Librarians
Registration Part 2!
Posted November 7, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
I have an update on my last post! So my desk is completely covered in Pro/Con lists, and I have officially decided to not take LIS 438: Introduction to Archival Methods and Services next semester, therefore delaying my decision on deciding what to do about my concentration and instead just take an elective. I know at the end of my post last week it seemed like I had talked myself into doing that, but then I started going back and forth again, but now I have decided! The world, and course catalog, is my oyster! So many wonderful choices! I’m now trying to decide between a few different classes. I’m planning on continuing to do what I’ve done for the past few semesters and only take one class. Between work, my personal life, and financially, taking one class a semester has really worked for me. Also, unless if I can find a Saturday class that works for me, or a blended class that has a really good time, because of my work schedule next semester,…
The First 100 Days – Guest Blogger – Hanna Soltys, ’17
Posted October 19, 2018 by Lindsey Clarke
Hi Everyone, Please join me in welcoming our one time, guest blogger Hanna Soltys! She recently had the most exciting opportunity at the Library of Congress. Bio: Hanna Soltys ’17 MS, Archives Management is one of five in the Library of Congress’s pilot Librarians-in-Residence Program. She was placed in the Reference & Instruction track, within the Prints & Photographs Division, and began her six-month appointment in late June 2018. The First 100 Days As a Librarian-in-Residence at the Library of Congress Since I’m now in DC, it only feels right to reflect on my First 100 Days. Let’s be real, a residence program at an institution such as this is intimidating. The anxiety and doubt bubbled up as that plane took off from Logan Airport with just my luggage in tow. Though from Day One, I quickly saw how Simmons and my experiences throughout Boston had prepared me for this program. The work I completed with Simmons students and former professor Martha Mahard in the Boston Public Library’s Prints Department ensured I wasn’t too green coming…
A Whirlwind of Activity
Posted October 17, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
Oh my goodness the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity! So many things have happened! I flew to North Carolina to be a bridesmaid in a good friend’s wedding, which was very exciting. I have been to several weddings, especially in the past year, but I’ve never actually participated in one, so it was a new experience for me. I was so thrilled for the couple, I’ve known the bride for ten years and she is one of my best friends, and it was my first time back to North Carolina since I’ve started at Simmons. I completely forgot how hot it is in October in North Carolina! It was about 90 degrees and extremely humid every single day I was there. Additionally, while I was at the wedding, I met someone who was considering pursuing their Master’s in Library and Information Science. It’s really funny, at the past three weddings I’ve been to, I’ve either met someone who has gone to Simmons SLIS, someone who works in the LIS field, or…
Learning about Learning (or rather, metalearning)
Posted October 11, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
I saw a mug in the bathroom at Mt. Holyoke on Saturday that said: “Anything you can do we can do meta” and I’ve been chuckling to myself ever since. You see, the prefix “meta-” is something I hadn’t really encountered before I came to library school and now I can’t seem to get away from it. Librarians love it (and we aren’t the only ones). I’m going to do you a solid today and tell you what meta means and then make up some words with it just for fun. The Google dictionary defines meta as “denoting something of a higher or second-order kind” but I actually like this one from Urban Dictionary better: “Meta means about the thing itself. It’s seeing the thing from a higher perspective instead of from within the thing, like being self-aware.” The example you’ll encounter most frequently in library school is metadata, which is essentially data about data. Right now in User Instruction we’ve been reading about metacognition, which is thinking about your own thinking. And since this…
Engaging Classes and Best Laid Plans
Posted September 20, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
I’m delighted to report that my new system for homework worked incredibly well last week. I methodically chugged through all my readings, got started on some future assignments, took notes on everything I read, and tracked how much time I spent on what. It was so efficient that I had everything finished by Thursday! Want to know my grand totals for the week? (Of course you do.) I spent 17 hours and 45 minutes total, of which I spent 11 hours reading (and note-taking), 4.75 hours on assignments, and 2 hours on review. I know this is incredibly nerdy, but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to know how much time I actually spend on homework, and how close it is to the 20-hour/week ballpark (10 hours per week, per class). Also, I thought it might be helpful for any of you out there still considering library school to get a realistic idea of the time commitment. My archival access & use class is down to only five people, but so far that hasn’t hindered discussion. I find…
Pondering the Future
Posted June 13, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
