Posted January 5, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hello everyone! With the fall semester finally over, I am excited to get back into reading books for pleasure. This winter break, my reading list is very ambitious. First, I love a romance book by Emily Henry. Over the summer, I read her book Funny Story, and now I have started reading her book, People We Meet on Vacation. I am hoping to finish it in time for the release of the movie adaptation this upcoming January. Next, I am planning on reading Babel by R.F. Kuang. I read her book Yellowface, and was immediately taken with her writing. If I am lucky, I will also be able to get my hands on her book Katabasis. I am especially excited to read this book, as it is a fantasy book written about graduate students. Third, I have been reading the Stormlight Archives series by Brandon Sanderson. I have already finished the first and second books–The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, respectively–and have moved onto the novella in between the second and the third…
Closing Out the Fall Semester
Posted December 19, 2025 by Brooke Thomson
Hi readers! It took me longer than usual to get this blog out. The last month has been…Rough,to say the least. First, a positive update: I got the Tatte job! Your girl is employed! With this, I’m at least slowing the bleed on my bank account now. I’ve never worked in the food industry before so there’s certainly a learning curve, and I’m still getting the hang of things, but overall work is good. If you’re looking for Tatte food recommendations, I’ve enjoyed the Maple Aleppo Chicken and Morning Bun. Unfortunately, I’m still on the lookout for another job though. The hours and pay aren’t quite enough to keep me afloat. And the not-so positive: I moved…Long story short, my roommates and I experienced some troubles with our previous apartment and landlord. The move itself took place on December 7th , at the worst possible time when it came to work and school. Never in my life have I felt finals stress as keenly as I did these last few weeks, and that was with…
Posted December 10, 2025 by Will Romey
It’s hard to believe that after one final presentation on Saturday morning, my first semester will be complete and I’ll be 25% through my grad school program! I’m looking forward to a winter break of digging into some of my own research (largely on bibliography and ebooks) and non-academic fiction (I’ve been on a big Tim Powers kick). I’m also working on a cassette digitization project, which has been a blast, though keeping a cassette deck from the mid-80s in good shape has been a challenge. Maybe more on that in a future blog post! I presented my research on Historic Northampton’s collection of dry-plate glass negatives last weekend. The presentation went well, and I really enjoyed hearing about what my classmates had been working on. While we all profiled photographic collections, there was a surprising range of topics. A few of the presentations highlighted issues with organization or management. Others discussed the challenges of working with very small archives. As a whole, they highlighted the diverse array of challenges archivists face in dealing with…
Plans For Winter Break
Posted December 8, 2025 by Emmy Mahoney
During the final weeks of the semester, when I am supposed to be focused on papers, presentations, and projects, my passions for my hobbies always seem to resurge with a vengeance. However, by the time my finals have all been submitted, I never remember what projects I actually want to do over winter break. This time around, I have started keeping a list. First, I would like to complete some crafts that I started over the summer and early fall. If you have been following along with my posts, I have been crocheting a scarf since the beginning of this semester. I have just a little bit more yarn left before it is finished, which will be perfect for the ongoing and upcoming cold weather. I have a few more projects I would like to make progress on, including a scrapbook, a cookbook, and another scarf. Second, I would like to read. It seems that whenever I have an important deadline, the Libby app informs me that all of the library books I have been…
Favorites of December
Posted December 4, 2025 by Lucy Oster
Rumor has it that I’m a student blogger here at this institution. Somehow, despite the fact that I’ve played the biggest role in this rumor, both as perpetrator and main actor, it might have slipped me by…. Nonetheless, December is here with its own ice to slip on (mostly rain still in the Boston area, but I’m keeping an extra-cautious eye on the streets when I bike into class now!) and I am busy. Between my full-time job (library!) and part-time internship (archives!) I barely have time to scrabble up the mountain that is my Final Assignments – professors* (*a subset that would include my dear non-professor lecturers) and I both agree that these should be Capitalized. I want to do a semester wrap-up blog post, but I think I’ll hold off on that for now, and I’ll participate in what is my favorite December tradition: lists of favorites. I won’t keep it Simmons-specific (that’s sort of the point of the planned wrap-up blog..), but I will try to keep it to the Boston area….
Moving to Boston from the Midwest
Posted December 1, 2025 by Laura Kiely
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I moved from Iowa to Massachusetts to attend Simmons University SLIS. It was quite the change! I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, then attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, for my undergraduate degree. The transition from a medium-sized city to a town of 9,000 people was a bit rocky, as I had to get used to small-town living. To then move from Grinnell, Iowa to Boston, Massachusetts was a culture shock, but not necessarily like you’d expect! It was more of a lifestyle shock to me. The first, most obvious differences were that everything was more expensive, but also everything was easier to access. I will elaborate. As I was planning on moving to Boston, I looked around at apartments to get an idea of how much I should spend on rent. I rented a room in a house in Grinnell a few years ago, where I lived with four other people. Our rent was about $300 a month! Needless to say, Boston is more expensive…