Students
Getting Involved
Posted April 24, 2012 by dunhame
I know, I know. Its annoying to talk about how important it is to get involved in extracurricular activities. Weve been hearing about it in every stage of education since we were old enough to make our own decisions about how to use our time. I think it is important, however, to re-emphasize once again, even if only to myself, how crucial it is to make an effort to get involved in the student professional community during your short time in library school. For me, Simmons GSLIS was very different from anything Id ever experienced before in terms of how much effort it took to get involved. For the first time, Im attending a commuter school; this semester I only have to be on campus twice a week. Each semester Ive worked 3-4 days a week, and oh goodness, so much homework! How could I possibly find the time to drag myself to campus other times during the week to go to faculty and/or student group-sponsored events? Its true, theres no way to conjure up…
The New Grad School Try
Posted April 23, 2012 by Sarah Barton
I could have tried harder in college. In fact, I should have tried harder in college. For some reason it just didnt seem cool to do so at the time. When I embarked on my thesis at the beginning of my senior year, I realized that I was going to have to change my work habits. And change them I did. I daresay I enjoyed writing my thesis, and even finished it before the deadline. I relegated myself to the library for self-imposed Thesis Thursdays in addition to several hours per week when my former self would have been watching some stupid dating show on MTV. (Because clearly that was the cool thing to do.) My thesis went without a hitch, and I realized that investing myself in my work could actually be cool. After three and a half years in the real world (MTV pun intended), I entered GSLIS and promised myself that I would work hard.
Two Weeks!
Posted April 22, 2012 by Danielle Geller
Thats pretty much all I have left in this semester, and Im working (not too) furiously to wrap up all of the assignments I have to do. Today Im trying to finish writing my literature review, the subject of which is related to my summer internship! I am looking at the literature that describes the ethical considerations and debate surrounding the acquisition, preservation, and access to Native American collections in institutional repositories and archives. Historically, indigenous cultural materials were collected and described not by Native Americans themselves but by white collectors, anthropologists, historians, curators, etc, which has had devastating effects on Native American identity and cultural preservation in their communities. There has been a call to improve the relationships between museums, archives, and repositories that house Native American materials and tribal nations to balance the needs of researchers and the public good with the needs of indigenous peoples. While many people now sympathize with Native Americans and would argue in favor of repatriation, many archivists are faced with a conflict of interest.
In Flux
Posted April 1, 2012 by Danielle Geller
A lot of the friends, acquaintances, and colleagues Ive made since my time began at Simmons have been or have started to question the direction theyre going in library science/archives school. I cant say Ive been exempt! Through the classes Ive taken, internships Ive had, and even internships Ive applied for, Ive been molding and trying to figure out the course and shape of my future career. Do I want to work in a corporate or academic environment? Out of all the areas and time periods of history that interest me, which do I want to continue to pursue? What will be the topic of my dissertation? Yes, Ive definitely been weighing that one in my head, even if its still two years down the road. Do I even want to continue pursuing history? One thing Ive learned, which seems quite obvious but isnt necessarily always black and white, is that Ill never be happy in a job that doesnt interest me. Friends of mine that arent enjoying their internships find the material boring, and its hard…
Hey Remember me?
Posted September 13, 2011 by homerj
Of course you do! No? Well – I’m Jason and I used to be the Graduate Student Ambassador for Simmons GSLIS. I graduated this past May and I wanted to tell you about what I have been up to since graduation. Job Searching While I was an immensely busy individual during school it was my goal to have at least 1 interview booked before graduation. Before the finals rush of work I applied to every job I was remotely interested in. Before graduation day I had 2 interviews and the following week I got a 3rd. With the economy the way it is, I had a back up plan as a paraprofessional librarian (where I worked throughout school) Phone Interviews Does anyone actually like phone interviews? How can people see my stunning personality over the phone? On top of that, I think I use the phone 5 times a week. Cell phones aren’t for talking people – they’re for texting /web-searching /IMDB’ing /social networking – but for talking? Let’s be honest the only reason why…
So much to talk about
Posted April 12, 2011 by homerj
Where will I start? I guess I should start by letting all the readers know why I have neglected blogging this semester. I took over the responsibilities of the “Fellow for Dean’s Initiatives” while they hunt for the new fellow. (The past Fellow got a ‘big kid’ archives job in RI.) So I have been planning all of the events around GSLIS. This is a really fun job, but there are so many events it takes up all of my time! We have these programs called “Lunchtime Lectures” and they are informal ‘classes’ but instead of learning about the reference interview, you learn about happiness. You are also welcomed/encouraged to bring your lunch to any of these series. There are some refreshments available and a number of professors attend the event. Another notable aspect of these lectures is the fact that you get to have an introduction of a topic even though you are not in a specific concentration. For example, a few weeks ago I attended a lunchtime lecture about censorship in children’s literature….
