Book Repairs!
Posted July 7, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
I’ve had a busy and fun two weeks of book repairs. My tasks included rebacking (replacing the spine of a book) and recasing (re-attaching the text block to the book cover). Both of these repairs were invasive and required cutting into the book. That definitely scared me at first. Taking a knife to a book seemed like sacrilege. I had to remind myself that cutting into the book would not harm it—in fact, it would save the book. And it did! The end result of my repairs was book that was fully functional again, and ready to get back into circulation. I can see how knowing how to do these minor repairs would be beneficial for librarians, because they could fix a lot of book problems without having to spend money buying a new book. What amazes me is how much book repair is about precision. It takes a lot of practice to make straight, even cuts, align pages, and trim accurately. But once you know how to do this, you can make repairs that…
Adventures in Ethics
Posted June 25, 2020 by Sarah Callanan
We’ve completed the first week of the of the Summer 2020 term everyone! As you know, classes at SLIS are online for this term due to the pandemic. I’m not going to lie; I came very close to forgetting it was the first week of classes last week. If I hadn’t received an email from my professor announcing it was the first day of class last Monday, I would have completely forgotten. I’m taking LIS 475: Organizational and Information Ethics this summer, and as is usual for Simmons summer classes, it is only seven weeks long, but is the same amount of work as a normal semester-long course. This means we cover two weeks-worth of material a week. If you’ve read my past posts about summer classes, you know my feelings about this. Summer classes have a lot of content in a very short amount of time. I’m not wild about the rushed feeling, but this summer, like last summer, there is no “locked” content, so I can see everything ahead of time. In summer…
All About Paper
Posted June 22, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
This summer, I’m taking LIS 447, Collections Maintenance, and I absolutely love it so far. There are two parts to the class: the lectures, which explore the topic of the week and show how to do the repairs, and the hands-on part, where we get to do the repairs ourselves. All of us were mailed a big box with the weekly materials before the class started, which included damaged books, different types of papers, newspapers, magazine ads, archival quality tape, and tissue paper. We also bought a tool kit from the school bookstore, which included a cutting mat, ruler, retractable knife, paint brush, and other necessities. I created a designated workspace for myself and laid all the tools and folders on a little table. It’s been working out great, because it keeps all the tools and materials in one place and I don’t have to constantly pack and unpack all the materials. I would probably lose something that way! The first week, we repaired small paper tears with tape and glue, and last week we…
Staying Positive
Posted May 15, 2020 by Sarah Callanan
So we are a few weeks in to the break between the Spring 2020 Semester and the Summer 2020 Semester, and it’s obviously a bit different this time around with COVID-19. Last year around this time I was on a trip with my family, and this year we’re in the middle of a pandemic and Massachusetts is still under a stay-at-home advisory. One thing I’ve thought a lot about during the past few weeks is stress caused by the outbreak, and the importance of staying positive. Here are some of my tips for staying positive and coping with stress during this difficult time: Remember that this is only temporary and you are not alone! Maintain a sense of routine! As much as I love staying in my pajamas, I have a more positive attitude when I get up, get dressed, and go about my everyday routine. Take a break from COVID-19 news, media, and other pandemic-related content. I disabled news notifications on my phone a while ago, and I’ve been trying to limit myself from…
Surprise Online School & (Not-So-Final) Farewell
Posted May 14, 2020 by Katie Carlson
If being a grad student in my final semester during COVID-19 showed me anything, it is that my friends and future librarian colleagues are amazing and ADAPTABLE. With life suddenly thrown online, I saw recorded modules, voiced-over power points, sing-a-long zoom meetings, virtual coffee dates, Animal Crossing birthday parties, YouTube story hours, interactive book club Moodle sites, WEDDINGS, and so much more! I’ve also witnessed so much patience that warms my heart! From what I’ve seen, everyone has been great about adapting their expectations and making accommodations! Now for the second part of this little post: I’m done! I’m a whole MASTER in the field of library and information science! These two years have absolutely flown by, but I wouldn’t do anything differently! To make at-home-graduation even more special, my girlfriend made diplomas, organized a photoshoot, and even conducted a ceremony for Adaliz and me! Grades are in, and as I write this, I have my Zoom-uation Virtual Graduation tomorrow! It might be a little unconventional, but we made it through! Signing off for now…but…
Seven Classes Down, Five to Go!
