SLIS Fall 2026 Kickoff
Posted September 29, 2026 by Avery Schanbacher
Hi everyone! It’s great to be starting another year here at SLIS, and last weekend’s SLIS On-Campus Kickoff was another success! Here’s a couple photos: Now that we’re a few weeks into the semester, it was great to come together in Drinan Hall on Saturday for a celebration of the start of the new academic year. The On-Campus Kickoff is a great way for both new and returning SLIS students to get to know fellow students, meet faculty members, and connect with some of SLIS’ student and professional organizations. This year, the student groups represented at the kickoff included the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA), SLIS’ art librarianship interest group (Panopticon), Students of Color at SLIS (SoCS), and student chapters of the International Relations Round Table (SCIRRT), Special Libraries Association (SLA), and Progressive Librarians’ Guild (PLG). SLIS student organizations are a great way to meet other students with shared goals and interests, connect with professional development opportunities, and learn more about specific areas of the LIS field. On Saturday, students had the chance…
Reintroduction
Posted September 28, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney
Hello everyone! I have been a SLIS student blogger for over a year now, so I thought it would be a good idea to reintroduce myself. My name is Emmy and I am in the dual degree program for Library and Information Science: Archives Management and History. I started in the fall semester of 2024, and have been enrolled in fall, spring, and summer semesters since then. The only requirement that is left for me is to complete my master’s thesis, which I will definitely be blogging about this semester. Outside of school, I am very lucky to live on Cape Cod, with my parents and our two dogs. I spend a lot of time at the beach, watching the sunset, jumping in the freezing cold ocean, and reading. It is much more fun to read for class at the beach, than at my desk. I also work at a local t-shirt store, where I enjoy conversing with a combination of tourists and locals. My hobbies include reading, running, arts and crafts, learning other languages,…
Simmons in the Autumn
Posted September 23, 2026 by Abby Edgecumbe
Crunchy leaves on the ground, overcast, a slightly chilly breeze, the return of my Blundstones, and the purchasing of three more black Moleskin Cahiers… yes! This means what you think it means, school is back in session. We haven’t spoken since last May, and I’m happy to reconnect with all my current and potential SLISters. I’m sorry about not reaching out sooner, but summer was busier than I anticipated. I interned for a great environmental public radio show, Living on Earth, and continued my work at the Schlesinger Library as a reading room assistant. At the same time, my partner was preparing to begin his PhD journey, and I had to try and factor in enough time to curse the heavens for smiting us with all those heat waves. But now, autumn has seemingly arrived, and with it comes my second (and last) year in the SLIS program. What! Crazy, I know. I am enrolled in three courses, all electives: As of the time I’m writing this, we are smack-dab in the middle of week…
Welcome New Blogger Elizabeth!
Posted September 18, 2026 by Lindsey Clarke
Elizabeth is a first year SLIS student in the Archives Management concentration. She received my BA in English Literature from College of the Holy Cross in 2024 and her MA in Early Modern English Literature from King’s College London in 2026. She became interested in a career in archives while researching in London and volunteering at the British Jesuit Archives. She currently works at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design as an assistant in the special collections. In her free time she loves to read and watercolor! Elizabeth! We look forward to hearing all about your time in SLIS! Welcome to the blogging team!
