Designing the Ultimate Exhibit
Posted June 7, 2013 by lazylibrarian
It’s the age old question….how do you design an exhibit on a budget that appeals to both adults and children while educating them about a subject? Well I’m having my first go at answering it. At my current internship at the Cambridge History Room in the Cambridge Public Library, I am taking the materials and knowledge I have gathered from my processing of the John Langstaff collection and trying to turn it into something that will interest and engage the public. The biggest issue is that most of Langstaff’s collection is paperwork (largely unreadable paperwork I might add) and his greatest contribution to the area is in theater and music, both things that are difficult to showcase in the middle of a library on a budget. But considering that I did a conference presentation on integrating archives in museums via technology, I am not ready to give up yet. I have been able to create QR codes to link to some wonderful video clips of Langstaff and his performances. However, not everyone has a smart…
The Friends of the Library Book Sale
Posted June 4, 2013 by Julie Steenson
The majority of my weekend was occupied by the Friends of the Library Book Sale at the library where I work. Most people don’t give much thought to library sponsored book sales, other than, “Do I have books to donate?” and “Oh, such great deals to fill (and overfill) my book shelves!” Like many other public library Friends’ groups, our library’s Friends raise money for all kinds of programming expenses and museum passes, and we rely heavily on their continued support and generosity, especially in these lean fiscal times. The most vital piece of the Book Sale that I had, until recently, overlooked was how much this was a community event and what community really means for public libraries. Here are all the pieces of COMMUNITY that came together to make our Book Sale a great success: Donors – So many members of our community cleaned out their homes and donated great books and movies. Town support – The Firefighters and the Community Church shared their tables with us so we had a great organized…
Does Your Job Feed Your Soul?
Posted May 31, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
It is often the topic of many GSLIS classes whether we know it or not, this question of feeding the soul. However, it is frequently discussed because vacancies do not often arise in libraries. Why is that? Why don’t librarians retire? They must have dreams of seeing those places from the books on their shelves. They must long for the hot sticky air outside the airconditioned hum of the library…well, maybe not. STILL, it’s brought up time and again. Any professor worth their salt will discuss life outside of grad school and the job market. They will discuss this, and as a result, come to the conclusion that librarians are generally happy in their jobs, hence the lack of job opportunities. A healthy library will not yield a great many vacancies. And when I say a healthy library, I mean a library that is well-managed and where people feel that their work is valued. I only bring this up because quite a few job listings have popped up on the GSLIS_info list-serv. And if you’re…
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Posted May 29, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
The summer is always a great time to capitalize on opportunities that escape during the cold, hard, rainy winter season. For me, I ended up getting a summer internship in an aspect of GSLIS that I had never before considered – records management. While I am super excited just to have an internship – and a paying one at that – I am even more excited to try out what is the “hors d’oeuvre” of the meal of one’s career (sorry, this metaphor is kind of falling apart…). I’m pretty excited to be trying out this new career path, and I have super high hopes (expectations) that this will end up being THE NEW CAREER FOR ME. I have very little expectation that this career won’t work out. But it is the last in a long line of internships that I have tried in my still juvenile career – I have worked in financial planning, in support and administration, in publishing. I have worked at Harley Davidson Motor Company, law firms, and for various academic…
Summer Slowdown
Posted May 27, 2013 by Sarah Barton
In my last post (which seems like ages ago), I posited that it would take a week or two for me to adjust to the semester being over. In retrospect, I think my estimate was off by, well, about a week or two. I adapted to my newfound classlessness in no time by picking up a few extra hours at the library and altering my internship schedule so I have Fridays off. In short, the real adjustment has been acclimating to three-day weekends, which, as you might expect, has not been all that much of a challenge. The summer of 2013 won’t be quite as liberating as that of 2012 when I wasn’t working or taking classes, but it is not in my best professional or monetary interest to completely check out of the library world for another summer. (And frankly, three-day weekends are pretty liberating.) Plus, an unforeseen perk of my summer schedule is that I have more time to put toward my local Friends of the Library group. I spent the last two…
