Emmy Mahoney

Summer Reading

Hello everyone! One of the things that I struggle with the most during the school year is that I have less time to read for pleasure. Now that the spring semester is over and I have much more time, I plan on reducing the vast size of my reading list by a large chunk. The first book on my list is the romance novel, Funny Story, by Emily Henry. Several of my friends have repeatedly recommended this book to me, not only because it is a fun read, but also because the main character is a librarian. You know what they say: if the shoe fits! Looking to the opposite side of the genre spectrum, I am looking forward to exploring some horror novels. On my list, I have The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix and Maggie’s Grave by David Sodergren. I have also most recently added Stephen King’s The Long Walk in the hopes of reading the novel before the movie comes out this September. While I enjoy reading…

Archives Internship

Hello everyone! As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, I have been working as an intern in an archives. The opportunity to complete this internship was granted through the course, Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice, for which we are required to complete sixty internship hours. Through this class, I was paired with the Moses Brown School, in Providence, Rhode Island.  The project I have been working on is arranging and describing one of the institution’s former headmaster’s papers. Named L. Ralston Thomas, he was the headmaster from 1924 to 1955, making him the longest serving headmaster at the Moses Brown School. The collection also contains a wide range of records regarding his wife, Editha Thomas, a performer and musician, who eventually joined L. Ralston Thomas to work at the Moses Brown School.  One of my favorite parts of working on this project has been getting acquainted with the archives. This internship was my first time working in the field and it has been such a wonderful learning experience. With the guidance…

<LIS 488>

In order to complete the MLIS degree, we are required to take a course called Technology for Information Professionals. This class essentially teaches the fundamental principles of technology. At the beginning of the semester, I was really intimidated by this class. I had never considered myself well-versed in technology, so reading words like Python, HTML, and Cascading Style Sheets on the syllabus made me very nervous. Now, as we near the end of the semester, I can say that this class has boosted my confidence in technology.  For our final project, we are making websites using HTML coding. We started this project at the beginning of the semester, and have been working on it for our weekly assignments. Through this project, I have learned that a lot of the coding process is trial and error, and that can be tedious. That being said, nothing is more satisfying than figuring out the right code and seeing the elements appear on your website exactly how you want them to look. In the early stages of the project,…

Springtime in New England

Hello everyone! As the weather gets warmer, I thought it would be fun to create a list of my favorite things to do in and around Boston during the spring. When the weather gets nice, one of my favorite activities is to take a walk in the woods. The Mass Audubon organization has several different nature sites across Massachusetts. My favorites are Moose Hill in Sharon and Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield. Admission to these sites generally costs between $5 and $10 and gives you access to miles and miles of trails to explore. In case the woods are not your favorite, Massachusetts also has several flower picking locations that open up this time of year. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley and Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon both offer tulip picking beginning in mid April. These locations are great if you only want to spend some time outside.  There are also plenty of fun things to do in Boston when the weather warms up. With Simmons’ proximity to Fenway Park, going to a…

Diving Into The Archive

This semester, I have really been able to delve into the archives portion of the dual degree program, and I am having so much fun! I am currently taking two archives classes; the first class is called Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice, and the second is Archives, History and Collective Memory. In my introductory course, we have been exploring the fundamental principles of the archives, including original order and provenance. For this class, we are also paired with an institution for an archives internship. I just started mine at the beginning of March, at the Moses Brown School, in Providence, Rhode Island. This is my very first time working in an archives and it’s really cool to be applying what I have learned in class to this position. As I progress through this internship, I promise I will tell you all about it!  In my second archives course, we have been contemplating how groups of people remember and the idea of a shared past. This class is so fascinating and has given me an…

Commuting Has a Bad Rep

Commuting to school generally has a bad reputation. It can be time consuming and the Boston traffic is not great, but driving in is not as bad as it may seem. I live about an hour and fifteen minutes outside of the city, and I have found several ways to improve my drive into Boston. The first is listening to an audiobook. As graduate students with endless assigned readings, it can be hard to find the time to read for enjoyment. Using your commute to listen to an audiobook can solve this issue and improve the commute. I am currently listening to, and would highly recommend, Drew Afualo’s book Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve. Another way to improve your commute is to call your friends. Having a strong and supportive community is more important than ever. Taking the time to call your friends both makes your drive easier and puts a smile on their face. Finally, making a pump up playlist of all your favorite sing along songs is going to…