Things I’m Looking Forward to in Spring/Summer 2026
Posted March 30, 2026 by Brooke Thomson
Hi readers! Three days ago, I noticed a row of bright yellow daffodils blooming on Huntington Avenue. As soon as I saw them I stopped to take a photo and send it off to my family groupchat. “My first sighting of spring flowers!” I said. And I’m not the only one. Five days before that, a classmate spotted snow drops. And just two hours ago, my best friend out in Cleveland told me excitedly that, “Spring has sprung! The trees in front of my apartment are starting to grow buds!” Have you noticed Spring growing in your own backyard? I hope so! Winter was cool (ha ha) but I’ll be so glad to see her go. Spring—I am ready for you. Not just for warmer weather and pretty flowers, but everything else too. I’ve said before that this semester is a busy one, and I mean it. I’ve never been as busy as I am now. I also passionately said something about always having time for my movies and books, no matter how busy I…
Recalibrating My Focus
Posted March 23, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hey everyone! It is always so hard to believe how fast a semester flies by. Now past the halfway point, assignments are piling up and the end of the semester is rapidly approaching, but my focus seems to be elsewhere. Here are some of my favorite strategies to help myself get back on track. Listening to music is a tried and true focus strategy. I love to listen to music, but when my study playlists and Lofi Girl no longer do the trick, I like to switch things up. Classical music, video game music, and music in another language always seem to bring the energy back into my study sessions. Going outside is another really great strategy for getting myself back on track. With the weather warming up, even just a little sun on my face can do the trick. If that does not seem to be enough, going on frequent and short walks can also be very helpful. Having just a bit of fresh air and movement always seems to sharpen my focus. My…
A Mid-Semester Update: Classes & More Field Trips
Posted March 16, 2026 by Brooke Thomson
Hi readers! We’ve passed the halfway mark! Now seemed like a good time to go over some of my academic experiences so far. Classes I’m currently enrolled in LIS438 Intro to Archival Theory & Practice, LIS415 Information Organization, and LIS505-International Archives. Collectively, this has entailed lots of academic reading, at least 20 discussion posts, two papers, three group projects, and two final project proposals. For LIS438, I’m in the process of writing a 6-8-page paper exploring the literature on archival processes for live performance costumes (25% of my grade). In the same class, I’m also working on a processing plan for a small digital collection that’s worth 20% of my overall grade. Meanwhile, my group in LIS415 is tackling a hefty project on LRM Modeling, Description & Access (also 25% of my overall grade). In LIS505, I’ve just committed to making a StoryMap that introduces a history of language/terminology in the development of ‘archival science’ for my final project. I’ll touch on the Western-centric scope of archival standards, barriers to open-access and interoperability, and on-going…
Blizzard Reading Wrap-Up
Posted March 9, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hey everyone! We are a few weeks out from the blizzard of February 2026, and my personal highlight of this major storm is that it rescued me from my reading slump. The blizzard had knocked my power for five days, and for five days, I did nothing but read. Here is my blizzard reading recap. Over the course of the outage, I read books both required for my classes and for fun. For my class–Gender, Sexuality, and the Carceral State–I finished two books. The first was Delinquent Daughters: Protecting and Policing Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885-1920 by Mary E. Odem and the second was From Asylum to Prison: Deinstitutitionalization and the Rise of Mass Incarceration after 1945 by Anne E. Parsons. For another one of my courses–Reader’s Advisory & Popular Cultural Trends–I read Mia Sosa’s The Wedding Crasher. With no distractions, it was very easy to finish these books. In terms of reading books for enjoyment, I was able to finish two books: Strange Pictures by Uketsu and The Goose Girl by…
What’s in My Bag? (SLIS Edition)
Posted March 2, 2026 by Brooke Thomson
Hi readers! We’ve got a change in scenery today. I’m writing to you from the Simmons Graduate Admissions Office, where I now give SLIS tours part time. But evidently no one wants a tour today—so blogging it is! Like I said two weeks ago, this semester is a busy one. And it’s only getting busier. But I don’t want to talk about that! Let’s have some fun this week and do a text-based What’s In My Bag? (SLIS Edition)! I almost always carry a back-pack with me to campus. So what the heck is in there that makes it so heavy? My LaptopThis is one of the heaviest things in my bag, but I can’t go to school without it. I’ve had my computer for almost 10 years and am doing everything in my power to keep it functional for as long as I can. I’m not one for new tech (a hard thing to be in this field…). And like pretty much every student in this country, I decorate the case in stickers. Most…
Mid-Semester Check In
Posted February 25, 2026 by Mary Kassman
