“We’re Open to Serve You During Storm Recovery”
Posted November 2, 2012 by Maya Bery
Unless you live under the proverbial rock, you know that this week, the east coast was battered by Hurricane Sandy before the remnants of the storm moved inland to cause further havoc as far west as Wisconsin. It was a pretty remarkable sight seeing essentially every school in the state closed for the day on Monday, and on Tuesday, many districts still opted to stay shut, but it’s back to business here now. We got extremely lucky in that Boston was spared a lot of the damage that places further south of us, namely New York and New Jersey, have had. Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with libraries. Well, earlier this summer, I wrote about how the libraries in Boston were opening as cooling centers on some of the hottest days of the year – a place where those without air conditioning could come, for free, and be safe and cool. In the winter, libraries often offer the reverse service – a warm place for those in need of protection…
Crossing the Finish Line
Posted November 1, 2012 by cdelnero
My last post was about yoga, and this one will be about running. But first, I need to provide a disclaimer: I don’t do fitness. I’m not claiming to be in shape or know anything about how to get there. I am someone who is completely new to the idea of physical challenge but I am finding that it can be just as rewarding as challenging myself intellectually and I want to share my experience. Last weekend, a close friend and I ran our first 5k. And by “ran” I mean jogged. And by “jogged” I really mean jogged 1 out of the 3.1 miles, and not consecutively. Regardless of this, the rush of adrenaline I felt when I crossed the finish line was incredible. There was a crowd of people cheering us on and waiting to congratulate us on finishing. We took our time but accomplished something great and didn’t even come in last place! I know it’s cliche to compare running a 5k to other non-physical accomplishments (like getting a masters degree in…
A Hurricane Can be Good for Library Business
Posted October 30, 2012 by Julie Steenson
In honor of Hurricane Sandy, my Monday class at Simmons was cancelled so I filled in at work at my local library for a colleague who has a long drive. All the local NH schools had also cancelled and to be honest, I didn’t expect it to be a busy day. What a surprise! With the winds still mild and the showers light in the morning in NH, we did a brisk business as everyone scurried in to stock up on books the way squirrels stock up on nuts. The last storm left us in the dark for ten days so we had to be ready. When Governor Lynch urged us all to go home and get off the roads by 3 pm, we reluctantly closed at 2:30 pm, just in time as the winds really started to howl. Power and phone were knocked out a couple of hours later and I am writing this on my laptop with my DSL modem hooked to the generator. It was a good day at the library. It…
Fathoming the Frankenstorm
Posted October 29, 2012 by Sarah Barton
I tend to not get too hyped up about storm forecasts. I recognize that people need to be alerted about the potential severity of a storm so they can prepare accordingly, but I personally don’t get caught up in the 24-7 Weather Channel or local news coverage. (Confession: in small doses, I do enjoy watching the live reporters who can hardly stand up due to the driving wind and rain. And how do their microphones not pick up any of the wssssh sounds from the wind?) On Sunday morning I picked up some bottled water and non-perishables, tested my flashlight, and collected some candles, so I felt like I was more than prepared for Sandy the Frankenstorm. Sunday evening I was surprised to see that many Massachusetts schools announced Monday closures. Then I received an email from my Monday morning professor that she was cancelling our in-person meeting and putting the lecture notes online. Then Simmons called, texted, and emailed me to say that the campus would be closed on Monday. Are people overreacting to…
Current Trends and Topics in School Librarianship
Posted October 29, 2012 by Maya Bery
One of the best ways to get a sense of whether or not school librarianship (or really, any aspect of LIS) is right for you is to explore what the current trends and topics are in the field. The school library field is a particularly rich one to investigate from the comfort of home because even if you don’t have database access to the leading journals, there’s a lot of great stuff out there that can give you a sense of what we school librarians spend our time thinking and talking about, and better yet, they’re free! Blogs: The wonderful (really, I’ve met her in person, she’s fabulous!) Joyce Valenza can be found over at NeverEnding Search, her blog at School Library Journal. Buffy Hamilton blogs at The Unquiet Librarian, and closer to home, Michelle Luhtala publishes her thoughts at Bibliotech.me. SLTP Professor Rebecca Morris is also active in the blogosphere at School Library Monthly. There’s so many more diverse and interesting voices from the field out there, so go explore! Webinars: YALSA offers webinars, both for free and for a…
Boston Book Festival
Posted October 28, 2012 by lazylibrarian
