To All the Bookstores I Ever Loved
Posted July 8, 2019 by Maria Reilova
Now that summer has officially started, I am finding myself with something I almost never have, extra free time! I am interning full-time this summer so I am still busy throughout the day but it is so nice to be able to leave my work at the office and come home and not have to worry about catching up on my assignments or readings for class. So obviously, my conclusion for how to occupy all this new free time is that I can finally start catching up on all my leisure reading. This also means I have to make a trip to my favorite bookstore because you can never have too many books. I live pretty close to Brookline, and Coolidge Corner has always been one of my favorite areas to take a stroll and hang out when the weather is nice. The Trader Joe’s is there, a great tea shop, a yoga studio (I keep saying I will take a class at one of these weekends), and best of all Brookline Booksmith, (a used…
The Summer Semester Has Begun!
Posted June 27, 2019 by Sarah Callanan
The summer semester has begun! This summer I am taking one class, LIS 404: Principles of Management. Summer classes at SLIS are shorter in length than normal semester classes, but have the same amount of work. My class this summer is only seven weeks long. You may have noticed in Amie’s post that she is also taking LIS 404, and we are both in the same online class section, so that’s exciting! The really good thing about this class is that all of the course content is available, so we truly can move at our own pace. There are due dates of course, but if I want to see what assignments are coming up, or work ahead, I have the option to do so. For my summer course last year, there was a lot of “locked” course content, everyone had to move at the same pace. I understand the logic behind that, but with the shortened time frame and so many things being due each week, I really appreciate being able to know what is…
Back at It
Posted June 25, 2019 by Amie Grosshans
Summer break #1 is over. It was nice to have a few weeks off, even though I was lazy and didn’t do a lot of the things I meant to do. But I got to relax, which is great because I don’t think I’m going to relax again until the end of summer term. I’m taking two classes, LIS 407: Information Sources and Services, and LIS 404: Principles of Management. Each week of a summer course is equivalent to two weeks of a fall or spring course, so there is a lot of work. I was expecting this, but I was still shocked when I saw the syllabus for each class. There is a ton of reading. A TON. It’s pretty intimidating. I am going to have to be super organized to fit in all the reading and the assignments each week. I know I can do it, but I’m probably going to be miserable the whole time. Having said this, I managed to make it…
SLIS Tavern Night
Posted June 17, 2019 by Katie Carlson
Our amazing end of the year event for SLIS took place at a Tavern Night hosted at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum! Each one of the actors stayed so perfectly in character that when Paul Revere told me to follow him for the “baby shower,” I was frazzled and felt the need to clarify that we were library students here for a tavern night! It quickly became apparent that the “shower” was just a cover for our booze-filled gathering, which was illegal by 1773 standards. I rubbed elbows with John Hancock and his Aunt Lydia, Dorothy Quincy, Samuel Adams, and several other relevant Bostonians. Each actor was believably living in 1773, and kept throwing various “easter eggs” that were particularly funny if you’re well versed in history! I grew up attending Renaissance Fairs, was a “theatre kid” in high school, minored in Art History in college, and have two history-loving parents, so this was quite my cup of tea (pun intended)! As a budding information professional I was ALSO very impressed that the…
Guest Blog Post – MLA Conference Experience – Professional Development
Posted June 13, 2019 by Lindsey Clarke
Hi Everyone! We are lucky enough to have a fabulous guest post from one of our current students in the program — Kerri MacLaury. Kerri was kind enough to share with us her input on the recent MLA conference she attended. I hope you enjoy this exciting guest post! One of the reasons why I chose to attend Simmons University’s School of Library and Information Science program was its support of students’ professional development. Every fiscal year, each SLIS student, courtesy of the Library and Information Science Student Association, receives $250 which they can put toward various professional development activities. Funds can be used to be reimbursed for professional association dues, workshop or conference fees, and travel and lodging expenses. This year I considered using my funds to pay for American Library Association, New England Library Association (NELA), and Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) membership dues, but ultimately decided to use the funds to attend the MLA conference. I made that decision because I know that I will remain in Massachusetts at the conclusion of my…