So, readers, my little summer break is almost over. My new class starts next week (LIS 415: Information Organization). As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, it’s an online class again and I’m excited to start. I am a little bit ambivalent about the shorter timeframe, but I’m really excited about the topic and I’ve already started in on the reading. Over the past few weeks I’ve been pondering my future a lot. Currently, I’m doing the Archives Management concentration within the MS in Library and Information Science program. Even though I’m near the beginning of the program and am still taking my core classes, I can’t help but wonder whether or not the Archives Management track is right for me and if I should instead be doing the design-your-own option. I’ve been doing a lot of informal networking lately, and through my discussions with other librarians I’ve started to think about what I really want to do with my life once I graduate from Simmons, and if archives will play a role in that. …
My Unexpected Library Class
Posted April 9, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
If you are like me, you’ll come to library school with some idea of what librarianship looks like and what subjects your course of study may include. I can tell you that there are plenty of courses that you might expect, such as subject cataloging, history of the book, collection development, and library programs and services. But you will also find courses that you might not expect, like usability and user experience, knowledge management, web development, and information visualization. The fact of the matter is, there will be more classes offered that you want to take than you can fit into your program. Library school is both too long and way too short. If you’re curious about Simmons’ course offerings, you can view the full course catalog here. Database management is one of those unexpected classes that I’m so excited to be taking. My interest in databases dates back to my internship at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the day my staff sponsor asked me if I had any knowledge or experience with Microsoft…
Librarian Advice
Posted April 2, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
Spring break has come and gone (while we’re still waiting for actual spring to arrive) which means we’re entering the second half of the semester. It’s amazing to me how different this semester has been from my last. In the fall I had the same number of classes and the same number of credits, but 20 hours a week was barely enough time to complete all the assignments and I struggled to keep up with the reading (I was also doing my 60-hour archives internship). This semester, 20 hours a week feels fairly sufficient, and my current two classes require lighter reading and fewer written assignments. Last Saturday we had one of our Day-in-the-Life lunchtime programs that could have been called “Personalized Advice from a Career Librarian.” It was awesome. These lunchtime events are one of the best things about SLIS West. There’s free food and the opportunity to mingle with classmates and librarians from around the area. Saturday’s speaker was Barbara Friedman, current part-time director of Erving Library with nearly fifty years of library…
Conference Thoughts
Posted March 26, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
So, let’s talk about conferences. I knew that librarians had conferences before I came to library school. While I worked at an academic library in Virginia, I went to two of them. One was for the state library association, and the other was some kind of interlibrary-loan specific conference. Somehow this did not prepare me for how many library/archives conferences there would be happening in New England. As library students, we get plenty of emails about them and hear a lot about why we should be attending them. Students are even encouraged to submit papers and be presenters. Conferences are a great opportunity but they are difficult to attend. Most of them are a good distance from your home, necessitate overnight stay, require missing class or work (and in my case, lots of babysitting), and charge registration fees. Simmons and sponsoring organizations make a good effort to mediate these demands by offering professional development reimbursements, travel awards, and scholarships for students. These efforts are nice but they also require some time and work on the…
Leadership in Libraries
Posted February 26, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
Nature is teasing me right now with some shockingly mild and beautiful weather for February, making everyone think that spring is coming. As such, I’ve been thinking about seeds. Not the kind that are already trying to sprout in my backyard, but rather, the kind that germinate in one’s mind to invoke new ideas and ways of thinking. This semester has planted the seeds of some new ideas in my mind – ideas that I never thought I’d have. Our professor for Academic Libraries is currently the Dean of Library Services at her institution, which is academic-speak for “the boss.” As such, she brings the very interesting perspective of library management and library administration – one that I have not gotten much of in my other courses at Simmons. What makes this doubly interesting for me is that my dad, who has spent his entire professional career as an English professor, has also recently found himself in a position of leadership and administration. Both my Academic Libraries professor and my dad have been thrust into…