Instant Gratification
Posted October 13, 2012 by Maggie Davidov
Yes, we live in that kind of culture. Yes, our society demands satisfaction from us RIGHT NOW. I have never been more aware of this need for speed now that I assist 13-year-olds with their research every day of the week. What is it about waiting for answers that makes us so itchy? Has Google gotten THAT good? Have we gotten that lazy? I ask myself these questions as I sit at this reference desk after I’ve had three different students ask me in a matter of 15 minutes what the difference is between reference and reserves, and why in the world they can’t take these books out of the library. I suppose the library does seem antiquated with it’s rules about not being able to take certain books out and only being able to take out only so many books/dvds/cds to a generation of young people who get whatever they want whenever they want it on the world wide web. This younger generation doesn’t want to be limited. They want access…to EVERYTHING. In my…
Destination: Library School
Posted October 12, 2012 by Maya Bery
Inspired by some of my fellow bloggers entries last week, I thought I would share with all of you how I came to library sciences. One of the things I love about library school is that the students come from a whole variety of backgrounds. Some have worked in libraries for years, others, like myself, had never done any kind of formal work in a library before entering. There’s no course pre-requisites, no track you have to have been on since age 8. You just have to tell us why you want to be here, and chances are, that passion will be enough to get your foot in the door. And once you’re in school, you can focus on racking up all that valuable internship and volunteer experience that will help you land a job afterwards. So let me start by being honest. Before I applied to the school library program here at Simmons, I had no idea that such a thing existed. Yes, you read that right: I had no idea my future profession was…
Family Questions
Posted October 11, 2012 by cdelnero
This weekend I am attending a fancy family gathering to celebrate my grandfather’s 75th birthday. So in addition to worrying about what I am going to wear, I am also trying to prepare myself to be inundated with questions about what I am doing with my life. And like any other LIS student, I need to find the perfect answer which can be very difficult. First of all, most people don’t know what “Library and Information Science” means, so I sort of water it down to “Library School.” Here come the looks of concern and confusion, followed by the commentary: “You need a master’s degree to be a librarian?” “But libraries are being replaced by the internet!” “How will you find a job?” I have my head in my hands just anticipating it. I don’t know what’s worse, these questions, or being asked why I am not married, when I plan to get married, and when I’m going to have children. What I try to do is assure my family that no, I am not…
A Wonderfully Incurable Disease
Posted October 9, 2012 by Julie Steenson
If you haven’t heard of Roy Tennant yet, you will. (No, to my knowledge, he is no relation to David Tennant of Doctor Who fame, although one can’t help but think of how library databases are like the Tardis – bigger on the inside! Sounds like a future post.) Roy Tennant is often quoted for his 2001 statement: “…after all, isn’t it true that only librarians like to search? Everyone else likes to find.” (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA170458.html) When I first encountered this reading, it made me laugh knowingly before I delved into the meat of the article about cross-database searching. (A great article if you have the time, and he writes a lot of interesting stuff.) You will hear arguments on both sides about how Tenannt’s statement is true or untrue, and in the world of librarian blogging, it has formed a life of its own. I can only speak for myself. I love to search and I love to find, but my desire to search is like an addiction, an incurable reference librarian disease. When anyone…
13-21 of 36
Posted October 8, 2012 by Sarah Barton
I’ve been spending so much time lately writing about the work I’ve been doing for my classes and the random things that have nothing to do with my classes that I have neglected to talk about, well, my classes. And aren’t classes the reason that I’m here? And why you’re considering coming here? So, without further ado, let me tell you about my classes! Mondays, 9am-noon – LIS 404; Principles of Management A core class, one that everyone must take. The idea behind the class is that people who obtain an LIS degree may very well end up in a management position within a library, so the course is about different management approaches and how those approaches might be applicable for different people in different library settings. Going into GSLIS, I never considered myself as a potential manager (frankly, I am much better at being told what to do rather than delegating), but this course has opened my eyes to the fact that someday I may be bossing people around. And I mean that in…
Dorm Living as a Grad Student
Posted October 7, 2012 by lazylibrarian
Many undergrads cannot wait to get out of the dorms and get their own place, so it almost seems a little backwards to go into the dorms as a grad student…and to stay there for a second year. As all my friends moved into apartments after their first year in GSLIS, I stayed. Not actually by choice, it’s a complicated story but there are some definite good sides. Take for instance, yesterday. I’m a dual degree GSLIS and History student. I am taking a history class this semester that requires watching one film per week. Lucky for me though I never have to hunt them down, the library has them all on reserve. So I’ve gotten into the routine of making Saturday my “movie-watching day”(And when some of the films are 9 and half hours long it really is an all-day affair). I grabbed a coffee and a snack from the café on the academic campus and went to go take out the movie. When the movie is on VHS there is a very nice…
Happiness, already rampant at a library near you!
