Books
Referencing Spook
Posted October 21, 2019 by Katie Carlson
I recently moved from circulation up to reference at the Watertown Free Public Library where I work! It was interning at the reference desk at my local public library in college that sparked my desire to be a librarian in the first place, so it felt a bit like coming home! It’s already been fun to help people that I recognize from working in circ with some of their more in depth questions. My first shift on desk (after my training) was Wednesday night, and I was able to help patrons with flyer making, provided information on literacy classes, completed some reader’s advisory, and updated some bib records. But my favorite thing by far was getting to design a book display! Whenever I do displays, I make sure to showcase the voices of authors of color and of various gender alignments. Displays are a chance to recommend books — even to people who don’t engage with you at the reference desk — and a fun challenge! I wanted to create something spooky, but not overtly…
Book Bound in Boston
Posted October 10, 2019 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
Perks of living in Boston and being a library school student: meeting famous children’s/YA authors. Just a couple weeks ago, my Writing for Children professor ended class early so a couple students can go meet Rainbow Rowell at Brookline Booksmith. Rowell is the author of Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, and Carry On! About a week ago, Brown Girl Dreaming author Jacqueline Woodson was at Harvard Book Store, and then last Saturday, they hosted R.J. Palacio. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, R.J. Palacio is the mastermind behind the Wonder books, and is known for her character Augie Pullman. Before I was able to meet R.J., I had the privilege of meeting six authors at an amazing awards ceremony and reception for the Horn Book hosted at our very own Simmons University. My Writing for Children professor had strongly encouraged us to attend last Friday, and I’m am so glad she did! While I met so many amazing authors, I unfortunately wasn’t able to meet Angie Thomas, the famous woman behind The Hate U Give. Although…
A Break for Some Fun!
Posted September 12, 2019 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
This week, I tried to have some fun. I was assigned three books to read this week for my YA Library Collections class I spent most of my week studying and reading! The books are: Judy Blume’s Forever; Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly; and Looking for Alaska by John Green. I gave myself a goal on Monday. If I could finish all of the readings for my Writing For Children class, and get halfway done with Looking For Alaska, then I would do something fun on Tuesday night. Howdy, cowgirl! Out I went to a country bar. Walking from Simmons to Fenway, I had never realized how “hopping” the area is. Before heading to Fenway on a Tuesday night, I checked to make sure there was no Red Sox game. The crowds out in Fenway Park can get crazy on game night. With no game, I was good to go line dancing. Growing up listening to country music, I was really excited to learn that there is a country bar in Boston. With…
Summer Reading
Posted June 12, 2019 by Sarah Callanan
Summer Reading Summer is here! My summer class (LIS 404: Principles of Management) doesn’t start up until next week, but the course materials are online, so I’ve been trying to get head start by looking at the readings and seeing what my assignments are. I remember how busy last summer was as summer classes at SLIS are shorter than actual semester-long classes (my summer class this time is only seven weeks long). Even though I’m looking ahead to my summer class, I’ve been enjoying my last few days of summer break by reading and relaxing. I’ve been reflecting on what I used to do during summer break when I was a child. One of my favorite activities was the summer reading program at our public library. I was a voracious reader as a child (I still am–not an uncommon trait for someone in the SLIS program), and I not only did the summer reading program at the library, but also at all of our local bookstores. One of the reasons why I’ve been thinking about…
Fourth Class: Complete!
Posted May 15, 2019 by Sarah Callanan
Last week was my final week of class! My fourth semester, and fourth class of grad school is over! I’m done with LIS 451: Academic Libraries! I originally thought it was a bit strange having our big final group project due, and then having one final week of class with lectures, readings, and participation after that, but as our final week was about academic library careers and job interviews, as well as future trends in academic libraries, I think it was a nice way to wrap up the class. In all of my other classes, the final week has been this big stressful build up, and then I turn in my final project, and then that’s it, we’re done. While sometimes that’s very cathartic, I really appreciated the opportunity to reflect and think ahead in the final week of this class. I ended up completing my final week of class on the road because I’m currently on a short summer break for my job! Yay for intersessions! As I work in an academic library, I’m…
I Can’t Believe How Many Books I’ve Read!
