Bookstock 2013 and My New Job
Posted August 8, 2013 by Emily Boyd
Last weekend marked the fifth annual literary festival in Woodstock, Vermont, whimsically named Bookstock. This event brings together many community groups and businesses including the public library, both of the independent book stores in town, the National Park Service, and private vendors. I’ve been able to participate in this weekend long celebration of the written word through my job with the National Park Service and it is absolutely a highlight of the summer. The event appeals to tourists and locals alike and really offers something for everyone. In addition to a tent of exhibitors there is also a huge used book sale; I was able to get 6 books for $10! Quite a steal! I am so happy to see this event thriving and expanding every year because community events like Bookstock are why I want to work for a small public library. (Interested in learning more? Check out: http://www.bookstockvt.org/) Starting in September I will have a new job that I hope will allow me access to more behind scenes details of similar community events….
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…
#GSLISchat
Posted August 1, 2013 by Katie Olivo
We’re going live on Twitter in about 45 minutes – 10am EST! Tweet your questions to us at #GSLISchat and/or join us on Twubs to follow the discussion: http://twubs.com/GSLISchat. If you can’t join us today, we have two more scheduled for this month: http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/admission/events/. I’ll also be putting up some of the questions on the blog today after the chat is over. We hope you’ll join us!
Live Twitter Chat – This Thursday!
Posted July 29, 2013 by Katie Olivo
Hi everyone! This is just a friendly reminder that the Admissions Office will be hosting their first live Q&A Twitter chat this Thursday, August 1st at 10:00 am EST. Join our conversation on Twubs, http://twubs.com/GSLISchat, or just tweet your questions to #GSLISchat. We’ll be ready and waiting to answer all of your questions!
Dissemination of Information
Posted July 28, 2013 by lazylibrarian
I have a week off between the end of my internship and the start of my full-time job! If you are interested in some of the cool things I found while going through the Cambridge Public Library’s old vertical file take a look at the Cambridge History Room WordPress. And what am I doing with my time off? Reading, of course. And drinking Mayan coffee from the Simmons Café….way too good. But one of the books that I just finished up is True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society by Farhad Manjoo. Among the many interesting points Mr. Manjoo brought up in his book; this passage really struck me… “It is a common mistake in the digital age. New technology gives us access to vast new stores of data and tolls with which to understand them. On the Web you can find seemingly any number you want: an instantaneous county breakdown of live election results; a census of illegal immigrants in the United States…Through my local library’s Web site, I can get thirty-year-old…
ALA Conference: Chicago Summer 2013
Posted July 25, 2013 by Emily Boyd
My fantastic summer of adventures has come to a close. I am home in Vermont settling back into a routine of working full-time for the National Park Service and part-time as a waitress at the local (only) restaurant in town. I have been home for two weeks already and my brain is still buzzing from my experiences in Chicago attending the American Library Association’s Annual Conference. So many librarians in one place! I had a fabulous time traveling with new friends from GSLIS and catching up with old friends from undergrad during spare moments away from the conference. Highlights from my trip include: Opening remarks from Freakonomics author Steven D. Levitt Attending a panel of graphic novel authors and artists who discussed the growing popularity of the graphic novel format Trying my first ever Chicago style hot dog Engaging in a heated discussion about the role of prison libraries at the Intellectual Freedom Roundtable Listening to nominees for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction praise the role of libraries as important…
The Royal Job Watch
Posted July 22, 2013 by Sarah Barton
A few weeks ago, my friend sent me this link and suggested that I apply. Royal Librarian – the job title gives me goose bumps. Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, meet Sarah Barton, librarian of Cambridge. This is definitely my best shot at becoming royalty, yet I would have absolutely no shot. By the Queen’s standards, I am hardly an “exceptional scholar and bibliophile,” and my only knowledge of British history is that Kate and William were married on April 29, 2011. Plus, my strong affinity for Kate would probably not look great on my résumé. “Other interests: Kate Middleton.” Awkward… Ok, so this job might be a bit out of my league. If nothing else, however, it goes to show that some library jobs are just plain awesome. A library degree plus a strong knowledge of and interest in a specific topic or discipline seems like a one-way ticket to a killer career. Unfortunately, there can only be one Royal Librarian, and I assume that most other “just plain awesome” library jobs are equally…
I locked myself out of my bathroom…and other tall tales.
Posted July 20, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
So when I say “tall” I mean true. I am sitting in my apartment, cautiously drinking water owing to the fact that I may not be able to relieve myself as I have somehow locked the bathroom from the outside. This all comes at the end of my seven day recovery period. Recovery from what you might ask? Oh, just the removal of the superfluous organ we call the gallbladder. But didn’t you have a ticket to Chicago for the ALA conference? Did you get to go? Why yes! And no I did not get to go to Chicago. The stars and my gastro intestinal system have chosen to align to combust this summer barring me from travel. And so, this is the time I chose to reflect on my life. In this summer of heat and nothing but time to muse in my pain reliever haze I reflect on my time at GSLIS. As I look back over my year of posting on this blog I realize I came into this program with a…
Live Twitter Chats #GSLISchat
Posted July 19, 2013 by Katie Olivo
Hi readers! The Admission Office is excited to announce upcoming live Twitter chat dates. These Twitter chats will basically be live Q&A sessions using the hashtag #GSLISchat. If you’re a prospective student, or even an incoming student, and you’ve got questions about the program or application process, etc., please get on Twitter and ask us your questions! We are holding three live chats in August: 8/1 at 10:00am, 8/12 at 4:30pm, and 8/27 at 12:30pm. For more information see our event schedule: http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/admission/events/. You can simply tweet your questions and include the hashtag #GSLISchat, or you could also join the discussion on Twubs: http://twubs.com/GSLISchat. I’ll post some of the questions on here after the event, just in case you missed it! If you have any questions about these chats, please email me at [email protected]. I hope you’ll join us on Twitter! Thanks for reading! Katie