Classes
Digital Preservation Course
Posted March 10, 2013 by lazylibrarian
This semester I am taking a class called Digital Preservation. I haven’t had much previous experience with coding and such so this class has really taken me out of my comfort zone yet I can see just how useful it can be in not only the current archives field but in libraries as well. I see more and more advertisements for technology librarians; we no longer live in a print-based world in America. Having mused over these things I began to wonder about the set-up of Simmons’ Archives Program. As a dual degree student I am studying both archives, under the broader Library Science program and History as a separate entity. Some schools, like U.T. Austin also place their archives programs under Library Science or in the case of Drexel, under Information Science. However, some institutions place their archives programs under their History programs, like UMass. I have never been a part of the UMass program but as I delve deeper into these tech classes I can’t help but wonder how you obtain those technical skills…
So Many Books, So Little Time
Posted February 15, 2013 by Emily Boyd
I have always prided myself on being well-read. I imagine most people considering a career in the library profession feel similarly. Starting the GSLIS program at Simmons has led me to question whether I really am the great reader I have always claimed to be. Sometimes it feels like all of my classmates are better readers than me. One of my favorite classes this semester is Young Adult (YA) Literature with Professor Melanie Kimball. I love learning about working with young adults but this course is certainly putting my reading skills to the test. Along with professional development readings targeted towards young adult librarians, we are also required to read two or three YA books per week! So far I have enjoyed the challenge of keeping up with all of the readings but my speed and efficiency are being put to the test. Although I have moments of insecurity because I do not feel as well-read as some of my classmates, one assignment allowed me to gain some perspective by making me spend time reflecting…
A Blend of History and Archives
Posted February 3, 2013 by lazylibrarian
As a dual degree student in Archives and History, I have one foot in the LIS (Library and Information Science) world and one in the CAS (College of Arts and Sciences) at Simmons. At times it can be a little frustrating since I’m dealing with two different departments but a lot of the time there is more overlap then I would have imagined. Currently, I am taking a Public History course. I have never taken one before and I love it. I almost wonder why I never thought of Public History as a career choice before. I have a Bachelor’s in both English and History and saw Archives as the wonderful combination of the two, but as I continue through this dual degree program, Public History seems the perfect combination of Library Science and History to me. We are currently reading Museums, Monuments and National Parks by Denise D. Meringolo about the evolution of Public History in America. One of the key points of the book, pointed out from the very beginning in the prologue,…
Welcome Back!
Posted January 17, 2013 by cdelnero
Happy New Year and welcome back, GSLIS! I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and a relaxing break.I am still in denial that the spring semester is here. Today reality sunk in and I reluctantly opened some emails from professors and GSLIS staff. I know that once I get into the swing of things, it won’t seem so scary…but right now, I am SO not ready! I have some big things to look forward to this semester. First of all, tomorrow I am heading out to Boston with two classmates for our first course on the main campus. This is so exciting for me because I love the city and can’t wait to experience the main campus as a student and not just a visitor. Even more exciting is that I start my new job on Monday the 28th! That’s right, folks, I got the job! I am officially the library assistant for the Health Sciences Library at St.Francis Hospital, and I couldn’t be happier. This is my first official library job and for…
On Starting A New Year, and A New Semester
Posted January 15, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
I cannot believe that Christmas break already came and went. I spent my time tanning in the Floridian sun, crafting all of my Christmas presents, catching up on some quality sleep time, and enjoying hot beverages… I am especially enjoying the newfound glories of a proper cup of English Breakfast tea, and the new delights of the French Pressed coffee. As 2012 ended and 2013 begins, I always find that a few New Year’s Resolutions make their way into my habits as a student. Read: I WILL read all the readings this semester. I WILL go to office hours if I need help. I WILL start papers and projects well-enough in advance. Like many students, procrastination is a good friend of mine, who pops in more often than I’d like to take up way too much of my time with persuasions of nail-painting and dessert-baking instead of paper-writing and presentation-practicing. Typically, I despise trendy productivity techniques. But over Christmas, I found myself reading an interesting article about the benefits of the small, self-indulgent pleasures in…
