Fun
Graduation Celebration Reads!
Posted May 19th, 2023 by Lauren Redding
Happy Graduation Day to those who celebrate! I’ve had a week of travel and music and packing since I turned in my last final, and I’ve been celebrating my impending graduation (and the new job for fall in Chelsea School District that I am very excited for) in typical librarian fashion, of course, by reading. Here’s five 50 word recommendations of my celebratory reads, none of which are on the topic of school at all: Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane McFarlane deals mostly in mid-thirties coming-of-age stories with a romance thrown in there too, and every book I’ve read of hers has been utterly entertaining on every page. Genuinely funny, painfully heartbreaking, and full of well-rounded characters, Mad About You was no exception. Great for fans of dry British humor. When You Get The Chance by Emma Lord Lord writes the type of contemporary YA that sets the standard for the rest. Movie-inspired plot premises become both grounded and heighted in her hands. When You Get The Chance was full of musical theatre references,…
Wrapping up the Semester
Posted May 1st, 2023 by Emma Hayden
It has been a chaotic semester for me, but this week marks the end of my first year as agraduate student at Simmons! It is hard to believe that just eight months ago I packed up my lifeand moved almost 3,000 miles away from home, but I wouldn’t change a single thing about myfirst year at Simmons.While I am filled with stress in finishing up my last project and papers, I cannot wait for the funactivities we have planned in class this week. I am about to submit my final LibGuide for LIS407: Information Sources and Services, where I created a research guide intended for anyonelooking to plan a trip to my home area of California’s Central Coast! Last week in that class wehad a huge potluck where everyone in the class contributed so we had so many wonderfultreats for our last session. This week, for LIS 438: Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice,we get to take a trip to visit the Massachusetts Historical Society which is located really close tocampus. I am looking forward…
MSLA Conference Happenings
Posted April 5th, 2023 by Magenta Jasinski
I recently attended the MSLA (Massachusetts School Library Association) conference at UMass Amherst, one of my favorite college campuses in the state. This event was MUCH smaller than the last conference I wrote about, the Young Adult Library Services (YALSA) conference. It was held on a Sunday and Monday with an optional social on Saturday night. Between the two days, I think there were about 300 people who attended. I had the pleasure of meeting a bunch of participants over wings and beer at the Saturday social at Hangar Pub which made me feel much more comfortable over the next two days of the conference. We had a tight group of Boston librarians that sat with each other at breakfasts and conference sessions. I loved having such a supportive group, and I aspire to be many of them; I am currently a library assistant and MLIS student, and all of them were full-time school librarians. Making those connections was so valuable, and connecting with librarians from Western Massachusetts (WeMA, as one of my friends calls…
Fighting the Mid-Semester Blues with a Little Green
Posted March 15th, 2023 by Klaire Chandler
This Friday is St. Patrick’s Day, a big holiday here in Boston. I’ve lived my whole life in New England, so it’s always been an interesting day for me, but this year I have met a few out-of-town friends through Simmons who are excited about their first St. Patty’s. On the one hand, I’ve got archival subject headings to identify and a Civil War literature review to write, but on the other, I’ve got corn beef hash and brown bread to eat. School’s important and staying on top of assignments and readings is essential. However, I just want to encourage my fellow SLIS students to remember to enjoy the now. I know that sounds a little silly, but we only have so long here at Simmons and many of us will leave this school and this city within a few years. Beyond that, I think it’s good to take a step back and plan some time for yourself. This time of year a lot of us fall into a sort of slump. I’ve seen a…
Book Events in Boston and Baltimore
Posted November 23rd, 2022 by Magenta Jasinski
As we approach Thanksgiving and eventually finals for the Fall 2022 semester, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the book-themed events I’ve attended this semester. I’d like to highlight the following three: First was the Boston Book Festival, which happened on October 29. (See Claire’s post about it if you’d like another perspective.) I went as an attendee in the morning and a volunteer in the afternoon. I had a chance to go to a comics panel at the Boston Architectural College which I’ve walked past many times but have never gone into. The inside of the building is very visually appealing with displays of architectural models, hardwood, and a spiral staircase. The event space was large despite the small number of attendees, the book sale table was well-stocked, the authors had a great conversation, and the questions asked to the authors were engaging. I ended up buying two young adult graphic novels after this event. Next, I went to the young adult horror event in Teen Central, which is the teen…
