People
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…
I might sound like your mother, but…
Posted September 26, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I am old enough to be your mother, so it’s okay. I know you are so busy that the thought of giving your time away might seem near impossible. Like many of you, I have a job, a home, a family, and of course, school. We are all in different stages of our lives, and so some of us have a cat, others a spouse. Many of us have kids – ranging from the tiny squirming variety to adult children, and everything in between. We rent apartments, live with our parents and own homes. We commute minutes and hours, and we are so tired and busy. I know what you are thinking. “I don’t have time to volunteer.” I got my first library job in recent years by volunteering at the library first, and then working my way up as positions became available. I volunteered in a prison library and found my passion to be a correctional librarian. But I am revisiting this topic (I have mentioned it in previous blogs…) because Tuesday night, I…
Five Things I Have Learned Joining GSLIS
Posted September 19, 2013 by Jill Silverberg
Before I packed up the family car with dad to drive up to Boston for school, my mom decided to impart some advice for me to mull over during the course of my four and half hour long car ride. She said “Keep your mind open, everyday you are going to be learning something new, in and out of school.” I’ve got to give my mom a hand; she doesn’t normally offer such thought-provoking advice. However, since I was unable to go back home to Long Island for the Jewish high holidays, I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot lately, especially what she said to me two weeks ago. So, for my first official blog post for GSLIS, I’ve created a list of the top five things that I have learned since becoming a member of GSLIS. *The following is in no particular order and can probably apply to the experiences of students outside of the GSLIS program* Moodle is your best friend: Although this seems like an obvious one, Moodle is a resource…
Teaching in the Library
Posted September 18, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I want to talk about librarians as teachers, and I don’t mean librarians in schools. I mean librarians everywhere. I have encountered many academic librarians who talk about teachable moments at the reference desk. I have had many teachable moments in the public library, too, and in the prison library. Teachable moments come in different varieties, just like patrons. Some of my recent “students” include: An older gentleman who reminisces about the old card catalog and hasn’t a clue how to search and find on the OPAC. A ten year old girl who wants to know if we have more books “like this,” as she holds up her latest read. A teenage boy who is watching Under the Dome on TV and wants to know if we have King’s novel on CD…and while he is here, what other Stephen King books do we have? An inmate who wants the next book in a Science fiction series. A middle-aged woman who has gone back to school and wants to learn how to use our databases. A…
Last Semester Blues
Posted September 11, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I started the GSLIS program in January 2012, and with the completion of my three courses this semester, I will have finished my degree program. Woohoo! Well, mostly woohoo. I think I have the last semester blues. I know that sounds totally ridiculous. I will be done with homework, done with long class commutes, done with tuition, and I will have my MLIS, which will hopefully be my ticket to the job of my dreams. What in the world am I sad about?! I think I am more afraid than anything. Will it be too easy not to learn new things? Will I get tired, complacent and frumpy? Will I turn into deadwood? Will I stay committed to knowing what I need to know to be the best librarian I can be? I know these fears are unfounded. I will never stop learning with so many opportunities for continuing education through Simmons and ALA, and other LIS universities like Syracuse (where I am taking a WISE course this semester). I even have my eye on…
The Library Lady
Posted September 8, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
All stereotypes come from somewhere. This, we all know to be true. How many of us, though, work with all of our might to confound the stereotype when it comes to being a librarian? I believe that many of us do. We despise the stereotype that all librarians are surly wenches with their hair wound so tight it seems as if it never gets let down. We counter that librarians are a force for positive change in this world of information overload, not the gatekeepers of dusty, musty books. Then I ask you why, why oh why does every librarian I know own a cat?! Now, before I am pegged as the cat-hater in GSLIS let me first just say that I myself just got a kitty at the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Her name is Eva. She jumps on my face. She naps on my tummy and her arch nemesis is a ball of tin foil I rolled off the counter a few nights ago. I am quite the opposite of the naysayer….
Winter is Coming
Posted August 19, 2013 by Sarah Barton
I watched the first episode of Game of Thrones on June 22 as an escape from the afternoon heat in Washington, DC. Fast-forward 24 hours, and I had watched five more. The only thing stopping me from completing the entire ten-episode season by dinnertime on June 23 was my flight back to Boston. I hurried home from the airport and immediately went to my library’s webpage to request Seasons One and Two on DVD. When I saw that there were 100-something holds on 90-something copies of each season (my library is part of a network of libraries in the greater Boston area, hence the large numbers), I added myself to both hold lists and vowed to start reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series upon which the Game of Thrones television show is based. It didn’t take long to become so immersed in the books that I forgot about the queue for the DVDs. The novels initially intimidated me, as there are currently five (with two more forthcoming) that…
Exploring Your Neighborhood
Posted August 13, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
For the first time in seven years, I am so happy that this coming September 1, my husband and I will not be moving. I will be excluded from the uHaul hassle, the security deposits, the shady landlords, and dealing with the fact that dishwashers are still a sought-after commodity despite our foray into the twenty-first century. In the past year, knowing that we wouldn’t be moving in September, we have made our little apartment a true home (rental-style) – temporarily replacing the dim lighting fixtures, accruing beautiful (if eclectic) art and photographs, even adopting a puppy for our pet-friendly pad! But one of the things that we have admittedly slacked on is learning our area. When my husband randomly plugged our address into Walkscore.com and a 97 popped up, his friend asked what great coffee shops, bars, parks, and restaurants were in the area to inflate our score so much – sadly, we had no idea. It wasn’t until very recently that we actually made exploring our area a priority – and we have…
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Graham Herrli
Posted August 9, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
I have fallen into the habit of falling in love with fellow classmates in my past few semesters at GSLIS. I share my crushes through this blog to you, the GSLIS community. I first met my friend Graham in LIS 408, User Instruction. While there were many talented people in the class with lots to contribute, Graham always intrigued me because of his usability perspective on library science issues. Graham is one of those students that blows you away with his passion and genuine interest with the way patrons interact with information. I want more Grahams in my next class, though I suspect he may not be taking storytelling in the fall. Regardless, I am thrilled to present Graham Herrli. 1) What made you choose the GSLIS program and what is your focus while here at Simmons? I came to GSLIS initially because I was interested in how people interact with information and I thought I might want to become a librarian. Since arriving, I’ve found that librarianship isn’t for me, but I’m still intrigued…
Petition to Proceed into the Library World
Posted August 1, 2013 by Sarah Barton
Most people know what it’s like to have an email inbox that is constantly full of crap. Listservs, gimmicks, promotions, mass emails that may or may not pertain to you but you should probably read anyway just in case…you know. I do my best to keep my inbox as crap-free as possible, which necessitates a fair amount of deleting things based solely on their subject line. Who knows how many emails I delete that I shouldn’t, but I do my best to diligently discard blatant crap emails while still opening anything that is, or might be, relevant. Last week, my usual subject line deletion system was jarred by an email from the GSLIS Student Services Center with the subject: PETITION TO GRADUATE form – 2013-2014. This petition clearly pertains to me as I enter my final semester; thus, the email was granted the esteemed privilege of being opened and read. I expected the petition form to be long-winded and daunting, asking me to list every GSLIS credit that I took with which professor on which…