Student Snippets A Window Into The Daily Life & Thoughts of SLIS Students

Blended Class

Registration Is Coming…

Last week one of the most-anticipated parts of my semester arrived – course listings! It seems that every year departments post their course offerings for the next term at just the right time; I’m not bored with my current classes per-say, but I am past the midway slump with more items crossed off my assignment lists than still on them, and my end-of-term papers are set squarely in my sights. Knowing how much work I have yet to do, dreaming about next semester and all of the new content I will get to learn is a welcome break.  The new semester also promises a fresh start where I can readjust my schedule to try out a new mode of learning. This semester I stacked my course and work schedule so that I only have commitments Tuesday-Thursday. It’s a lot packed into a little bit of time, but I am really treasuring my four-days-in-a-row off too. Next semester I’m interested in experimenting with an online course or two as I’ve watched my roommate totally thrive with…


Final Thoughts on LIS 453 (Collections Development and Management)

I know it’s been a little while since I last posted and I’m so grateful the Simmons folks have been patient with my erratic summer blogging. Our final class for LIS 453, collection development, was on Saturday and I’ve been gathering all my thoughts about the class, the format, and the things I’ve learned. First of all, I’m really glad I took a summer class and I’m glad I only took one, as opposed to two like I originally planned. This summer has been so enjoyable, with just the perfect balance of relaxation and work, traveling and sitting at home, homework and pleasure reading. I almost wish it could last forever, but fall is just around the corner and with it, a busy new semester at SLIS West! This class was the first time I had ever taken something with an online component, and I thought the blended format worked really well, especially for summer. To me it seems like the “happy medium” between in-person and online classes. It gave me flexibility to vacation with…


On Catching Up, Belonging, and Library Stats

As I wrote my last post it seemed as if summer was just beginning, and now I am watching the longest day of the year fade away over the endless, undulating lines of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I am in Virginia right now, and I can’t get over how awesome it is that I can be on vacation in the middle of my summer class at Simmons. I love this blended format.    The days are sliding by just as summer days should, and I find my time agreeably divided between homework, leisure reading, and hiking. I’ve made several visits to my old library, the one I’m using for my assignments, and it has been so fun to chat with the librarians again now that I’m in library school. Suddenly I find myself interested in and caring about topics that had never crossed my mind back when I was the library assistant: things such as acquisition policies, weeding strategy, and the future of information literacy education at the university. The director and I had a…