Registration Part 2!
Posted November 7, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
I have an update on my last post! So my desk is completely covered in Pro/Con lists, and I have officially decided to not take LIS 438: Introduction to Archival Methods and Services next semester, therefore delaying my decision on deciding what to do about my concentration and instead just take an elective. I know at the end of my post last week it seemed like I had talked myself into doing that, but then I started going back and forth again, but now I have decided! The world, and course catalog, is my oyster! So many wonderful choices! I’m now trying to decide between a few different classes. I’m planning on continuing to do what I’ve done for the past few semesters and only take one class. Between work, my personal life, and financially, taking one class a semester has really worked for me. Also, unless if I can find a Saturday class that works for me, or a blended class that has a really good time, because of my work schedule next semester,…
Public Transport Rant: The Good, The Bad, and The Super Delayed T
Posted November 6, 2018 by Maria Reilova
Being from a small town in Florida means that for most of my life, I have had pretty regular access to a car. My high school didn’t even have a school bus option for where I lived. The closest grocery store was under 5 miles away but there was no direct bus line and if you wanted to walk it would be through 90 degree weather and 100% humidity, not my ideal afternoon out. Also subway systems in Florida just don’t exist since Florida is basically sand. So moving to Boston and having so many public transportation options is a super new concept for me. I’ll start by saying that I am very lucky to have been able to live with my cousin whose from MA and lived in Boston for a little over a year, so when I arrived in August I had a guide waiting with a Charlie Card for me. I still remember though my first T ride alone following along on my phone with google maps. I quickly learned my stops…
Next Level Research Paper-ing
Posted November 1, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
I think it would be really interesting to know exactly how many research papers I have written in my life. You would think with all my years of academic experience that I’d be getting better and better at writing papers, that each one would be just a bit more polished (or at least easier) than the last. But for some reason, every time I start a new paper it feels like I’m starting over, back at square one. Choosing a topic is so hard. Reading and sorting through all that literature and selecting the most relevant and important bits takes so much time and work. Generating creative analysis and original thought involves some secret formula that I still haven’t mastered. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? You will not have many tests at Simmons SLIS, but you will have lots of papers. As you may have guessed, I’m working on a big research paper due at the end of the semester for my archives class. This time our professor has really upped the ante by requesting “publishable”…
Registration!
Posted October 31, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
Registration time is upon us! And…I have no idea what class to take. As of December, I will be a fourth of the way through my program, and I’ll be done with my required core LIS courses. Now, I am currently in the Archives Management concentration, so logically, I should be taking LIS 438: Introduction to Archival Methods and Services, which is a prerequisite for a lot of the archives classes and is the recommended first archives class. However, in a past post of mine, I talked about how I was thinking about switching from the Archives Management concentration to just the regular DYO Library and Information Science MS degree, and I still haven’t decided what to do yet! It would make sense to take an archives class to be absolutely positive that I don’t want to do the Archives Management concentration, but I honestly don’t know if I can take LIS 438 next semester with my work schedule. LIS 438 is a course that includes a required 60-hour internship, and I’ve talked with some…
America’s Test Kitchen Library Site Visit
Posted October 30, 2018 by Katie Carlson
Araceli Hintermeister ’16MA/MS was gracious enough to give us a tour of the America’s Test Kitchen facilities. We were able to follow her through the pantry, onto the various sets, and of course, into the America’s Test Kitchen library. I made sure to fangirl over the beautiful and sleek set kitchens, but was equally as drawn to the photography studio. Araceli shared that the studio puts out thousands of photos a day. They have a plate and bowl collection that I am still having dreams about. Once in the library, the books were predominantly cookbooks, with a few reference texts thrown in here or there. In a move I’ve never seen before, but greatly enjoyed, the books were organized by cuisine origin, with each area of the world being assigned a color combination, as indicated by tape placed on the book’s spine. Araceli then brought in fellow information professionals who work at ATK, and we were able to grill them about their intersecting food and information interests. After our tour had concluded, a tall…
Soaking It In!
