Will Romey
Photo of Will Romey
I’m a first year, first semester student at SLIS West. I’m on the archives management track, and am particularly interested in audio preservation, and the history and present of local beer cultures. I’m excited about bringing my past experiences and skills to an academic setting, and connecting with people who are passionate about information studies. When I’m not reading for school, I can be found on a bike, behind a bar, or exploring Western Massachusetts’ bookstores.
Something fun about me: I managed an independent radio station’s progressive talk programming for several years, which required similar caffeination levels as grad school. Fortunately, a decade of barista experience has left me enthusiastic about making great coffee at home.
Entries by Will Romey
This week marks the tipping point of the Fall semester, as we pass the half-way mark. I’m pretty thoroughly immersed in academics right now. When I’m not bartending at work, I’m generally working on my readings, writing papers, or nudging projects along. This academic saturation is nice in some ways – I’m feeling a real focus on schoolwork, and starting to see connections in course materials beyond the superficial. As the end of the semester approaches, classwork begins to shift from weekly assignments and towards end-of-term projects. I’m trying to diligently put some time into my 488 website final, which seems to be a SLIS rite of passage. I’m also starting to turn my reams of notes on the Howes Bros. photographs collection in Northampton into something less nebulous and more focused. Readings, of course, continue on. I’ve got plenty of assigned articles and books for class, but also am grinding through supplemental texts. A Gentle Madness and The Private Library have added a lot of flavor and anecdotes to 449 (Rare Books and Special…
“Students may have to wait until they enter a program in library and information studies, or perhaps do graduate work in literature, to be introduced to the third point on the book-history triangle, the discipline whose concern is with the book as a material object. Even then only a fortunate few will encounter the study of bibliography, where the emphasis is on the preservation and transmission of written texts”. -Howsam, Old Books and New Histories Bibliography was not a field I expected to grab me. I’ve been a book lover since before I could read, and can’t walk past a free book pile without at least a quick rifling through. But after a few readings assigned in LIS 449 (“Rare Books and Special Collections Librarianship”), I have been bitten by the bibliographic bug. Zooming out from an individual work and to analysis of publication, printing, and editing puts the transmission of written text into focus. Bibliography’s broad analysis of the book as a physical object comes with a toolbox of theory and technique to explore…
I biked to the Northampton Forbes Library yesterday morning, and was struck by the autumnal colors –yellow maples, bright red poison ivy, and sumac all whizzed past me on the rail trail. I’m enjoying these signs of fall as the nights get colder. Four weeks of classes have rushed by, and I’m starting to get into the academic rhythm. Saturday feels like the start of my academic week – I have two classes back-to-back at SLIS West. I get an early start with my usual chemex of coffee (No. 6 Depot Coffee Roasters, usually) and a PB&J (homemade buckwheat sourdough, Skippy Super Chunk, Bonne Maman Mixed Berry). Then a scenic drive to Greenfield – last week’s commute was foggy, with a hot air balloon lurking above the highway. I like to listen to a podcast on the way up, as I try to kick my brain into gear – No Such Thing As A Fish has been my go-to lately. I’ve been doing my best to keep Sunday reserved as a day off – taking…
First Day of Classes, or “Get Into the Groove” My first day of school! Last time I started an academic program, I was half the age I am now. That passage of time doesn’t just make me feel existential dread, but also appreciation for all the experiences that took me where I am today – standing next to a towering humpback whale skull by the entrance to SLIS West. First, I drop my lunch bag in the fridge (a tin of smoked trout, a hunk of comte cheese, cherry tomatoes from Astarte Farm, a slice of homemade bread). I head upstairs, where SLIS West Program Coordinator Eric Poulin is easy to find. He’s directing people to classrooms, making introductions, and crucially, has brought coffee and doughnuts. My first class is 488 – Technology for Information Professionals. This foundational course surveys technology use in information fields. As we go through introductions, it’s clear my fellow students have a wide range of backgrounds and goals. This will be great as we explore the field together. After lunch…
