Welcoming Blogger Jake Goldman
Posted June 11, 2026 by Lindsey Clarke
Welcome Jake to the blogging team here at SLIS! Jake Goldman is a part time MLIS student studying at Simmons’ SLIS West Campus in Greenfield, MA. Jake is primarily interested in public librarianship and works for the Montague Public Libraries in Montague, MA. Jake manages the Millers Falls Branch Library—which has provided many amazing library stories to share with you soon! Previously, Jake studied at UMass Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture and the Universidade do Algarve’s Centro de Ciências do Mar. Jake is particularly interested in LIS as a tool for positive social change. Jake also works part time at a local horticultural greenhouse and is passionate about gardening, hiking with their dog Lottie, and, of course, reading. Stay tuned for Jake’s first post coming soon!
Summer Reading 2026
Posted June 8, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
This past spring, I took the course, LIS 491 Reader’s Advisory. For this class, we were required to read nine books from nine different genres. I really enjoyed this course, as it took me outside of my reading comfort zone. This class has inspired me to challenge myself to read more books outside of my normal genres this summer. Since the end of the spring semester, I have already finished four books. The first two books are fantasy and a part of the Winternight Trilogy. They are called, The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. I have also finished the romance novel, Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Finally, I read My Best Friend’s Exorcism, a YA horror. Fantasy, romance, and horror are genres that I usually read, so for my next few reads, I am planning on reading from a different genre. I do not typically read a lot of science fiction, so I am hoping to get my hands on Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, as…
Summer Semester
Posted May 18, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hello everyone! This year, I decided to maintain my academic momentum from the spring semester, by enrolling in two summer courses: LIS 440 and LIS 442. Both of these classes are required for the archives concentration, and are the last two LIS classes that I need to take to complete the LIS degree. The course LIS 440, or Archival Access and Use, focuses on the relationship between use, access, and archival description. In this class, we will be looking at different archival standards, such as EAD and DACS. This class includes a couple of projects, such as creating a glossary of archival vocabulary and building a finding aid. This semester, I enrolled in a section of this course that is both online and asynchronous. The course LIS 442, or Establishing and Managing Archives and Manuscript Collections, provides graduate students with the necessary skills for developing and sustaining an archives. This course has two major group projects–creating a strategic plan and writing a grant–which will equip students with experience that is relevant for a career in…
Time At SLIS Coming To An End
Posted May 14, 2026 by Mary Kassman
My time at Simmons is coming to an end with graduation this Friday! It feels like just yesterday that I was moving to Boston to start grad school. Looking back on my time at Simmons, I have learned so much, met so many amazing people, and have been able to flourish professionally. I truly enjoyed every single class I took and they have shaped me into the information professional I am. They provided me with a strong foundation from which to build my career and I feel confident in taking on whatever comes next for me. My time at SLIS would not have been what it is without our amazing faculty! Every professor is passionate about what they do, and it reflects in their teaching, support, and encouragement. Special thanks to my faculty advisor, Mollie Metievier for being an amazing mentor and teacher! Whether it be my 438 field placement, creating a preservation plan for the University’s art collection, or digitizing a collection for the University’s archive, I am forever grateful for the hands-on opportunities…
End of the Semester–Time Flies!
Posted May 7, 2026 by Abby Edgecumbe
The end of the 2025-2026 school year is upon us! This milestone means different things to all of us in the SLIS community– graduation, or a few classes added towards that goal. For me, it marks my official halfway-point through the program. Wild, right? Time has flown. As you all may remember, I am in the Libraries/Librarianship track, so in honor of passing “Go,” I decided to share with you all what my program has looked like, and how I’m planning to finish out my last year. The MLIS has a selection of courses that are required for everyone, that many people take– either in bulk or at least one or two– in their first semester. These classes are LIS 407 Information Services, Behaviors, and Ethics, LIS 415 Information Organization, and LIS 488 Technology for Information Professionals. As a full-time student, I take 3 courses per semester, and those were the three I took in my first term. LIS 407 introduced me to library theory and presented some of the challenges librarians can face and…
Finals Birthday
Posted May 5, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Having a birthday in early May has its pros and cons. The weather in New England is starting to get nice again, but the end of the spring semester is rapidly approaching. Between my undergraduate and graduate programs, I have had a combination of research papers, presentations, and projects due around my birthday for the last several years. Despite all of these assignments, I make the time to celebrate, by not working on any of my assignments on that day. Here are the steps I take to make sure that I am both prepared and have peace of mind on my day off. The primary way that I prepare myself for my day off is by reviewing the assignments, at least a week before my birthday. First, I confirm what I need to turn in and when I need to turn it in. This means looking not just at the due date, but the due times. Then, I make sure that I have all the necessary materials to complete my assignments. If necessary, I will…
Find Your Library Joy!
