SLIS
Orientation Day
Posted September 26, 2015 by Amy Wilson
Taking the train from Lechmere to Simmons A few weeks ago, I took the day off work to go to Simmons’ campus for the SLIS Orientation. It was a really exciting day, and I came away questioning all my choices (in the best way) and wondering how I will ever learn all those acronyms. Luckily, at the end of the day I had an hour bus ride to New Hampshire to mull things over. Orientation Lesson One: I arrived at Orientation early, because (1) it’s what Hermione would do, and (2) I needed to stop by the Registrar. I still have undergraduate loans, so I have been trying to get those all set before I begin paying interest on my un-subsidized graduate loans (un-subsidized means that interest accrues while I am in school). My undergraduate loans are subsidized and Perkins (both Federal), so you’d think it would be simple, but the loan websites are not very clear on how to defer payments – many forms and little instruction. Until Leslie Knope becomes President, this is…
Mixing Introversion and Group Projects
Posted September 24, 2015 by Tara Pealer
I come from a family of extroverts. They’re loud, they’re fun, and they’re friendly. They’ll stop to talk to you on the street. They’ll have a conversation on the train with a stranger. They’ll do their best to make you feel included. I’m an introvert. (Buzzfeed keeps insisting that I’m an ambivert. But it also once sorted me into Ravenclaw when I’m Pottermore sorted as a Hufflepuff, and huffle-proud of it. So I question the legitimacy of their quizzes.) I don’t believe that you should ever talk to someone on the train, unless you know them. I know that the tried and true New Englander way to say hello to someone on the street is to barely make eye contact and keep walking as you say “Hi-How-Are-You-I’m-Good.” Of course, I’m not alone in this in the library profession. A majority of LIS people are introverted as well, though there are a good deal of extroverts who are wonderful to be around. In my 401 Foundations class, we discussed how the Myers-Briggs test can be used…
Perk of Being Here: Learning in the hallways at GSLIS
Posted July 23, 2014 by Maggie Davidov
I spent much of the spring interviewing candidates for the library assistant position at the school library where I work. I met a great many qualified candidates. I was impressed by extensive resumes, many filled with a plethora of technical prowess as well as life experience. The ideal candidate is meant to be entering the library profession but not have an MLS. I assumed that most of our qualified candidates would be attending Simmons or starting in the fall. I was mistaken. Most of our savvy candidates were keeping their options open by attending online degree programs through other universities. Their sound reasoning was that these programs were cheaper than many of their campus counterparts and left them free to pursue library jobs wherever they pleased. This is a completely valid argument. Anyone who goes to Simmons knows the cost all too well. Anyone who has ever looked at the trends in online education knows that it’s what’s next for GSLIS and most LIS programs. I tried to mine the library literature at Beatley to…
180 Degree Perception Change
Posted March 10, 2014 by Emily Boyd
In the fall of 2011, when I first started telling friends and family I was planning to pursue a masters degree in library and information science, the response across the board was something to the effect of “you need a masters degree to be a librarian?” I would reply by saying things along the lines of “well libraries are about a lot more than books” and “technology is so key now, I’ve got a lot to learn.” This all sounds well and good, but at the time I think I was more or less parroting back what I’d read and heard from those already in the field. I knew this was all true, but in the back of my mind a little voice kept asking “is it really about more than books?”. This self doubt was justified, especially given that the public image of a librarian is a matronly woman surrounded by books making shushing noises. That said, it didn’t take me long at Simmons to realize that, yes, it’s about a whole lot more…
Let’s Talk About Being Poor
Posted January 28, 2014 by Carolyn Lucas
Let’s face it: deciding to pursue my graduate degree in Library and Information Science from a private college isn’t the most fiscally responsible decision I’ve ever made. When I informed my husband – who was at that time starting his own PhD program and netting around 30k/year for around 90 hours of work a week – that I wanted to get my LIS degree, and that we would ultimately be in the hole more or less 50k, it was…not received with great enthusiasm. Coming from Wisconsin, finances are viewed fairly differently there. 30k is more than enough money for a couple to live fairly comfortably; we rented a GORGEOUS lofted one-bedroom, two bathroom, apartment for $900/month. Then, stupid Carolyn…we moved into a tiny, 500 square-foot 1-bedroom for $2100/month, plus utilities and parking. That ranks among the all-time stupidest decisions I have ever made. Ultimately, though, we decided to move into a much more reasonably priced apartment – a 1 bedroom + den for $1650. Affordable! That’s a word I haven’t heard in recent memory. Let’s…