Time has flown by, and it is crazy to think that I am approaching the halfway point for my last semester! Classes are in full swing and we’re getting into the thick of things. In LIS 505-Preventative conservation, we have conducted our first site visit and started monitoring the Simmons Art Storage Room. We worked as a group to place multiple data loggers that track relative humidity and temperature throughout the space, took multiple lux and UV lighting measurements, and placed glue traps around the perimeter of the room. It was a great way to experience everything we are learning in class, in a realistic hands-on setting. In LIS 462-Digitization Project Planning, we were split into groups and each given a small collection from the Simmons University Archives to digitize. We are deep in the throes of project planning, and have gotten to inventory and handle the materials we are working with. One thing I am really enjoying this semester is the large amount of hands-on archival work I am getting to experience in just…
Preparing for the Thesis
Posted February 23, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
As a graduate student in the Library and Information Sciences and History dual degree program, I am required to write a history thesis in order to graduate. Over the course of my two years in this program, I have spent a lot of time considering and preparing for this thesis. Now that I am really getting into it, I thought I would share some of the advice that I have received. The main recommendation that has been given to me is that your thesis should be on a topic that you are already familiar with. More specifically, it is recommended to expand on an idea that you have already written about in one of your history classes. For newer students in the program, this means being thoughtful about the research topics that you chose in each of your classes. For students who are gearing up to write their thesis proposal, this means considering your past projects. Another important piece of advice that I have received is to form positive relationships with your professors. In order…
Play by Play of a SLIS Student’s Week
Posted February 16, 2026 by Brooke Thomson
Hi readers! This week I thought I’d cater the blog towards any potential or admitted students. It can be hard to get a sense of what your days will actually look like at the school you’ve applied to, especially if you’ve never been there before. That’s the boat I was in when I applied! I remember snooping on these blogs from my computer in Florida trying to picture myself in the experiences of other students. If that sounds like you, I hope you find this helpful! MondayTo me, the first day of the week is Monday. So we’ll start there! On Mondays I don’t have class, so I work part time at a restaurant for 5-7 hours. Depending on my mood and how work goes, when I’m done I’ll either fit in some schoolwork or become a couch potato. I’d like to say I’m a little more productive onaverage, but taking two hours out of my day on the commute alone tends to make me tired. Sometimes a good round of couch potato is needed….
Mentoring Future Archivists
Posted February 10, 2026 by Laura Kiely
I have been asked on a few occasions to act as a mentor to future archivists, usually undergraduate students with an interest in archives management. I find these requests very complimentary, as it indicates that people find me to be a good source of information and guidance for students. These asks have come from friends, career advisors, and professors I know personally, and the students are usually juniors or seniors in college. From my experience, there are two sorts of requests: introductions and requests to give out my contact information. When I am asked to talk to a student about Simmons SLIS, it is usually from a career advisor or a professor working to connect their student with someone that they know is in the next phase of education in the library sciences. Often, the professor will reach out to me and ask if I am willing to be connected with the student. I agree to answer the student’s questions. Student follow-through on actually asking their questions is fairly intermittent, I have found. In some…
My Spring Semester
Posted February 6, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hello everyone! With the semester in full swing now, I thought I would tell you all about the classes that I am taking this spring. I am in the Library and Information Sciences and History dual degree program, so each semester I take a combination of history and library science classes. This semester, I am enrolled in three classes. My first class is HIST 560: Gender, Sexuality, and the Carceral State. In this class, we are exploring control, punishment, and surveillance, and their corresponding systems and institutions. During each class, we engage in discussions about the assigned readings, considering them historically, as well as relating them to current events. This is not a field that I have much experience with, so I am excited to have the opportunity to delve deeper into this topic. My second class this semester is LIS 433: Oral History. For this class, we are learning about all of the necessary steps to conduct oral history interviews. Each week, our class has a guest speaker from the field, who provides interesting…