Two weeks ago I wrote a post about volunteering for conferences and other events around Boston. Well Saturday was one of my favorite events: The Boston Book Festival. The festival is only in its fourth year but it has amazing organization and a huge turnout. Of course being in Boston, and being affiliated with the Boston Public Library allows the festival to bring in some big names. This year Lemony Snicket himself was the keynote speaker for the children. That’s one reason I love the BBF. Its not just for one group, there are children’s programs, teen programs, and adult programs, and except for the keynote speaker, all are free. Last year I volunteered and enjoyed it so much that I did it again this year. Both years I have been assigned to the children’s room helping the costumed characters. Last year I got to meet Moe Williams and helped with Elephant and Piggy as well as Geronimo Stilton. This year I worked with Frog and Toad and Curious George. The kids LOVED Curious George,…
Seriously Folks, It Only Takes ONE
Posted October 27, 2012 by Maggie Davidov
I wonder if it’s common for anyone in their chosen profession to watch someone else in the same field with trepidation. And when I say trepidation I mean fear. And when I say fear I mean an acute sensitivity. Pre-Story information/philosophy: I’m a new resident of Brighton. One of the first things I did upon moving was go to the library to get a library card. For some people, it’s internet or electricity. Me, I wanted to have a library card because that’s how I connect to a community. The library is the place where people can come to learn about what their neighborhood has to offer. The library is a space to see new things and meet new people. None of this can happen if librarians are barricaded behind the desk. I say all this because I believe in libraries. I think that much is plainly true. I go to library school. I work in a library. AND, AND, I don’t buy books on the principle that anything I want to read I should borrow…
Getting Hired
Posted October 23, 2012 by Julie Steenson
Many students writing and reading this blog are Millennials, actively pursuing a first-time career. Yes, you were born digital and your perspective brings one thing to the field of library science, whereas the life experiences and digital growth of mid-lifers bring something different. With all the hoopla over the value of the master’s degree, we are all, regardless of age, concerned about the same thing: Will we get a job? In this economy, every profession seems to share this concern, but a visit to the ALA group of LinkedIn tells us that library graduates across the nation share the same worries about getting a job, getting the experience required for a job, keeping current…and whether gray hair is a detriment or a plus. Graying hair means: Life has been your university. You are mature. You have experience triumphing over adversity and meeting challenges. Graying hair does NOT mean: Deadwood, technologically illiterate, or a lack of enthusiasm or innovation. These less desirable attributes belong to tired personalities that have nothing to do with age. I have…
“Library” Cataloging Experience
Posted October 22, 2012 by Sarah Barton
I thought that cataloging would be my jam. My calling. My future. This assumption, for better or worse, was based on one thing: my iTunes library. Ever since I can remember, I have been militant when it comes to organizing my music. I have carefully constructed playlists by genre (Country, Hip-Hop, Rock, etc.), but I also have some that are not quite so easily categorized, such as “Chill,” “Random,” “Strange,” and “Guitar Hero” (thank you, junior year of college). My basic cataloging method is as follows: For every song in each of my playlists, the “Genre” field in iTunes contains the name of the playlist that the song is in. That way, if a playlist gets accidentally deleted, or I can’t remember whether I put a song in “Strange” or “Chill,” I can easily figure out where it lives. It isn’t sophisticated or foolproof, but it forces me to make deliberate categorizing decisions and gives me peace of mind. One thing that I love about my iTunes library is that many of the choices that…
Librarian Stereotypes
Posted October 21, 2012 by lazylibrarian
So everyone knows the “Marian the Librarian” stereotypes. The big glasses, the bun, the pencil skirt, and the finger always ready to shush you. (If you haven’t seen the Music Man, watch this!) Hopefully, those stereotypes are on the out. In fact there is a great Tumblr called This is What a Librarian Looks Like that shows that librarians are anything but that. One stereotype that seems to persist though at Simmons is that librarians love cats. It has a basis in fact I guess since everyone around me seems obsessed. There are multiple GSLIS professors who use Lol Cats in their powerpoint presentations, my friends spend dinner oohing and aahing over cute animal pictures and even the “Be a Sweetie, Wipe the Seatie” sign in my hall’s bathroom is a kitten…I don’t know, perhaps I have no heart but that is one professional stereotype I do not represent. Cute children? Yes. Puppies? A lot of the time. Cats? Uh, no. Sorry cats. However, I have noticed something interesting about all the librarian friends I’ve…