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 to meet with student leaders from each group and learn more about getting involved during their time at SLIS. Throughout the year, these groups host lots of great opportunities to build community, and plan some really amazing events like visits to museum and archives, talks with current professionals, and LIS-centered book discussions. (My favorite event so far has been visiting the Boston Symphony Archives with Panopticon!) I highly encourage everyone to get involved with these professional orgs where you can, and take advantage of the unique opportunities they help create for students.

It’s surreal to be entering my third semester at SLIS, but I’m so excited for what this semester holds! As a student in the archives management concentration, I’m taking courses on Archival Access and Use (LIS 440), Establishing Archives and Manuscripts Programs (LIS 442), and Rare Book and Special Collections Librarianship (LIS 449). I’m especially enjoying putting some of the ideas I’m learning in LIS 440 to use in my current work as an archival intern.

Throughout the academic year, I also help run SLIS’ social media presence as the SLIS Dean’s Fellow for Social Media and Communications. In this role, I really enjoy getting to highlight SLIS alumni and faculty members, share amazing stories from students, and celebrate SLIS’ commitment to excellence in the LIS field. Helping support social media also means I get the chance to document and share tons of amazing SLIS events like the On-Campus Kickoff, and I’m excited to be getting back into the swing of things this fall. Some of my favorite events we’ve highlighted so far have been last spring’s Allen Smith Symposium, as well as faculty and student panels on special topics in the field! It’s great to see fellow students connecting and growing at SLIS, and I love being able to share what’s going on at SLIS with our larger community.

For SLIS updates throughout the semester, be sure to follow us on Instagram at @simmonsslis, or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn. It’s going to be a fantastic year ahead! To wrap up, I hope everyone is having a great semester so far, and enjoying the start of fall weather, no matter where you are!