General
The Thick of It
Posted October 28, 2025 by Will Romey
This week marks the tipping point of the Fall semester, as we pass the half-way mark. I’m pretty thoroughly immersed in academics right now. When I’m not bartending at work, I’m generally working on my readings, writing papers, or nudging projects along. This academic saturation is nice in some ways – I’m feeling a real focus on schoolwork, and starting to see connections in course materials beyond the superficial. As the end of the semester approaches, classwork begins to shift from weekly assignments and towards end-of-term projects. I’m trying to diligently put some time into my 488 website final, which seems to be a SLIS rite of passage. I’m also starting to turn my reams of notes on the Howes Bros. photographs collection in Northampton into something less nebulous and more focused. Readings, of course, continue on. I’ve got plenty of assigned articles and books for class, but also am grinding through supplemental texts. A Gentle Madness and The Private Library have added a lot of flavor and anecdotes to 449 (Rare Books and Special…
Open Source Collections for Creative Minds
Posted October 27, 2025 by Brooke Thomson
When I was an undergrad student at Florida State University, I worked for the History Department as a Social Media Intern. One of the things I loved to do there was find free, high quality, downloadable images and videos to incorporate in my graphic designs. My trademark was playful, scrapbook-style content using these materials in order to promote FSU History classes, announce campus events, and educate viewers on various historical topics. Now that I’m a SLIS student I get to dive even deeper into these repositories and learn what makes them tick, but I still think they’re just plain fun. So I thought I’d share 3 of my favorite resources with you all! It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in adding some fine art to your social media designs, working on a school project, or simply browsing around—these collections are sure to inspire creative minds! 1. Smithsonian Open Access Smithsonian Open Access content includes downloadable high-resolution 2D and 3D images of collection items, as well as research datasets and collections metadata. All of the Smithsonian’s…
Race Training and Grad School
Posted October 24, 2025 by Emmy Mahoney
When I started graduate school last year, I also started another project. I have been running races. Last year, I ran the Cambridge Half Marathon, just this month I ran the Cape Cod Half Marathon, and this upcoming Thanksgiving, I am signed up for a 5K. These races are a lot of fun, even for a slow runner, such as myself. Balancing graduate school and race training might seem like they would clash, but I find that more often than not, they complement each other. Leading up to a race, is weeks, if not months of training. Life is three mile, six mile, ten mile runs after class, work, and between homework assignments. This has allowed me to become very skilled in time management. For each race, I create a very detailed schedule that accounts for runs, workouts, graduate school, and my other commitments. These scheduled runs are essentially allotted times for me to get outside and move my body, which is so important to do, especially as a graduate student. Additionally, being so busy…
The Joy of Art in Libraries
Posted October 23, 2025 by Michaela O'Gara-Pratt
As a child, I grew up fascinated by the architecture of my local public library. Designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, the decorative wood interior has always sparked my imagination and creativity. The settings of the fantasy novels I grew up reading seemed to come alive inside of the stained-glass windows created by John La Farge. I am glad that in the late 19th century there was a push to make public spaces so beautiful. In many ways, a lot of these old New England libraries are more accessible museums. An individual can visit the murals painted by John Singer Sargent at the Copley Branch of the Boston Public Library without the entry fee associated with the Museum of Fine Arts, which also holds examples of Sargent’s murals. As a budding librarian with an interest in art, I am excited by the intersections of art and public education. Recently, the Boston Public Library received a significant donation to restore the third floor of the historic McKim Building. This project would increase public access to some of…
How to Read Like a Grad Student
Posted October 22, 2025 by Olivia McGovern
Something I learned way too late into grad school is that I don’t know how to read. I mean, we obviously all know how to read. During syllabus week, who in the entirety of SLIS hasn’t listed reading as one of their hobbies outside of school? Being avid readers is one of the main things us librarians usually have in common, along with a robust cardigan collection and colorful hair. The problem is that I didn’t know how to read efficiently and strategically. I’m a first-generation college student and this is my first time in graduate school. So, when I would see readings assigned in my syllabus, I would add each reading to my To Do List for the week and try to read each one front-to-back, highlighter at the ready. Despite working full time, I was usually able to scrabble together enough time from bus ride commutes and weekends to make it work for, oh, about two weeks. After that point, it became clear that I was just not going to be able to…