Cambridge History Room Internship
Posted May 23, 2013 by lazylibrarian
This week marked the beginning of my internship. I am working at the Cambridge History Room which is placed inside the Cambridge Public Library. The plan as it now stands is for me to process the papers of John Langstaff, singer, author and creator of the Cambridge Revels while selecting pieces from the collection that are usuable for an exhibit as well as creating the finding aid. The boxes I have glanced over so far (there are about 15 in total I think; I need to double check that number though) contain an assortment of sheet music (both printed and hand-written), production notes, correspondence, mock-ups of his children’s books and promotional materials. I believe the majority of the “good stuff” was removed and are in the boxes of material the biography author was using, which I have not gone through yet. I hope to find some photography, etc. that would be useful for an exhibit. I do think there should be something in the collection that would interest the public if not about the Revels,…
Let the Adventure Begin: Summer 2013
Posted May 22, 2013 by Emily Boyd
This week has finally arrived! I leave for Rome on Thursday and I could not be more excited to get this adventure started! I look forward to sharing all my stories when I’m back from my European travels. I’ve spent the last few weeks recovering from my first semester at GSLIS, preparing for my trip to Rome, and getting a kickstart on my summer reading list. Other than the short course I am taking in Rome (LIS 493 Intellectual Freedom and Censorship), I will have a school-work free summer and I plan to spend the extra time reading everything I can get my hands on. I recently stumbled upon a great blog called “Beerbrarian” by a librarian in the DC area named Jacob Berg. “The Four-and-a-Half Types of People I met in Job Interviews in May” is a recent post that caught my eye about his experience interviewing candidates for a position at his library (check it out here http://beerbrarian.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-four-and-half-types-of-people-i-met.html). The post raises a lot of really interesting points about the interview process in general…
The Interview
Posted May 20, 2013 by Julie Steenson
If you have followed my journey from mom to batgirl, you already know that I have committed myself to an unusual career path – correctional librarianship. A year ago, I did not see this coming. After my first semester, the possibilities for my library degree seemed endless and in fact, I was a bit worried that I would never narrow down my interests. Other than motherhood (which was my first calling), I did not expect to experience a vocation, a calling, an overwhelming need to pursue a very specific career. Then I set foot in a prison library, and my life changed. The problem with a desire to be a prison librarian is that there aren’t that many prisons or opportunities for pre-job experience. The good news about wanting to be a prison librarian is that the skills I acquire in a public library setting are very applicable. On top of that, I am a champion of the benefits all around to volunteering, and my desire to learn everything I could about prison libraries turned…
We’ll be back!
Posted May 9, 2013 by Katie Olivo
Hello readers, I gave our bloggers a few weeks off to recover from the spring semester before classes start up again. They’ll be back to regular posts the week of May 20th, which is when our first summer session begins. Check back to find out how GSLIS students spend their summer. As always, thanks for reading and feel free to comment with questions or suggestions!
School’s out for the summer… or is it?
Posted May 4, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
I remember telling a friend, way back in September, that I couldn’t possibly think about taking a class in the summer. I wanted to prevent burnout and make sure I had time to recharge my batteries for the coming year. However, the further I went in the program the more I realized EVERYONE’s here in the summer! Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but I would say at least 75% of my friends at GSLIS are taking at least one summer course. I, myself, am VERY excited about my summer course with Vivienne Piroli: User Instruction. I’ll keep you up to date on the many pearls of wisdom that will undoubtedly come my way. I’m also excited about my new summer job at Beatley library. HUZZAH! That’s right ladies and gentlemen; I am staffing the reference desk this summer at the Beatley Library. I am delving into the realm of academic libraries. I’ll also be reporting on the awesomeness of recording every reference transaction I have, the new subscription databases I learn about as well as Beatley’s…