Aurora Daniel

Historic New England’s Annual Summit

This past week I attended Historic New England’s annual summit in Portland, Maine. I interned with Historic New England this past spring and during that I found out that they had a scholarship to help current students attend the summit. It covered food, a one-night stay at the hotel where the summit was hosted, parking and travel reimbursement. The worst thing that could happen if I applied was to be rejected so I went for it. Thankfully, I was one of the recipients. As a current dual LIS and History student here at SLIS I’m always looking for opportunities to expand upon what I’m learning in the classroom and it seemed like the summit would provide that. However, what I hadn’t expected was how much fun I would have. View of Portland from my hotel room           The summit primarily consisted of a series of lectures given on a range of topics from building preservation to how cultural institutions can better address the current socio-political landscape to how climate change is impacting this sector. One…

It’s Fall – Balancing Time

How fast this semester has flown by! It’s hard to believe that the leaves are already mostly off the trees, my last day of coaching Ultimate frisbee for the season is this Sunday, and that it’s already time to work on final projects. Unlike undergrad where I regularly had a midterm exam or a couple of tests throughout the semester (yes, even as an Art History major) I’ve found that Library Science and graduate-level history courses tend to have smaller group work assignments or papers early on in the semester and one large assignment towards the end. As we pass by the halfway mark of the semester I’ve transitioned from those smaller assignments to digging into my final projects. What’s exciting this semester is how wildly different they are. For HIST-597: Historical Methods I am writing a historiography of any subject I choose. Currently, I’m exploring historical texts about the U.S. Army Nurse corps to see both how it came into being and how historians have covered its history over time. I did some research…

A Lot To Learn At Beatley

Prior to starting at Simmons I primarily worked with museum registrars and collections managers to catalog museum objects, organize storage space, and assist with install/de-install/shipping of works. While that type of work has different demands and expectations than working in an archive there is some overlap. The collections are unique meaning typically only one version of it exists or it’s very rare. They require attentive and gentle handling because conservation is expensive and you likely can’t replace the objects or collections themselves. While cataloging and ingesting the collections looks different depending on type of collection and the database your institution uses there is still the notion that preserving the order it came in with is important. All that being said, transitioning to archives from museums in grad school felt seamless. Imagine my surprise when I hit the library learning curve. I began working as a library reference assistant at Simmons’ Beatley library this semester. I worked in a physical therapy office before starting my undergrad degree so the customer service aspect of the job was…

A Peek Into Digitization

As promised in my last post I’ll be sharing the work I’m doing this semester at the City of Boston Archives. I’m part of a grant funded project to digitize records related to Boston’s Heroes Squares, which are historical markers located on squares throughout the city to recognize and remember veterans from Boston who died while on active duty. This grant comes from the Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board and was specifically designated for projects related to veterans history. The City of Boston Archives applied for it last year in order to cover the cost of paying a graduate-level intern to work on this project and hired me over the summer. Thus far I’ve been scanning files, editing them, and creating PDFs to represent the dockets that either support or veto the creation of the different squares. By the time I finish I will have scanned over 1,100 dockets. Currently, I’m about a third of the way through scanning. Once that is complete I’ll be uploading all of this to the archive’s database and…

Summer Wrap Up and First Week of Classes

It’s so nice to be back at Simmons after a jam-packed summer! I was a fellow for Warrior-Scholar Project, which is a nonprofit that helps veterans and active duty service members transition to college through one to two week bootcamps focused on building core study and writing skills as well as providing information about how to apply to schools. Over the course of the summer I worked at Yale University, the University of Notre Dame, Cornell University, and the The California Institute of Technology. I was a participant way back in 2018 and wouldn’t be in grad school now without it so it was wonderful to be able to give back. Additionally, being a fellow ensured getting some teaching experience under my belt, which was one of my goals for grad school. I led morning study groups and evening college success sessions, helped grade problem sets, and tutored students on their writing and physics. On top of getting to travel and building my professional skills I also made friends and had a lot of fun…

Having Fun During Finals

All throughout the semester I try to make sure there is time for hobbies and other enjoyable activities and finals is no exception. For myself, that means getting to coach and play ultimate frisbee! This spring Boston has had decent weather so I’ve been able to coach my kids every weekend, play in a weeknight hat league, and attended my alma mater’s annual fundraiser tournament. Ultimate frisbee was a huge part of my undergraduate experience and I didn’t want to quit the sport just because I had graduated. I think part of getting through grad school is finding ways to adapt your hobbies in order to have them fit into a new schedule that prioritizes the increased demands in course work and job responsibilities. I don’t have time to be gone for weekend long tournaments most weekends anymore, let alone the regular two hour-long practices three times per week. However, a once or twice a week hour-long commitment is something I can do. It is a great way to exercise, connect socially outside of Simmons,…

Course Registration Is Upon Us!

In the midst of the last few weeks of the semester is another crucial time: course registration for summer and fall. I’ve decided to take one summer course this year, LIS 488, in order to wrap up the general degree requirements so I can take an elective course in the fall. Since it’s my second semester I have to take LIS 438: Intro to Archival Theory & Practice as well as HIST 597: Historical Methods in order to complete general requirements for my Archives Concentration and my MA degree. That leaves me with one course I can choose to register with what I want. Right now I haven’t decided if I’ll take LIS 446: Art Documentation or LIS 532Q: Museum Studies. That’s always the hard part: what do you choose when there are so many options? While taking a summer course may seem like an easy decision so I could knock out requirements I did not make it lightly. I’ll be working full time this summer and want to avoid getting burned out. The summer…

Half-Way There Check-In

It’s difficult to believe that the semester is halfway over! I started at Simmons this semester and the time has flown by. As a dual LIS – Archives concentration and History degree student I have enjoyed the balance I’ve had between learning Information Science procedures and continuing my studies in History. My favorite part so far has been the discussions in LIS 407 and HIST 568 regarding ethics, engaging with the public/users, and what role collections care and stewardship plays in both. In HIST 568 we had a site visit at The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum where we met with an archivist and discussed how some of these issues emerged in her day to day work. Part of why I chose the dual degree program was for opportunities like this— to connect what I’m doing in both degree programs as well as to think about how this will factor into my future career. I tend to be a bit critical of museums (blame my BA in Art History), but it’s a good…

Welcome New Student Blogger, Aurora!

My name is Aurora and I’m a first year student in the dual LIS – Archives concentration and History degree program here at SLIS. Originally from Oregon, I moved to Boston in 2018 after serving in the U.S. Army as a Motor Transport Operator and paratrooper from 2016 to 2018. I graduated from Wellesley College in 2023 with a BA in Art History with a specific focus on U.S. Art History and building preservation. During undergrad I had a few internships focused on museum collections management and loved the opportunity to connect what I learned in the classroom with my work. I am hoping to continue doing that throughout my career. I believe that Simmons’ program is providing nice groundwork to do so by balancing how to care for archival collections and the research skills to provide the most up to date and accessible information about them. Outside of my studies I love to knit, read historical fiction, and visit museums where I pick their curation apart. I also play and coach Ultimate Frisbee.