Conferences
Voting in the (ALA) Presidential Election
Posted March 18, 2016 by Tara Pealer
I’m not saying that I don’t care about the current Nation Presidential Elections. However, I’m an independent registered in Connecticut, which means I don’t get a vote until November 2017. There is one election I can vote in, and it’s the ALA elections, and I recommend that every ALA member (even students!) vote. If voter turnout is low, the elections can get really tight. The ALA website has a lot of great links and information, and I recommend doing your background research on the candidates. Their biographies and positions are all stated clearly on the website, and the three presidential candidates each have websites for people to view. There are three positions to vote for in this election cycle: President, Treasurer, and Councilor-at-Large. You can even do all of your reading when you’re voting on the website. There’s even a few Simmons Alumni running to fill some of the 34 vacant Councilor-at-Large positions! I worked at the Jim Neal table for ALA Midwinter, but I got to learn about and interact with plenty of the…
New England Archivists Spring Meeting
Posted March 23, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
This week the New England Archivists held their spring meeting in Portsmouth, NH, and I (and a good portion of my archives classmates) were in attendance. This was actually my first professional conference, and I went to see and hear professionals in the archives community talk about their jobs, the current state of the archives field, and of course, a decent dose of networking, networking, and more networking. (I am terrible at networking, and would generally rather rip out my own tongue than talk to a complete stranger, but I went into the conference knowing that I would have to do exactly that at least once because it was an assignment for my LIS440 class. Let the record show that I did manage to talk to one stranger and did not die as a result, so I think I may be a better person for the experience.) (Let the record also show that one stranger was exactly how many I talked to, so… baby steps.) The thing about the archives field is that it is…
The (Updated) Tale of a (More) Reformed Networker
Posted September 30, 2013 by Sarah Barton
I had my first networking revelation a little over a year ago, and my second one happened last Friday at the Special Libraries Association New England Fall conference (which conveniently took place at Simmons). I spent the day listening to presentations, pondering the meaning of special libraries, and, well, networking. For some reason there was a ridiculously long 90-minute lunch break, so I figured I would mill around for a few minutes, grab some food, then sit outside and read a magazine. Well, it turned out that instead of embracing my inner introvert, I found myself breaking bread with three complete strangers (gasp!). Ok, so they were fellow special librarians and conference attendees (calling them strangers is a bit dramatic), but still, this was a major deviation from my plan. It seems absurd that this lunch conversation was such a big deal for me, but I am pretty proud of myself for being sociable on Friday. My first networking revelation made me realize that networking truly is important, and this one made me realize that…
The Art of the Symposium
Posted April 2, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a very cool symposium put on by many of GSLIS’ student organizations including SCoSAA, LISSA, ALASC, ASIS&T, Panoption, SLA, and UXPA. This Symposium was the second one GSLIS has ever put on, and provided a really interesting glimpse into many different areas of GSLIS. There was a keynote speaker, GSLIS’ own Martha Mahard, and four panels of students and past students. Each panel had a topic, and the panelists gave a presentation on their specific area of study and then answered questions. Overall, there were a wide variety of topics, from Technology to Ethics, and it was incredibly interesting to see what my fellow students were working on (not to mention impressive… I’m feeling like a bit of a slacker for not having presented!). An additional super-cool part of this Symposium was that it was available for both live and future streaming. As the Facilitator for the Archives Management Cohort Online, it was awesome to be able to present this opportunity to the online students that…
2nd Annual GSLIS Graduate Symposium
Posted March 31, 2013 by lazylibrarian