Posted April 23, 2026 by Abby Edgecumbe
This week is National Library Week! National Library Week is sponsored by the ALA, and each year comes with a theme. This year, the theme is “Find Your Joy.” In honor of finding my library joy, I’m going to share a few joyful experiences I’ve had in the MLIS and in libraries so far this year. In October last year, I saw a showing of The Librarians at the Brattle Theater, as a part of the Boston Globe GlobeDocs film festival. The documentary follows a handful of school librarians in the American South as they fight against book bans and for the freedom to read. The movie was absolutely incredible, and I really recommend it. The most joyful part of that experience was before the showing, when the organizers of GlobeDocs came out and asked all the librarians in the audience to stand up. Although I’m technically still in training, I did stand, and I felt so honored to be among so many amazing librarians in that audience. The picture to the left is me…
Job Interview Questions
Posted April 21, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hello everyone! Over the course of this semester, I have been applying for jobs at libraries, and thought it would be helpful to share some of the questions that I have been asked during these job interviews. Of course, I have encountered many of the classic job interview questions. For example, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? How do you prioritize your tasks? Where do you see yourself after you finish graduate school? What about in five, or even ten, years? These questions have come up regularly in my job interviews. I have also been asked questions that are specific to libraries and the LIS field. For example, why did you decide to go into the field of Library and Information Science? Why did you apply to this specific library? How will your LIS coursework transfer into the library setting? What can you bring to our library? These are some of the more common library questions that I have been asked. Additionally, I have been asked about community, especially in terms of…
3 SLIS Field Trips in 3 Days
Posted April 14, 2026 by Brooke Thomson
Hi readers! You read that right—the week of April 6 to April 10, this Archives student was pretty busy. I went on three different SLIS field trips around Boston: the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives, and the Harvard Fine Arts Library. Stick around to hear about each experience! 1. Massachusetts Historical Society Last Tuesday, Professor Jiarui Sun took us LIS438 students to the Massachusetts Historical Society for our weekly class session. My first impression was of the beautiful building itself—originally designed to look like an upper-class private residence, so it would blend in with the neighborhood of affluent Bostonians. Now, the area is frequented by flocks of instrument-toting students at the Berklee College of Music, which is literally right next door. And it’s only a 20-minute walk from Simmons University along the Emerald Necklace! Spring technically ‘started’ on March 20th, but it’s only just beginning to look like it. That Tuesday, there was still enough brisk wind to warrant my usual puffer coat, but at least the sun was shining in a…
Resource Spotlight: Interlibrary Loan
Posted April 8, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hey everyone! This week I wanted to put a spotlight on one of my favorite and most used resources that the Simmons University Library has to offer: Interlibrary Loan (ILL). This resource allows students to access materials that are not available at Simmons, through other institutions. This includes both physical and online resources. Interlibrary Loan has been a lifesaver over the course of my graduate experience. Every semester, I have been assigned at least one research paper. Through Interlibrary Loan, I have been able to access a wide variety of research materials, including articles, book chapters, and even full books. Being able to access so many additional resources through ILL has made one aspect of writing research papers much easier. Additionally, the Interlibrary Loan staff at Simmons works fast and efficiently to connect you to your requested resources. I put in three requests just this morning, and have already received them. (Thank you, Interlibrary Loan staff!) If you have a research paper due at the end of this semester and would like to learn more…