Posted October 26, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
I had a very full and productive class day this past Saturday, in which I participated in some lively class discussion, attended our LISSA West town hall meeting, gave a presentation, and sought valuable counsel from my mentors/professors about what I should do with my last semester. It was the kind of day that so perfectly encapsulates my entire experience at SLIS West that I just wanted to pause and soak it all in. It’s a feeling that has come with the realization that my days up at SLIS West are numbered. The weather was New England fall perfection. My drive began in the dark and ended in the dark, but I got to observe both the sunrise and the sunset in the brooding, cloud-torn autumn sky. When I arrived, I parked at the little collection of shops and restaurants that holds the SLIS office so that I’d have a farther walk to class – through the cool air smelling of wet leaves and by the majestic old brick and stone ivy-clad buildings of Mount…
Halfway There!
Posted October 24, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
Well, we’ve just about reached the halfway point in the semester! My fall class has certainly been keeping me busy. As I’ve said in previous posts, I’m taking LIS 488 (Technology for Information Professionals) this fall, and I’m taking it online. The last time I talked in detail about the class on this blog, it was still the beginning of the class, so we hadn’t really taken a deep dive into anything too computer-y. I thought I’d give you a quick update on how things are going since then as we have now reached the halfway point. I have learned how to code. I mean, I am still a beginner, but we’ve gone through units on HTML and CSS, and we’re starting JavaScript this week. The random strings of numbers and letters that make up the backbones of webpages actually means something to me now. As you may recall from previous posts, this was one of the things that made me nervous about taking this course. My mindset going in to this class was that…
If the Shoe Fits!
Posted October 23, 2018 by Katie Carlson
This past Friday, I had the awesome experience of touring both the Reebok archives and America’s Test Kitchen. Check out next week’s blog for ATK! At Reebok I was given a fun looking ID badge that identified me as a guest of Stephanie Schaff, Archive Coordinator, who graduated from Simmons in 2015. She showed us around Reebok’s new digs in the Innovative and Design Building on Drydock Ave. The work area was entirely encased in glass, and we were told that desks are first come, first served. After touring the general building, we entered the actual archive. The space was decked out in white, with sketches displayed across the tables, cases of brightly colored shoes, and a fair amount of moveable stacks. I was very excited to be able to hold the oldest shoe in the collection (forgive me, Stephanie, but I forgot the exact date) which featured spikes that were caked with century old dirt — which is a testament to how well the archive treats its items! I ALSO was able to hold…
Decision Time!!
Posted October 22, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
The spring 2019 course schedule dropped this week and I was all over it like frost on a windshield. It is time to plan out my last semester of Simmons, folks! The finish line is in sight! The summit has emerged from the mist! Registration won’t open for another few weeks so I’ve got some time to make a game plan. Now that I know what courses will be offered I can chart the rest of my program to the very end. It’s a weird – and liberating – feeling. Basically it’s time to decide whether I’ll complete the archives concentration or veer off to the general track. Either way, I’ll have an MLIS. If I decide to stick with the archives concentration then my spring schedule is locked in: I’ll have to take LIS 439-Preservation and LIS 442-Establishing Archival Programs. Both are being offered face-to-face at SLIS West. In fact, preservation is scheduled as a two-week long “crash course.” Class will be held from 9-4 Thursday – Saturday two weeks in a row. Because…
The First 100 Days – Guest Blogger – Hanna Soltys, ’17
Posted October 19, 2018 by Lindsey Clarke
Hi Everyone, Please join me in welcoming our one time, guest blogger Hanna Soltys! She recently had the most exciting opportunity at the Library of Congress. Bio: Hanna Soltys ’17 MS, Archives Management is one of five in the Library of Congress’s pilot Librarians-in-Residence Program. She was placed in the Reference & Instruction track, within the Prints & Photographs Division, and began her six-month appointment in late June 2018. The First 100 Days As a Librarian-in-Residence at the Library of Congress Since I’m now in DC, it only feels right to reflect on my First 100 Days. Let’s be real, a residence program at an institution such as this is intimidating. The anxiety and doubt bubbled up as that plane took off from Logan Airport with just my luggage in tow. Though from Day One, I quickly saw how Simmons and my experiences throughout Boston had prepared me for this program. The work I completed with Simmons students and former professor Martha Mahard in the Boston Public Library’s Prints Department ensured I wasn’t too green coming…