Summer Reading
Posted June 12, 2019 by Sarah Callanan
Summer Reading Summer is here! My summer class (LIS 404: Principles of Management) doesn’t start up until next week, but the course materials are online, so I’ve been trying to get head start by looking at the readings and seeing what my assignments are. I remember how busy last summer was as summer classes at SLIS are shorter than actual semester-long classes (my summer class this time is only seven weeks long). Even though I’m looking ahead to my summer class, I’ve been enjoying my last few days of summer break by reading and relaxing. I’ve been reflecting on what I used to do during summer break when I was a child. One of my favorite activities was the summer reading program at our public library. I was a voracious reader as a child (I still am–not an uncommon trait for someone in the SLIS program), and I not only did the summer reading program at the library, but also at all of our local bookstores. One of the reasons why I’ve been thinking about…
Finding and Landing a Summer Internship
Posted June 7, 2019 by Maria Reilova
I had been worried about finding another job or internship over the summer months since I knew that I was going to be staying in Boston the whole time and did not want to just laze about until my South Korea trip. To be honest I was applying to almost every viable job that was popping up on Jobline. I was lucky enough to be asked to interview for 3 positions at 3 very different libraries. It was a hectic fews weeks in terms of every job I applied for emailing me at the same time, while I was also dealing with my general classes and internship deadlines, in addition to also preparing for a trip home to run the Star Wars 5k at Disney World! It was a lot to handle, but I somehow made it through with only slight strain on my sleep schedule (it is always those 5am flights that are the cheapest unfortunately). Which leads to my big news, everyone…I scored my first job in a real library! This is huge…
Reading and Volunteering
Posted May 20, 2019 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
It has been about two weeks since classes ended for the semester, and I celebrated with friends last Thursday in a bit of an unusual way: by giving out food to the homeless. Back Bay Mobile Soup Kitchen is a group organized through St. Clement’s Church, located on Boylston Street in the Back Bay area of Boston. A couple of SLIS friends and I met at six a.m. in front of the church, and we prepared to go out into the streets. Carrying bags of bananas, granola bars, sandwiches, socks, and water bottles, the group of us enjoyed conversations with the people we encountered while handing out whatever they needed from the items we had on hand. I hope to volunteer with Back Bay Mobile Soup Kitchen on a weekly basis this summer. Back Bay Mobile Soup Kitchen is just one way to get involved in volunteering when I am not swamped with studying. After my friends and I volunteered in Back Bay, we went out to dinner in the Prudential Center. The Prudential Center…
Fourth Class: Complete!
Posted May 15, 2019 by Sarah Callanan
Last week was my final week of class! My fourth semester, and fourth class of grad school is over! I’m done with LIS 451: Academic Libraries! I originally thought it was a bit strange having our big final group project due, and then having one final week of class with lectures, readings, and participation after that, but as our final week was about academic library careers and job interviews, as well as future trends in academic libraries, I think it was a nice way to wrap up the class. In all of my other classes, the final week has been this big stressful build up, and then I turn in my final project, and then that’s it, we’re done. While sometimes that’s very cathartic, I really appreciated the opportunity to reflect and think ahead in the final week of this class. I ended up completing my final week of class on the road because I’m currently on a short summer break for my job! Yay for intersessions! As I work in an academic library, I’m…
Trying my Hand at Student Leadership
Posted May 13, 2019 by Maria Reilova
Taking online coureses this semester has been really great in terms of flexibility in my schedule for my part-time job, and for my internship, but it has been not so great for socializing and being involved at campus events. Since I did not have to come to campus as often for class or meetings for group projects, I spent way more time these past few months in my bed then I’d like to admit. So to get out of my comfort zone and really try to challenge myself, I decided to run for a leadership position in Panopticon,(the student art librarianship student organization). Which means you can now call me Madame Secretary! I knew I wanted to get more involved since time is going by so fast and I want to experience as much as a can in grad school before it’s over! Panopticon has always been the student group I have been most interested in, and I am so excited to now be a part of their leadership team. Having a background in art…