Bibliographic Initiation
Posted October 21, 2025 by Will Romey
“Students may have to wait until they enter a program in library and information studies, or perhaps do graduate work in literature, to be introduced to the third point on the book-history triangle, the discipline whose concern is with the book as a material object. Even then only a fortunate few will encounter the study of bibliography, where the emphasis is on the preservation and transmission of written texts”. -Howsam, Old Books and New Histories Bibliography was not a field I expected to grab me. I’ve been a book lover since before I could read, and can’t walk past a free book pile without at least a quick rifling through. But after a few readings assigned in LIS 449 (“Rare Books and Special Collections Librarianship”), I have been bitten by the bibliographic bug. Zooming out from an individual work and to analysis of publication, printing, and editing puts the transmission of written text into focus. Bibliography’s broad analysis of the book as a physical object comes with a toolbox of theory and technique to explore…
First Semester
Posted October 16, 2025 by Lucy Oster
It’s my first semester of graduate school, and everything’s been pretty solid so far. However, it is still early days, and I know that the Roadrunner-style crash could be just around the corner! But, hey, that’s what keeps me running. I relish being busy when that busyness is all about what I’m interested in, which is to say: LAM (libraries, archives and museums.) I also like lambs! I’m taking three courses this semester: the introductory LIS 407 and LIS 415 online, and LIS 439 Preservation Management in-person. I’m doing the archives management concentration here at Simmons, and Preservation Management is the first course I’m taking for that. The course is pretty interesting, and I’ve learned that a lot about preservation management ultimately comes down to, guess what, management and resources. Every type of physical and digital resource has its own special little requirements to live for as long as an archivist wants it to. This is, to quote my professor, “until the sun explodes.” The most interesting aspect of LIS 439 for me so far…
Learning From Interviews
Posted October 15, 2025 by Michaela O'Gara-Pratt
I have been doing a lot of job interviews recently. As a second-year student at SLIS, applying for jobs this year feels a lot different than it did last fall when I first started the program. I have new skills to highlight on my resume, and I have the knowledge I have gained from internships and coursework. Despite this, I am still new to applying to jobs in the field and I have discovered that interviews are a great place to learn more about what these jobs really look like, even if you are not offered a position after the interview. Historically, I have always been a big fan of informational interviews. I enjoy conversation and I feel like I learn a lot about my options by talking to people who have been in similar situations. Before I pivoted to Library Science, I worked at an in-patient psychiatric care unit. At the time, I thought I wanted to work full-time as a mental healthcare professional, so I spoke to everyone I could. I scheduled meetings…
Reflecting on my First Year: Archives Management and Required Courses, Semester 2
Posted October 14, 2025 by Laura Kiely
In my last post I told you about the courses I took during my first semester here at Simmons SLIS. In this post I’ll discuss my second semester courses! After getting required courses out of the way, there’s a lot more wiggle room for which classes you want to take. I’m working on the Archives Management concentration, which has a more prescribed series of courses. My second semester I went from taking more general library courses to archives courses! I rounded out my central three required courses with LIS-488, the course on technology. Now, I have mixed feelings about this class. It’s a phenomenal course for people who come in with very little computer science knowledge or background, so I figured that having only taken a couple of courses in undergrad meant I fit into this category. The good news is that I know more about computer basics than I thought! The bad news is, I did have several days in that class dedicated to information I already knew. That’s not the end of the…
Into a Rythm
Posted October 13, 2025 by Will Romey
I biked to the Northampton Forbes Library yesterday morning, and was struck by the autumnal colors –yellow maples, bright red poison ivy, and sumac all whizzed past me on the rail trail. I’m enjoying these signs of fall as the nights get colder. Four weeks of classes have rushed by, and I’m starting to get into the academic rhythm. Saturday feels like the start of my academic week – I have two classes back-to-back at SLIS West. I get an early start with my usual chemex of coffee (No. 6 Depot Coffee Roasters, usually) and a PB&J (homemade buckwheat sourdough, Skippy Super Chunk, Bonne Maman Mixed Berry). Then a scenic drive to Greenfield – last week’s commute was foggy, with a hot air balloon lurking above the highway. I like to listen to a podcast on the way up, as I try to kick my brain into gear – No Such Thing As A Fish has been my go-to lately. I’ve been doing my best to keep Sunday reserved as a day off – taking…