Posted October 6, 2012 by Maggie Davidov
Does anybody else feel incredibly lucky? Seriously, does anybody out there feel like they’ve hit the profession jackpot? I do. I mean, it’s been quite a year for me in general. I finished 3 years of serving in the Peace Corps, married the love of my life who I met in the Peace Corps (yeah, those statistics are real), started a new job at a school library, and began my first two classes at GSLIS. I really don’t know how next year could compare by any small stretch of the imagination unless I sprout wings and fly to Neverland. However, I don’t think it’s only me that feels this way. I’ve spent the last three weeks getting to know my first year peers in my core courses and they couldn’t more jazzed about what they do. I remember all of our introductions on the first day of class and everyone’s talking about how they came to love libraries. You know what I’m talking about. Everyone has a story about how they came to the library….
Friends
Posted October 4, 2012 by cdelnero
I never thought I’d go to library school. I wasn’t even sure I’d get a master’s degree at all. So you can imagine how amazed I am at the fact that not only am I here, but I am here with one of my oldest and best friends, Michelle Fredette. Shelly and I met on the bus to kindergarten. She had chubby cheeks and a love of The Beatles. Even then I could tell she was smart. This was only confirmed through elementary, middle and high school. Shelly took honors classes, played sports, was in the band and was eventually accepted to the English program at UMASS Amherst. I on the other hand was sort of a slacker. I was an average student, and was also in the band, but other than that I had little ambition. When I finished high school I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go to college. I ended up enrolling at local community college, taking only pre-requisites. Eventually I found my niche which was English, just like Michelle. I…
The Teacher Connection
Posted October 3, 2012 by Julie Steenson
Working in a public library (and a small one, at that), I deal with varied patrons with varied needs. In any given day, we have toddlers arriving for storytime, teens coming in to use the iPads, middle-aged job seekers, homeschooling parents seeking educational resources, seniors looking for help with technology, boy scouts borrowing our telescope, and anyone and everyone seeking a good read or new movie to take home. Interestingly, I don’t see many teachers. Enter the Teacher Tea, a.k.a. The Library’s Educator Open House. This afternoon, I am joining my colleagues at the public library in re-introducing our public library’s wealth of resources to our local teachers. Truth is, most of our teachers turn to their school librarian for resources and some, who commute here from other towns, don’t realize all we have to offer. While my colleagues will be introducing our downloadable audiobooks, library programming, and reminding all teachers that working in town entitles them to a free library card with no checkout limits, my job is to demonstrate the eReaders we have…
Field trips aren’t just for kids!
Posted October 2, 2012 by cdelnero
One thing I love about GSLIS professors is they are always making sure that we aren’t just sitting in a classroom trying to absorb information. They really want us to get real experience and therefore they encourage us to visit libraries, talk with librarians and meet our future colleagues. These are often the best learning experiences! Last weekend my Literature of the Humanities class was held at the Hillyer Art Library at the Smith College Museum of Art. Not only is Smith located in one of the coolest towns in the state (Northampton), but it also has an amazing campus with beautiful buildings and a great library. We met with Barbara Polowy, art librarian at Hillyer. She did an informative library instruction session on how to locate art resources in order to answer art-related reference questions and she even baked us cookies! In addition to this mini-trip, several of the core courses here at GSLIS require students to visit and/or observe all types of libraries. I have been to a lot of the local campuses…