General
A Peek Into Digitization
Posted September 30, 2024 by Aurora Daniel
As promised in my last post I’ll be sharing the work I’m doing this semester at the City of Boston Archives. I’m part of a grant funded project to digitize records related to Boston’s Heroes Squares, which are historical markers located on squares throughout the city to recognize and remember veterans from Boston who died while on active duty. This grant comes from the Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board and was specifically designated for projects related to veterans history. The City of Boston Archives applied for it last year in order to cover the cost of paying a graduate-level intern to work on this project and hired me over the summer. Thus far I’ve been scanning files, editing them, and creating PDFs to represent the dockets that either support or veto the creation of the different squares. By the time I finish I will have scanned over 1,100 dockets. Currently, I’m about a third of the way through scanning. Once that is complete I’ll be uploading all of this to the archive’s database and…
Welcome Back Everybody!
Posted September 25, 2024 by Isabella Rodrigues
Hopefully everyone has had a couple of weeks to settle into the new semester at Simmons. We are so excited to have you whether you are a new or returning student! A few housekeeping things before we start. Over the summer break, Simmons has moved around a little bit. You might have noticed that you are taking classrooms in a different building or that your advisor’s office is in a new location, especially for the SLIS students. The new SLIS faculty offices are now located on the third floor of the Academic and Management building, go say hello! Check in with the front desk to enjoy the SLIS graduate student lounge in the back for a quiet space to study, read or just hang out. The Graduate Admissions office is now on the first floor of One Palace Road, but if you have any questions about your time at Simmons you should try the One Stop (still located in the Main College Building on the second floor) or the Center for Student Success on the…
Exciting Allen Smith Scholar Upcoming Events for SLIS Students – Fall 2024
Posted September 23, 2024 by Lindsey Clarke
Allen Smith Fall 2024 Visiting Scholar Simmons University School of Library and Information Science welcomes Dr. Sandra Hirsh, Associate Dean for Academics in the College of Information, Data & Society at San José State University, as the 2024 Allen Smith Visiting Scholar. Hirsch will spend a week at Simmons SLIS this October sharing her research around the future of libraries. Hirsch will deliver a keynote lecture on Monday, October 7th at 5pm and will facilitate a panel discussion with five library experts from the Boston area on Thursday, October 10th at 5pm. Both events will take place in room C-503 of the Management and Academic Building and will conclude with a small reception outside of room C-503. Future-Ready Libraries: A Glimpse into 2035 Keynote Lecture Reception to follow As we navigate the rapidly changing landscape of information and technology, the future of libraries is continually evolving. What will libraries look like by 2035? Drawing on key insights from library leaders in the recently published Library 2035: Imagining the Next Generation of Libraries (March 2024), this…
Advice to First Years:
Posted September 20, 2024 by Morgan Wilson
I wasn’t sure what to write about, so I thought encouraging first-year grad students to get involved would be a good idea. During my first two years at Simmons, I had the pleasure of working with the Student Chapter of the International Relations Roundtable (SCIRRT) and the Special Libraries Association (SLA)—both amazing groups that you should check out! I had to step away from clubs after starting a job last summer, but if you’re looking for a way to meet new people, you should definitely get involved. Joining a student group is also a great way to learn more about the other concentrations in SLIS. I learned a lot during my time with SLA, and I am in the dual degree program. Attending different events and talks is also a way to make connections with others in the field, and that is always a bonus!