Last semester… OH NO!
Posted February 16, 2011 by homerj
The semester is in full swing and I thought I would write about some of the classes I am taking. I have already finished my requirements and now I get to pick some electives! This is my last semester here at GSLIS (and I am devastated) and I am taking three (3) classes to close out my Masters of Science in Library and Information Science. Class 1: Medical Libraries I am very much interested in Special Libraries (my career goals involve government libraries). Medical Libraries sounded immensely interesting and was recommended to me by a number of GSLIS Alums. We are a few weeks into the class and I love it. Everything about Medical Libraries is interesting. We just took a field trip (yes this building is on the same street as the Palace Road building but still it was a grad school field trip!) to the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Library. There we spoke to the director of the library and its head of reference services. It was interesting to…
GSLIS Mixer and Trivia
Posted February 7, 2011 by homerj
On Friday LISSA (Library and Information Science Student Association) had a GSLIS Mixer and Trivia night at the Bell in Hand Tavern here in Boston. LISSA is a student group you are automatically entered in once you start here at Simmons GSLIS and they plan different types of events, everything from Guest Speakers to Trivia nights. Let’s just state that my group had the best name of the night. I had some pretty funny names (being somewhat of a trivia connoisseur) but we decided to go with “This is how we Dewey it” (which I thought was weak to my other suggestion: “Junk in the truncation” [which is hysterical I might add]) but majority rules and we went with Dewey. Clearly we won the name contest. Then the trivia began. What do you ask a bunch of Library Science students you ask? Oh just some facts about Libraries/Librarians. The first round asked pop culture related questions. One such example is the quote: “Look, I… I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a…
A great big balancing act
Posted February 1, 2011 by labrecql
In the Fall 2010 semester, my student loans allowed me to pay for the mandatory health insurance not only for me, but for my husband and 17-month-old son as well. Thats a pretty big chunk of change, but the insurance covers a calendar year, and I was able to take two classes with the money left over. Since I dont have that expense in the Spring 2011 semester, Ive taken on a third class, and boy, does my plate feel full! Ive got Picture Book and Childrens Lit and Media Collections back to back on Mondays thats six straight hours and Management on Wednesdays. For me, the LIS courses come naturally, because theyre about doing, and they train me to accomplish something practical, but the CHL classes are much more challenging in that I must force my brain into academic/analytic mode. Im more comfortable there than I was last semester (CHL 401 whipped me into shape pretty well), but I still find it hard to get those gears turning. I feel so…
Posted January 31, 2011 by homerj
It is my last semester and I am seriously kicking myself in the rear for not applying for more school because I really do not want to be a grown up. (Yes, I realize the fact that I am 24 and therefore an adult but as long as I am in school I can be in denial.) Now that the semester is underway, I need to start seriously applying for jobs. So I thought I would share some solid websites/listservs and job hunting venues with you. ALA JobList: http://joblist.ala.org/ This is the American Library Association job site and contains up-to-date job openings. My favorite part of this website is the face that I like them on facebook. The facebook page posts dozens of different links, blogs and articles all around the topic of finding a job. I have read some seriously helpful information from this website and facebook. For Massachusetts the Library Board of Commissioners maintains a job listing database here: http://mblc.state.ma.us/jobs/index.php. This is helpful for professional and pre-professional roles. (It is always a good…