Dungeons and Dragons or: Libraries and Librarians
Posted April 2, 2012 by Sarah Barton
On Friday, to conclude the Best March Ever, I went to The Future of Reference hosted by Simmons GSLIS. The keynote speaker, Joe Janes, Chair of the MLIS Program at the University of Washingtons Information School, ended the evening with a bang. He championed the idea that librarians are important. He was, of course, preaching to the choir, but I tend to have a hard time justifying my existence as a library student. Arguments I have heard against libraries include, but are certainly not limited to: When was the last time that any of our friends went to a library? and Libraries are like dungeons. (Does that make librarians fire-breathing dragons?) But Mr. Janes unleashed the dragon in his talk called Information makes us human. He said that Our profession is central to what we are as a people. We make humanity more human. That message had me breathing sweet hot librarian fire. Libraries may seem like dungeons in the incandescent world of Google, but over time libraries have preserved information in a way that…
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…
Simmons MSLA-SIG Conference Tomorrow!
Posted March 30, 2012 by Maya Bery
I’d like to take this blog post to shamelessly plug the annual Simmons MSLA-SIG conference happening tomorrow in the Main College Building from 8:30-3:00 p.m. Though I admittedly had a personal role to play in organizing the conference as the secretary of the Simmons student interest group of the Massachusetts School Library Association, I would encourage anyone interested to come because it promises to be a great day. We’re featuring panelists discussing “how to survive your first year” and “teaching middle school” as well as two presentations that were given at the 15th annual AASL conference this past October in Minneapolis on fostering collaboration and getting multicultural literature off the shelves and into the hands of readers. I think this conference also demonstrates what is so wonderful about Simmons and the GSLIS program in general. The MSLA-SIG is a student-run organization, though the wonderful Dr. Fran Zilonis serves as our advisor. This conference, which has been going on for several years now, is entirely student organized, and attracts phenomenal speakers from across the state each…
Change of pace | Library recycle bin find
Posted March 29, 2012 by fox32
Library recycle bin find. Copyright 1972. Patterns include a dog blanket, wall hanging to display blue ribbons, and a throw for your horse knitted with circular needles you made from that leaky hose in the backyard. -via rockstar Somerville librarian Cathy P.
Want Your Own Action Figure?
Posted March 28, 2012 by Julie Steenson
All I have to do is look around a typical GSLIS classroom and any librarian stereotypes disappear. I dont know anyone who looks like this action figure (although I am guilty of wearing my hair up in a clip on occasion who has time to style hair in library school?). As I regard my peers on any given day, I see a mix of men and women, young and not-so-young, tattooed and pierced, in all manner of clothing and hair styles. Any doubters just need to peek at the Men of the Stacks 2012 calendar: http://menofthestacks.com/ or check out the Belly-dancing Librarian: http://www.sonic.net/~erisw/bdlib.html to know that these old-fashioned shushing librarian stereotypes have no place in modern librarianship. We are fun! We are tech savvy! We love helping people! Librarians come in all shapes and sizes just like everybody else…so why do the stereotypes persist? And how will we change them? To learn more, check out this book by Ruth Kneale: You Don’t Look Like a Librarian: Shattering Stereotypes and Creating Positive New Images in the Internet…
DIY Archives: NEA Spring 2012 Meeting
Posted March 27, 2012 by dunhame
As Danielle kindly mentioned in her last post, she and I recently shared a blog-worthy experience; this past Saturday, we attended the New England Archivists (NEA) Spring 2012 Meeting. Running the risk of blog redundancy, Im going to spend a bit of time writing about my experience at NEA. Luckily, Danielle and I attended some different sessions and got different take-aways from the meeting, so Im thinking this post will be unique after all! The NEA Spring 2012 Meeting was held at Wesleyan University, which makes its home in the quaint city of Middletown, Connecticut. It was really nice to have the opportunity to get out of Boston for a day; I love the city, but getting out to smaller-scale America is something I really appreciate doing from time to time. As a bonus, Wesleyan University is a beautiful campus, and since the weather was somewhere in the realm of This cant be March! we were able to get some time outdoors between sessions. This was my first ever professional conference. It was very exciting…
Library Promotional Considerations
Posted March 26, 2012 by Sarah Barton
New technologies are changing how people use libraries, and libraries must evolve their services and outreach accordingly. Last Wednesday I went to the volunteer kick-off event for the Friends of the Somerville Public Library. The Friends, like many similar organizations representing public libraries across the country, are always looking for new ways to promote their library. So, over the past few days I came up with some fun means of bribery to generate awareness of the library. [Disclaimer: some of these ideas are more feasible than others.] Readers Race Library 5k A road race is not a novel idea (pun intended), but serves as an effective promotional technique. The race starts and ends at the library, and all proceeds benefit the Friends organization. Free books would be available at the finish line, and local businesses could set up booths in the post-race hangout area. Get a Free Library Card Day Ok, so every day is Get a Free Library Card Day, but maybe emphasizing the FREE aspect might help catch peoples attention. Random…
Reflections on the NEA Spring Meeting
Posted March 24, 2012 by Danielle Geller
Lucky for me, I get to beat my fellow blogger, Elise, to posting about the NEA (New England Archivists) Spring Meeting! Though it was actually the first time I had ever met Elise, we and two others carpooled down to Connecticut and shared a hotel room this weekend. If you want to see the response on twitter, check out #neasp2012. And according to NEA, session handouts and presentations should be available on the NEA website soon if you werent able to attend yourself. This spring, I served as a session reporter for Funding Your Archives Project: Money Does Grow on Trees! which featured presentations by Linda L. Carroll, Gwenn Stearn, and Giordana Mecagni, who unfortunately, was unable to attend, though her presentation was given by her colleague Jessica Sedgwick. Ill be making a full report in an upcoming NEA newsletter, but there are some initial reflections I would like to make here. I found Giordana Mecagnis presentation on outreach and advocacy as the best potential fundraising resources the most interesting and relevant to where I…
National Bookmobile Day | Coming Soon
Posted March 22, 2012 by fox32
Brought to you by the American Library Association, the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Service, and the Association of Rural and Small Libraries comes the (third?) annual National Bookmobile Day -April 11, 2010. Bookmobiles are currently one of the most expensive services of many public libraries so inevitably the first to be chopped when budgets are cut. Just a plain old fact there… and a mobile library may be slightly anachronistic for some, i.e. those that have the internets… My 2cents; bookmobiles fulfill several needs and beyond that are a fantastic visual reminder of the mission of a library -to connect people to information. Vintage photos below via the flickr of the Harris Country Public Library, TX.
Time Management?
Posted March 21, 2012 by Julie Steenson
In thinking of what to write this week, all I could say is I am swamped. I know we eat and sleep more than med students, but maybe not this week! This is a week where some of the time management skills I have preached to my daughter could come in handy. Please forgive the brief entry and enjoy this funny video of why Library School Hurts So Good! I couldnt stop laughing when I saw it, and hopefully, it will ease some of your stress, too. I really love Library School! Library School: Hurts So Good by: fiver615