Posted April 26, 2019 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
Reflecting on the end of the semester, I keep thinking ‘I can’t believe how many books I have read!’ I created my goodreads.com account in December or November, after hearing about a local high school librarian who used it to track books she read. I thought it would be good to set a goal in January, around the time of the new year. This was before I enrolled in LIS 481: Library Collections and Materials for Children. I thought to myself ‘I’ll create a goal of 50 books. It’ll be super hard to read 50 books by the end of 2019.’ Well, our final reading journal assignment in LIS 481 was due a few days ago. I checked my Goodreads account, and I have read 31 books so far. Wowza, that’s a lot! Want to know the secret? In Library Collections and Materials for Children (a required course for anyone in the School Library Teacher Concentration or Children’s Literature Dual Degree) we are required to read 27 books throughout the semester. Children’s literature qualifies as…
Searching for the Unknown
Posted February 26, 2019 by Amie Grosshans
We are taught early on how to search for information in a library. You search by author, title, or subject, and find what you need. But the reality is, it’s not always easy to find exactly what you want unless you have a good idea of what you are looking for. In LIS 415, Information Organization, we completed an assignment where we searched for the word “grey” as author, keyword, and title. Predictably, the results were numerous and varied, as “grey” is a fairly common word that can be a name or a color. That assignment gave me a lot to think about. I use the library a lot, both for school and for myself. Most of the time I have an author or title in mind when I’m searching, or at least a subject that can narrow down my search. But how do I search when I don’t know what I want? And more importantly, do I ever search for the unknown? All these questions came up because of my trip to the Needham…
Bookshops
Posted July 10, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
It is toasty outside guys! I took a rare day off last week to go visit a few bookshops in the Boston area and cool down out of the heat as my apartment does not have air conditioning. Who needs an excuse to visit a bookshop anyway? A quick Google search for used books leads me to Brattle Book Shop in downtown Boston. It is one of America’s largest and oldest bookshops in America! Established in 1825 and in the same family since 1949. I was in for a surprise when I went because I was really looking for newish books that were on sale. I didn’t think I would come across beautiful antique books. I kept thinking, wow, this would be an excellent place for aspiring writers to find a book about an obscure topic who want to research the old fashion way. I have a new interest in human anatomy books, and their section here was small and very old. Rubber bands held the leather covers to the books, the paper was brittle…
Books and Adaptations
Posted June 12, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
Hello again! I am back in Boston as of late last night (early this morning) and they weather is gorgeous. I read many great books while abroad including a thriller/mystery series. My sister-in-law had obtained a collection of books from the UK author Ann Cleves. These books are great mystery books and the Vera series has been made into a television series in the UK (which we can watch here in the States on Hulu). These series remind me of Agatha Christie series with Hercule Poirot. Great for summer time beach reading of you’re into that sort of thing. Reading these books got me thinking about books that have been adapted into television and movies. I feel that most popular books have now been adapted into a film or television series. Often, people only know about the adaptation before learning that it was a book first (with the exception of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games). The Divergent series, The Maze Runner series, The Book Thief, and Riverdale as well as Lemony Snicket as Netflix…
E-Readers, Tree Books, Libraries & Traveling
Posted May 22, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
Currently I am in Manchester England. The UK is a place I visit often as my husband is from England. I was never much of the E-reader type. I like to hold my books, collect them, smell them, all the things people like us in the LIS & Children’s Literature programs are all too familiar with. I tried E-readers in the past and could never get behind them. It didn’t feel real. Even traveling back and forth from the UK I would lug Jonathan Frazen, Stephen King, or any of my 350+ pages of YA books across the pond. My in-laws and husband would smile at my efforts and my diligence in my devotion to the book I was reading. (The idea behind Frazen was that if I brought a long enough book I wouldn’t have to bring several smaller books, logical right?) I did begin to utilize the public library system over here, which was a huge help and downsized the small personal library I brought with me everywhere. Plus, it was interesting exploring…