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Posted December 3, 2012 by Sarah Barton
Surprise! I bet you weren’t expecting to hear more about my GSLIS course credits this semester, but this is it, I promise. In addition to my three classes this semester, I had an Independent Study doing an internship at a law firm library. The perks of my internship have been gaining practical experience, building my résumé, bolstering my arsenal of talking points for future interviews, and spending time on the job with a library professional. I spent twelve hours per week at the law firm doing a variety of tasks including research, collection upkeep, invoice organization, and basic cataloging. I did not have any designated internship-long projects, and was, for the most part, subject to whatever tasks cropped up on a given day. It was a great introduction to the life of a solo librarian in a special library environment. The internship culminated in writing an article about the benefits of having an internship. I had almost too much material to work with! With the help of the GSLIS professor who proctored my Independent Study,…
East meets West – Part III – The Follow-up
Posted November 20, 2012 by Julie Steenson
I would like to follow up on Chelsea’s two blog posts about some of the differences between the Main Boston campus and West campus in South Hadley. For a general feel, I will start by referring you back to my earlier post, “The Tale of Two Campuses,” but I will try to be more specific in this post. Class Size – Chelsea is right here. I don’t know the names of half of the people in my Boston class but all my West campus classes have been small, leading to a very bonded group of people. At West, we bake brownies for class and seek out opportunities to work together via discussion boards, email, etc. during the week. The small class size does make a more “family” atmosphere. Demographics –In general, we tend to be older on West campus and in my experience, there are also more men at GSLIS -West. There are many more career changers on West, and that leads to the bonding over fitting in classwork and group projects around family and…
A Case of the Mondays
Posted November 12, 2012 by Sarah Barton
Today is Veterans’ Day observed, and GSLIS does not have classes. How will I be spending my morning, you ask? In class. Barring Thanksgiving next week (yay!), the only holidays this semester fall on Mondays. That means there ends up being one less class meeting for Monday classes than for their Tuesday-Friday counterparts. So despite the holiday today, my professor (and from what I’ve heard through the grapevine, a few other professors as well) will be holding class. The thing is, I’m not even mad. I’m not dreading going. It just feels like another Monday. Everybody enjoys a day off (and especially a long weekend), but when classes only meet once per week, not having a class is a considerable setback. My professor isn’t having class to spite us, as she is also coming in on what could have been a day off. We have a lot of material to cover, and just finally got caught up after falling behind a few weeks ago. And, frankly, the point of being at GSLIS is taking classes,…
“Library” Cataloging Experience
Posted October 22, 2012 by Sarah Barton
I thought that cataloging would be my jam. My calling. My future. This assumption, for better or worse, was based on one thing: my iTunes library. Ever since I can remember, I have been militant when it comes to organizing my music. I have carefully constructed playlists by genre (Country, Hip-Hop, Rock, etc.), but I also have some that are not quite so easily categorized, such as “Chill,” “Random,” “Strange,” and “Guitar Hero” (thank you, junior year of college). My basic cataloging method is as follows: For every song in each of my playlists, the “Genre” field in iTunes contains the name of the playlist that the song is in. That way, if a playlist gets accidentally deleted, or I can’t remember whether I put a song in “Strange” or “Chill,” I can easily figure out where it lives. It isn’t sophisticated or foolproof, but it forces me to make deliberate categorizing decisions and gives me peace of mind. One thing that I love about my iTunes library is that many of the choices that…
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Posted October 15, 2012 by Sarah Barton
As promised, whether you like it or not, here is a retrospective account of my courses from last semester: Mondays, 9am-noon – LIS 415; Reference and Information Services A core class, one that everyone must take. The idea behind the class is that nearly every job that requires an LIS degree involves working with information, so this class teaches how and where to find it. We learned about hundreds (literally, hundreds) of information sources and their function. Homework assignments involved finding the answers to obscure questions without using Google, Wikipedia, or anything else on the free web. (Daunting, but useful.) We also learned the basics of reference and customer service etiquette. This and LIS 415 are probably the most library-ish core courses that you will take. Tuesdays, 9am-noon – LIS 488; Technology for Information Professionals A core class, one that everyone must take. The idea behind the class is that technology has permeated just about every aspect of LIS and, for that matter, the free world. As information professionals, librarians are expected to have a…