Clarabel Smith

Photo of Clarabel Smith

My name is Clarabel Smith and I’m so excited to be joining the Office of Graduate Admissions as a Student Ambassador! This is my second semester in the SLIS program and I’m currently in the design-your-own concentration, with special collections and archives in my primary interests. That being said, I love public libraries and all that they do and it is still a goal of mine to work in a public library at some point in my career. My only library job so far has been a student library assistant as an undergraduate at the College of the Holy Cross, but working in Dinand Library with its talented librarians and fascinating array of materials opened my eyes to the possibilities of library science. Since college, I have worked as a barista, a content writer, and a legal assistant, all jobs which helped me adapt and think quickly, connect with people, and find what I really excel at.

I’m currently living in Brighton and working as a substitute teacher for Cambridge Public Schools. I am looking forward to my first field placement with Introduction to Archival Theory & Practice, and am also volunteering in my local public library branch. I love horror movies and books and wrote a LibGuide on horror media last semester to which I am continuing to add resources- some of my favorites include The Thing (1982), The Blair Witch Project (1999), and Nope (2022). I also skate for Boston Roller Derby league, and I will always encourage locals to attend our bouts! I’m looking forward to my time in the SLIS program and with the Office of Graduate Admissions

Entries by Clarabel Smith

Archival Fieldwork for LIS 438

For many Simmons MLIS students, LIS 438: Introduction to Archival Theory & Practice is a natural next step forward after completing their core classes, especially if they’re thinking of going into the Archives concentration. As someone who is currently in the Design Your Own concentration, I wanted to take LIS 438 to see whether the Archives track is for me, and in any case was interested in how archival practices compared to library and special collections. I was somewhat apprehensive of the field experience component of the class, even though I had been enjoying the concepts we’d been studying so far and I like to apply my learning in a hands-on way. I was worried that it would be more time than I was able to commit outside of class, and that I would be out of my depth in an environment where I didn’t know the people or the institution. However, halfway through the semester, field experience is my favorite part of my week. Field experience host sites are assigned with the help of…