I am still digesting everything…yesterday I participated in my first conference, Simmons 2nd Annual GSLIS Graduate Symposium. The day went well all things considered, but it was both an exhilarating and exhausting experience. I presented on the art panel and chose to talk about how we can use technology to integrate more use of primary source documentation as a means of context in art museums. It was not an idea I thought would create any backlash at all, and perhaps backlash is not the right word. It wasn’t hostile, but some of the questions I received after my presentation surprised me. But that is a good thing, and is the point of a symposium. It is all part of the peer review. When my very first question was pushing back at something I said instead of just a general question for further explanation I immediately felt my pulse quicken and my self-esteem plummet. But I quickly realized that the questioner was not attacking me, she was not even really attacking my work but simply bringing…
Finding Archiving Principles at PAX
Posted March 24, 2013 by lazylibrarian
With a computer programmer/gamer boyfriend there was no way I was going to forget that PAX East, one of the country’s biggest video game conventions, was this weekend. Not being a gamer myself, I steered clear of making it a four day event complete with the Pokemon pub crawl (gotta drink them all!) like he did. I did, however, tag along Sunday out of curiosity. (And I would have you know that I beat, nay, alienated three men in Ticket to Ride) Upon seeing there was a panel on the preservation of video games, I also dragged the aforesaid three men along. I was greatly amused to listen for two hours to five panelists discuss the job of an archivist without ever saying the term. The panel was sponsored by The American Classic Arcade Museum (ACAM), a non-profit organization in NH that strives to preserve pre-1980s arcade games. Also present was a researcher trying to track down the original names of some of the early game designers, a professor of game design, and a gentleman…
One more step toward adulthood (AKA inflaming PPS)
Posted February 16, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
I don’t know why I was holding back. Maybe I thought that without an official MLS I wouldn’t be allowed in. Perhaps I was I was afraid that pledging my time, money and inbox space to this organization cemented my career choice more than paying $6,500 a semester ever did. Whatever the reason I have been avoiding the ever watchful, and professional eye of the ALA, a lidless eye, wreathed in flame. Wait, no, that’s the eye of Sauron. I don’t equate the ALA with Mordor. Really, I just fear that being a member of a professional organization is the final step toward adulthood. To a certain extent, I am right. My inbox is overflowing with invites to email lists, print and e-publications, and various webinars about the latest happenings and developments in the field of library science. SCARY, right?! Ok, I’m overreacting. I’ve always had PPS, Peter Pan syndrome, and growing up on any level really inflames my condition. The boy in tights inside of me wants to cut and fly away. Then I…
Tweeting NEA
Posted November 4, 2012 by lazylibrarian
Blake Spitz@bgspitz At the mothership in Boston @simmonsgslis for #NEAfall12. Excited for a full day! The event/conference of the week was the fall meeting of New England Archivists (NEA), hosted by none other than your very own Simmons College! Since I currently work in a library and not an archives I did not have the option of excusing myself for professional development and missed the workshops and banquet on Friday night. (Though I did go to Guy Fawkes Pub Night on Friday and drank Samuel Adams with Samuel Adams’ spirit in the Old State House!) But living in the dorms means that I rolled out of bed at 8 am and walked over to the academic campus where sessions started at 9. I tweeted the conference through my twitter handle (which until last night was simmonslazylibr now it’s puschartwarrior) so here is the day in tweets! Stacie Parillo@stacieparillo Every room I’ve been in seems really young. I wonder what the average age is of NEA attendees? #neafall12 Since Simmons hosted there was A LOT of Simmons grad students present,…
Conferences, Conferences, Conferences!
Posted October 14, 2012 by lazylibrarian
I just hit submit on my registration for the NEA (New England Archivist) Fall Meeting that is going to take place at Simmons! Ok, call me a nerd but I love conferences. What’s even better is getting to go to them for free by volunteering. A lot of conferences are looking for student volunteers to help run things like the registration desk and in exchange you get to go to the sessions after your shift is over. And since its Boston, a lot of conferences in a lot of topic areas come here. If it’s free, I’ll sit on just about anything. The more information, the better! This summer I volunteered on the registration desk for the AALL (American Association of Law Librarians) conference. I had a two hour shift and the best part was my friend signed up for the same time and we were late in the day so it wasn’t very busy. In exchange for telling several women (I’m not joking, this came up at least three times) where they could buy…