Year in Review
Posted December 20, 2013 by Emily Boyd
Wow, what a whirlwind 2013 has been! It feels like yesterday I was starting my first class at GSLIS and now I am 2/3 of the way done with my degree. Instead of a usual post, this week I decided to follow the trend of year end blog posts and write a list of everything I’ve accomplished in 2013. This year I: Moved back to Boston and started the Simmons GSLIS program Started writing for the Student Snippets blog Experienced the horrible events of the Marathon Bombing with friends, classmates, and fellow Bostonians Travelled to Rome with GSLIS and then visited Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary with an old friend Visited Chicago for the first time and attended the American Library Association’s Annual Conference Spent a week in Northern Michigan with one of my best friends and her family Started working as a Reference Assistant at the Norman Williams Public Library Watched the Red Sox win the World Series!!! Commuted between Boston and Vermont for four months without going (too) crazy Started another job working for…
Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Allison Driscoll
Posted December 7, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
It’s that time of year. The end of the semester when I feature one of my favorite classmates from the semester. As usual, I can’t resist the intelligent dual degree children’s lit and library science people. Allison was in my storytelling class and she blew us all away the first day with her interpretation of Don Coyote and the Burro. Please meet the lovely and talented Allison Driscoll… Q: What made you choose the dual degree Children’s lit and LIS program? A: I’d thought for a long time that I’d like to be a librarian, because I could see myself being satisfied doing it for a long time. Still, I held off on applying to any programs because I was hesitant to invest time and money into something if I wasn’t 100% positive about it. Then I found out Simmons had a dual-degree program, and I immediately started getting my application together. I’ve always loved children’s lit, and the idea of spending time with others who felt as strongly about it was really the last push…
Get Me Outta Here!
Posted November 18, 2013 by Sarah Barton
The end of the semester is quickly approaching, and frankly it cannot get here soon enough. September and October seemed to fly by, but November has been dragging along. I think the combination of starting a job, looking forward to the holidays, and knowing that I am only three assignments away from never having to do schoolwork ever again has me in a bit of a rut. In short, I’m ready to graduate. When I started at GSLIS, I was a full-fledged student. I wasn’t working or interning, so I really threw myself into my studies. These days, I spend far less time doing schoolwork, yet I find myself more and more perturbed by it. Like, why won’t my research paper just write itself? Yes, I am complaining, and no, I do not expect any sympathy. Just need to vent a little. I came into this program with a full head of steam, and now I’m running on fumes. This is not particularly unique or surprising, as I imagine that most GSLIS students experience similar…
Chillin’ with my Professors
Posted September 23, 2013 by Sarah Barton
Friday afternoon I spent thirty minutes with a professor, then went to the office next door and met with another professor. This was the second of my five planned trips to campus this semester, and was a nice change from my mostly virtual class schedule. First I chewed the fat with my de facto advisor, then had a one-on-one introductory meeting with the professor for my online course. The meeting was far from introductory, however, as last fall I had a face-to-face class with that same professor. Our meeting ended up being more of a “how are things going?” rather than “hi, nice to meet you” encounter. I was with professors, who are officially my superiors, but it almost felt like hanging out with friends. Don’t worry, I have no plans to start ditching my friends to spend time with professors, but it was great to spend a bit of time with professors outside of class. It’s easy to get lost in a whirlwind of classes and homework and forget that professors are people, not…
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…