Museum Adventures in Boston
Posted November 3rd, 2022 by Rebecca Devereaux
And the adventures continue! In this post I am going to focus on my obsession with the museums and libraries in the Boston area. Prepare for a lot of Rebecca’s brain in a perpetual explosion. My list of visits so far: The Central Boston Public Library (BPL), the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the immersive Monet and Impressionist exhibit, the Boston Athenaeum, the Simmons Library, and Emmanuel College’s Library. I have decided that the BPL is my favorite study space in Boston, at least at this point. I love seeing all the people interacting with books, research, and information. I am a fan of studying with the white noise of people moving around in the background, with children walking past, and with so many books at my fingertips. Beyond my visits to the BPL I also need to share about my visits, yes plural visits, to the MFA. I have been three times so far (each visit lasted multiple hours). I plan to go again tomorrow. And I have STILL not…
Warm Weather and Future Plans
Posted July 8th, 2022 by Ivy Noonan
Happy Summer! I hope everyone has been enjoying the weather and has had a restful July so far. I will say I love living in New England but the short summers definitely make me sad. I do appreciate everything snow has to offer but sometimes I ponder moving to a more southern state post graduation. The four seasons can stay but just have slightly longer summers. Speaking of graduation, I’m also starting to look at jobs! While I will be graduating next May, I am a planner and can’t resist starting to see what possibilities are available. My partner and I have started discussing places we would be willing to move to if I got any job offers and D.C. so far has been my top choice. It’s wild because I feel like I just moved to Boston to start the program and now my graduation is on the calendar! I know that it’s over 10 months away but it feels so close. Any other final year students feel the same? I will say pondering…
Summer Plans and Projects
Posted June 17th, 2022 by Ivy Noonan
Hello and happy (almost) summer! I hope everyone is resting and recuperating from the semester and enjoying their break! I’ve been adjusting to my new work schedule and taking advantage of my free time to spend it on passion projects. I enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends so I have two campaigns starting next week and will be starting my own campaign in the coming months. It’s definitely been a stretch outside of my comfort zone to run my own campaign since I am in charge of creating the entire world and subsequent creatures, but I wanted to challenge myself and ultimately get better at it. My campaign is run through Monster of the Week, which is less mechanically heavy than D&D and is more beginner friendly. It definitely has my recommendation if anyone is interested in games similar to D&D but finds D&D overwhelming. I also recommend this to anyone who enjoys writing and world building, definitely allows for skillset growth! I’ve also been adjusting to my new move with my partner…
Into the Library-Verse
Posted May 31st, 2022 by Katie Dillon
Why care about virtual reality? If you’re a current or aspiring librarian, VR might be morerelevant than you think. Simmons professors Catherine Dumas and Rachel Williams areresearching the use of virtual reality in library crisis training, and I recently got to be one of theirguinea pigs!Virtual reality is “the computer-generated simulation of images or whole environments that canbe experienced using special electronic equipment,” according to the American LibraryAssociation. In this case, an Oculus Quest and Mozilla Hub brought me to a simulated publiclibrary.I’ve only used VR technology a few times, and each time I’ve been blown away. Moving withinVR is very intuitive to me, which I don’t take for granted. Growing up, I hated when computergames moved from the point-and-click to 3-D model because I could never get my avatar or thevisual field to go where I wanted. With VR, there’s less need to translate my movement toartificial controls. Love this avatar of me that Professors Dumas and Williams created! As a research guinea pig, I entered the library-verse to watch a presentation on crisismanagement…
The Finish Line!
Posted May 15th, 2022 by Ivy Noonan
Well first I would like to say, congratulations to everyone who is graduating! Also congrats to everyone else who is finishing the semester! You should be proud, graduate school is no joke so take the next week to celebrate yourselves! I know I definitely will be, and not just because it’s my birthday next week. I also wanted to bring everyone’s attention to the Panopticon Spring 2022 Art Show! Many students, staff, and faculty added their beautiful creations to this project, so please go show them some love. Does anyone have any fun plans for the summer? I’m excited to be working my two part time jobs and hopefully re-learning Spanish! It’s been a goal of mine to re-learn a language since Library Science is so customer service focused. I also want to work at a university, hopefully once I graduate, and I want to be more accessible to all students and visitors. On top of birthdays and finals, I’m also moving to Watertown at the beginning of June! I am unbelievably excited. I’ve loved…