Reflections on a New School Year
Posted September 14, 2026 by Brooke Thomson
Hi readers! It’s been a while since you heard from me last. This Fall ‘26 marks my second year in the Archives concentration here at SLIS, which is crazy to think about. What do you mean, one more semester and then I’m done? It’s especially daunting when I think about how I’ve been a student for quite literally my entire life. I am 24 years old. People have been asking me lately if I’m excited to finish soon, and the answer I’ve been giving is “yes and no.” Yes, because I’m excited for what it means. I need this degree to advance in the field, and in theory, with it doors should open for me that didn’t before. And I’m excited to see who I really am outside of school. Will I actually never go back? Will I discover that I’m a forever student, and find another degree to claim? Who knows! And no, because my journey thus far hasn’t filled me with as much confidence in the future as I’d like. I apply to…
Digital Divide
Posted August 19, 2026 by Jake Goldman
Last week I discussed the inaugural conference of the MA Digital Navigators Alliance. This week I’d like to link the excellent work the DNA is doing to a concept I was first introduced to in Professor Hussey’s fascinating Social Informatics course. The Digital Divide refers to the discrepancy between who benefits from the advances in digital technology. Think of a household with three children who are are obliged to share a single computer (or phone) with a slow connection to complete required schoolwork online, maybe your doctor’s office is impossible to get a hold of on the phone and can only be contacted through a digital portal, or maybe you’ve relied on state benefits which can only be accessed by navigating an online interface so onerous you swear it must have been designed to discourage benefit-seekers. People’s ability to benefit from digital technology is dependent on the necessary infrastructure and economic conditions to secure access, but also the set of skills required to navigate information technology effectively. Like when you learn a new word and…
From Grad Student to Career Archivist
Posted July 31, 2026 by Laura Kiely
Graduation is daunting. After walking across the stage and popping some celebratory bubbles with friends and family, the expectation is that we all go on to find jobs in our field. I’d like to tell you about my experience job hunting. I started applying for jobs in earnest in March, though I had an eye on the job boards before that. The issue is, if you apply too early you won’t be done with your degree by the time they want you to start. However, timelines in public vs academic vs corporate all vary wildly. The job I ended up getting was one I applied for in March, and my first day is in August. Academic hiring takes the longest, and corporate and public organizations tend to hire on a quicker timeline. Keep this in mind when applying, because you won’t be able to apply in May and start in June most places these days. There are often several rounds of interviews and extensive deliberation periods where hiring committees must all align their schedules. Keep…
Mass Digital Navigators Alliance
Posted July 27, 2026 by Jake Goldman
I was fortunate to attend the first annual conference of the Mass Digital Navigators Alliance this Spring in Southbridge, MA. Digital navigators encompass workers across fields such as libraries, councils-on-ageing, healthcare, community organizations, and municipalities who are working to advance digital access, engaging in efforts to build digital literacy, and providing support to people to navigate the increasingly complex digital world. Some things digital navigators do include assisting people access online benefits systems, housing, education, telehealth, and other essential online services. We in LIS have a lot of experience with this kind of work and it’s great to see a broader coalition joining together around our shared experiences and the need to advocate for the importance of this emerging field from across various backgrounds. One attending digital navigator based in healthcare systems relayed a story about helping a patient to set up a medical device. The biometric monitoring function required linkage to a smartphone app—a daunting prospect so anxiety-inducing in the patient that they deferred using the device for months. Later another participant told me…
A New Library
Posted July 13, 2026 by Jake Goldman
I have some incredibly exciting news to share—thanks to the dedication and hard work of numerous library trustees, friends, volunteers and particularly Library Director (and Simmons alumnus) Caitlin Kelley the Montague Public Libraries will be constructing a new main library building in downtown Turners Falls, Massachusetts. I am incredibly proud of everyone who has labored to make this possible so that the town of Montague can have a modern, accessible library which will be capable of providing the space and services the community deserves. MPL won a competitive grant for $11.3 million dollars through the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and at a June 24th Special Election town residents voted to move forward with the project to construct a new building, appropriating the town’s share of $12.4 million dollars for the project through a debt exclusion. MPL’s main branch is currently located in a beautiful and historic Carnegie Library built in 1905; the building has been insufficient for the needs of the community since almost the mid…
Online
Posted July 2, 2026 by Ashten Vassar-Cain
When I first applied to Simmons, I was not sure if I was suited for an online program. I had just come from an in-person degree at my previous institution and wasn’t sure which modality would suit me best. When I had to relocate for my job, I knew attending in person would not be possible. Still, I was worried, having not completed online schooling since the early days of the COVID pandemic. I quickly learned that I would still feel like a supported and valued member of the Simmons community. Group projects with classmates, working with professors on LIS research, in-person field placements, office hours, and virtual events at SLIS all made me feel less alone and helped me make the most of my studies. I learned to connect more deeply with my passion for archives and cultural heritage informatics, and also to push myself outside of my comfort zone and explore new areas of the field like academic publishing and coding. If I had any advice for myself starting this program after a…