Posted May 8, 2020 by Sarah Callanan
We are DONE with the Spring 2020 semester everyone! Seven classes down, five to go! This summer I’m taking LIS 475: Organizational Ethics. I was originally going to take a different class, but due to the unpredictability associated to COVID-19, I switched classes. This class looks very interesting—based on the description, I think it’s going to be more of a theory-based class and we’ll be covering a lot of interesting topics. However, the class doesn’t start until June 15, so I have a bit of a break before school starts again. Usually, when the semester is over and we come up on a break, I’m thrilled. However, this time it is different because there is a pandemic happening. This now means that there is a gaping hole in my everyday routine. The stay-at-home advisory has been extended until May 18, and my sense of time and structure during the pandemic has pretty much come from two things, school and work, and now one of them is gone until mid-June. On one hand, it’s nice not…
Summer Job – Something New
Posted May 1, 2020 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
Today I filled out my paperwork for a new job, which is so exciting! I will be a personal shopper at Stop & Shop, working in the Peapod home delivery department. Although the semester is coming to the end, I’m excited to have a new beginning. I am not taking summer classes, so a job will give me something to do this summer. Except for a few forms to be signed for practicum, I am all done with the semester! I got my last grade back for my online technology class a couple days ago, and I had my final meeting with my supervisors for practicum yesterday. It feels so weird thinking about how the semester is over now, after working so hard. Thinking about those students at the elementary school in Waltham, I am so sad that I missed out on a whole month in school with the kids. I am happy that I still saw the Kindergarten students I got to teach my 4-lesson unit with on Google Meets, but it isn’t the…
End of Semester Round Up!
Posted April 30, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
It’s the last week of class, and all of my work is done except for two small forum posts. I’m relieved to have everything done, but I’m also kind of sad because I really enjoyed my classes this semester. Collections Development was a straight up, pure library science class and I loved it. I looked at a ton of statistics, created budgets, and discovered ways to find information on new books and trends. I also learned how to use Twitter! I now use it regularly to check in with my local libraries and keep up to date with everything book related. Metadata was fascinating because it showed how all types of information can be classified and sorted. I loved creating records with XML (Extensible Markup Language). It’s kind of like a puzzle. I get to fill in the pieces and make sure all the names and categories are in the right order. I feel a great sense of accomplishment and excitement when I create a useful, error-free XML document. I know that might sound weird,…
Virtual Interviewing 101
Posted April 27, 2020 by Adaliz Cruz
When I was asked to write a blog post about interviewing, I scratched my head for about a week. What should I write about interviewing? I told my roommate, I’m no expert on this topic! However, after thinking about it for a few days I realized I do have some experience to share with all of you. I’ve interviewed for different things my fair share of times. I’ve also attended and sat in on presentations, webinars, and symposiums that covered this topic. Here, I’ve compiled some tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way. I hope they are as useful to you as they have been to me! Go through the job posting before hopping on the call so you’ll be prepared for questions. Always have an answer to the age old question: WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THIS POSITION? Outside noises will be inevitable, but try to find a spot where noises will be minimal. Mind your background (or choose an appropriate Zoom background). Wear something that makes you feel “on”. For me,…
Being Positive
Posted April 24, 2020 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
It is the last two weeks of the semester, and I must admit I’m getting excited for it to be over. One thing I’ve learned for sure this semester is that student teaching is a lot of work. If I am struggling doing two lessons in one week, I’ll certainly be up for a challenge when I have 20+ classes in one week for grades K-5. Because I’m graduating in the fall, I have had to figure out how to record my lessons and teach virtually. But I have had tremendous help from my supervising librarian and practicum supervisor in decoding virtual teaching! Trying to think on the positive side of these difficult times, my LIS 460 technology course has taught me a lot about digital tools to use for teaching, which comes in handy when I need to record videos. Technology is so important in times when schools are closed. When recording videos of an activity such as how to use a database, I will be using a screencast program such as Screen-Cast-O-Matic or…