Brooke Thomson
Photo of Brooke Thomson
Hi readers!
I’m Brooke, a first year Simmons MLIS student with a concentration in Archives Management. I come from Tampa, FL and this is my first time living out of state! I’m really excited to get to know Boston and Simmons University. Many students come into this program with some practical library, archival, or museum experience already under their belts—I have none, so I’d like to share my journey with other students who may relate to that. Before coming to Boston, I got my BA from Florida State University in Creative Writing and History. Storytelling is something I’m passionate about, so it tracks that I’m also a total geek! When I’m not too busy, I like to obsess over TV shows and movies, read fantasy novels, and window-shop the merch at BoxLunch. Two things on my Boston bucket-list are: getting a Boston Public Library passport and seeing a Bruins game!
Entries by Brooke Thomson
When I was an undergrad student at Florida State University, I worked for the History Department as a Social Media Intern. One of the things I loved to do there was find free, high quality, downloadable images and videos to incorporate in my graphic designs. My trademark was playful, scrapbook-style content using these materials in order to promote FSU History classes, announce campus events, and educate viewers on various historical topics. Now that I’m a SLIS student I get to dive even deeper into these repositories and learn what makes them tick, but I still think they’re just plain fun. So I thought I’d share 3 of my favorite resources with you all! It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in adding some fine art to your social media designs, working on a school project, or simply browsing around—these collections are sure to inspire creative minds! 1. Smithsonian Open Access Smithsonian Open Access content includes downloadable high-resolution 2D and 3D images of collection items, as well as research datasets and collections metadata. All of the Smithsonian’s…
I have two in-person classes that meet once a week on Boston campus. Much of my workload takes place outside traditional lecture hours, but what does that really look like? I’ll tell you! LIS488 Technology for Information Professionals is one of the four core courses all MLIS students are required to take. It provides the conceptual foundation and context of computing, the Internet and related technologies as used in information-intensive professions. I like to call it ‘The Coding Class,’ because I have to do a coding lab every week. The end-goal is to create a website using what we’ve learned about things like HTML, CSS, Python and XML. I chose to create a blog for my website. With each subsequent lab, this blog becomes slightly more sophisticated and recognizable. Of the three classes I’m taking this semester, I would say this one is the hardest because I’m brand new to this subject and easily confused. Coding calls for precision, just like math. Either you did it right and it works, or you didn’t and you…
Hi there! My name is Brooke, and I’m starting my first semester of the MLIS program with a concentration in Archives Management. I thought a good way to start things off might be going over my first week in town. Stick around if you want to hear more about the famous September 1st move-in, my first days of class, how I joined a club called Panopticon, and what went down at the President’s Welcome and SLIS Kick Off event! Move-In DayIf you don’t live in Boston, you probably don’t know that most leases here turn over on September 1st (I sure didn’t). In a city affectionately called “America’s College Town”, that means on this day every year, thousands of Boston students—and their families, friends and movers—hit the streets with boxes and furniture galore. Parking is a nightmare, Target is a warzone, and so much stuff gets left out on the curbs that Boston has its own unofficial curb-shopping holiday called “Allston Christmas.” Allston is a neighborhood of Boston well-known for its college student residents, but…