Taking Time To Figure It Out
Posted September 19, 2024 by Erin Wood
After finishing my undergraduate degree in the Spring of 2020, I knew I needed a break. I always knew that I wanted to go to graduate school, but I couldn’t decide what for. I had gotten my bachelor’s degree in writing with the goal of doing just that, write. However, after I graduated, I realized that I didn’t know what I wanted to do full-time. I was worried that if I wrote for my job every day, I would lose inspiration to write books, which was always, and still is, my goal. So, this left me asking myself what I did want to do. I felt like I had been rushing from one thing to another all my life and had never taken time to actually think. I ended up deciding to take a step back and keep working as a barista. I loved my job, and honestly in the Spring of 2020 it was a miracle I still had one to begin with, so staying where I was and figuring it out seemed like…
New Bloggers
Posted September 18, 2024 by Lindsey Clarke
Hi Everyone! We are welcoming two new bloggers to our space. Give a big Simmons Welcome to Erin and Morgan! Below please find their soon to be added to our blog Bio’s. We look forward to their upcoming posts! Erin: Hi everyone! I’m Erin, and this is my second semester at SLIS in the Archives Management concentration. I grew up on the North Shore of Massachusetts and yes, I do love roast beef sandwiches and drinking watered down Dunkin iced coffee. In 2020, I graduated from Emerson College with a Bachelor of Arts in Writing, Literature, and Publishing. My goal is to work in a rare book library while writing novels on the side. Right now, I am a barista at a teeny coffee shop in my hometown where I make pretty pictures out of milk and drink excessive amounts of caffeine. In my free time I like to read, play the Sims, and pickle vegetables. Morgan: My name is Morgan, and I am in my third (and hopefully final) year of the Dual Archives/History program here at SLIS. Originally from…
Summer Reading Recommendations
Posted May 2, 2024 by Olivia McGovern
Whether it’s laying out a towel at the beach or setting up a hammock at the park, there’s nothing better than reading a book on a beautiful summer day. Even though I’ll be taking a Summer Semester class for part of it, nothing and no one can keep me from getting an iced coffee and reading in the sun! Here are some of the books on my list to finish this summer: Fantasy The Dreamblood Duology by N.K. Jemisin N.K. Jemisin has been one of my favorite authors since my mind was blown by The Fifth Season several years back. I’ve now finished two of her fantasy series, and I think it’s time to tackle another. In this duology, priests of the dream goddess roam rooftops to collect the magic of sleeping minds, until one priest becomes entangled in a murderous conspiracy. World building? Check. Magic? Check. Conspiracy? Murder? I’m in. Science Fiction The Vanished Birds by Simon Jiminez I picked up a copy of this book in the used section of Harvard Book Store,…
In Search of Green Spaces
Posted April 19, 2024 by Olivia McGovern
I’m from a town in Wisconsin where open farm fields and forests are less than a 20 minute drive in any direction. When I moved to Boston, a big part of my initial culture shock was the lack of nature. But I’ve lived here for almost 2 years now, and after some searching and exploring, I’ve found a couple of good spots to touch grass, sit under a tree, or get out in the wilderness. The most central place in all of Boston to sit in the shade of a tree is the Boston Common and Public Gardens. The first time I went, I started by walking through the willow trees in the gardens, crossing the foot bridge and looking out at the pond, where a few ducks swam past. Since then I’ve visited an art exhibition, walked around the Central Burying Ground trying to find the oldest dates, and got rained out at the 2023 Pride Festival. The Common is a great gathering place and easy to get to, but it’s not the first…
Course Registration Is Upon Us!
Posted April 9, 2024 by Aurora Daniel
In the midst of the last few weeks of the semester is another crucial time: course registration for summer and fall. I’ve decided to take one summer course this year, LIS 488, in order to wrap up the general degree requirements so I can take an elective course in the fall. Since it’s my second semester I have to take LIS 438: Intro to Archival Theory & Practice as well as HIST 597: Historical Methods in order to complete general requirements for my Archives Concentration and my MA degree. That leaves me with one course I can choose to register with what I want. Right now I haven’t decided if I’ll take LIS 446: Art Documentation or LIS 532Q: Museum Studies. That’s always the hard part: what do you choose when there are so many options? While taking a summer course may seem like an easy decision so I could knock out requirements I did not make it lightly. I’ll be working full time this summer and want to avoid getting burned out. The summer…
An Unexpected Archive of the Universe
Posted April 4, 2024 by Klaire Chandler
I hope everyone is having a great Semester so far! Mine has been super busy since I started a new job as a Curatorial Assistant at the Harvard Plate Stacks Collection last fall. The Plate Stacks Collection is stored at the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and includes over 550,000 glass plate negatives and spectral images of the stars, which represent the first full image of the visible Universe. 146 women astronomical computers helped to create, store, and analyze this collection over about a century and many of them, such as Henrietta Leavitt and Annie Jump Cannon, have become famous for their groundbreaking discoveries. Before starting the archives program, I would have never imagined working at an archive of this type. However, archives come in an amazing range of shapes and sizes. My field placement involved an archive full of historical medical records, equipment, and human remains. My first archives job includes hundreds of thousands of glass plate negatives representing the entire visible universe. Beyond my work experiences, I have learned of thousands of…