Time Flies
Posted February 20, 2019 by Sarah Callanan
Oh my goodness as of today I have officially entered Week 5 of LIS 451: Academic Libraries! My class is already a third of the way over! It feels like we just started. Can you believe it’s almost March? A part of me thinks that is a good thing though- this class keeps me so engaged, so interested, and so busy that it doesn’t feel like it has been a long time (although five weeks isn’t too long of a time). This class has been so interesting and so, so useful for me. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I currently work in an academic library as a Reference Assistant, and between my job and this class it has really given me a sense of what the future might have in store for me if I were to make academic libraries my future after I get my degree. Just this last week in class we had a Journal Subscription Budget exercise where we were given database usage statistics and their cost for some universities, and…
Everything is (Kind of) Organized
Posted February 19, 2019 by Amie Grosshans
As I enter my fourth week of classes, I’m kind of in shock. I can’t believe I’ve been in school for almost a month! It feels like it’s been much longer, but not in a bad way. It’s just that I’ve learned so much already, and it’s still only the beginning of the semester. I have notebooks and papers strewn on my kitchen table and files and folders on my laptop to keep track of all my assignments and emails, not to mention multiple calendars with all my reminders and due dates. It’s a lot to handle, especially with working full time, and it’s clear that I need some sort of system to keep track of everything. Which brings me to my topic this week: organization. One of my classes this semester is LIS 415–Information Organization, and it’s already given me a ton to think about. Information organization may be one of the pillars of library science, but I have never given much thought to how and why things are organized. I realize now that…
Which Side Are You On?
Posted February 18, 2019 by Megan Ondricek
Do holidays completely de-rail anyone else’s week, or is it just me? One of the harsh realizations I have had as a mom is that holidays and celebrations all come down to you. All those fun and magical things you expect to happen on special occasions have to be planned, shopped for, carried out, and cleaned up by somebody, and that somebody (in my family) is me. So thanks to Valentine’s Day (or week, as it felt like), I’ll be playing catch-up this weekend. I’ve realized something interesting about the work I’m doing this semester and about the library profession as a whole. My metadata class and my reference/instruction internship are at the opposite ends of the spectrum of librarianship. Metadata belongs on the “technical services” end, along with cataloging, circulation, inter-library loan, database management, etc. This side is known for its back-end, back-room work and lesser degree of human interaction. My internship belongs on the more public facing end, with reference, instruction, outreach, etc. where a much higher degree of human interaction is expected…
A Lightbulb Moment: When You Finally Realize What You Want
Posted February 15, 2019 by Amie Grosshans
How did I get here? I’ve asked myself this question a lot the past few weeks. I’ve spent the last fourteen years as an administrative assistant for an accounting firm. It’s not what I was planning on doing with my master’s degree in art history, but life doesn’t always take you on a straight path. I always thought I’d move on and find something else to do, but I didn’t know what I wanted. So I stayed, got comfortable, and saw myself continuing with the firm for awhile longer. But then, an unexpected shakeup left the future in doubt. My plan to stay with the firm when the younger partner took over was no longer feasible. For the first time in awhile, I had to seriously think about what I wanted for the future. I started thinking about the things that I love–books, organizing, helping people–and what jobs would fit that criteria. I thought being a librarian would be perfect, and browsing through Simmons’ website, I knew I was right. I read the program and…
Welcome New Blogger – Amie Grosshans
Posted February 15, 2019 by Lindsey Clarke
Hello readers! We’d like to introduce our new student blogger — Amie Grosshans! She will be posting regularly soon. Read a little bit about her below: Welcome Amie! Hi, I’m Amie! I was born and raised here in Massachusetts and have a master’s degree in Art History. As soon as I read about Simmons’s LIS program, I knew that I wanted to be a librarian. It’s a bit of a shock to be back at school again after almost twenty years, but I’m loving every minute of it. I’m finally in my element and so excited for the future. I’m currently in the archives concentration but am open to exploring other areas of librarianship. When I’m not working or doing schoolwork, I’m usually reading or listening to an audiobook. I also love to knit shawls, sweaters, and socks and am pretty much never without my needles. My handknits make the crazy Boston winters a bit more bearable. Aside from my family, my dog Peggy is my biggest supporter and study buddy.
Going Home and Going Online
Posted February 13, 2019 by Maria Reilova
I got back from winter break a little later than everyone else since I had my brother’s wedding to attend the last week of January. If anyone needs a refresher (I’m sure I mention it in nearly every blog post) but I am from Florida, and in true extra Florida fashion, my brother got married on a 3-day Disney cruise to the bahamas. It was fantastic, I got to spend quality time with my own family and my new sister-in-law’s family, most importantly though I got to spend that time with family in the sunny caribbean. I mention this lovely vacation not to brag (that’s a lie, I am totally bragging about how great Florida is) because in order to spend the most time with family over break and for the wedding, I decided that this semester I will be taking classes fully online!. It just made the most sense given that I wanted to spend as much time as possible home in Florida. Which is one of the great things about Simmons, they offer…
HTML-ove Affair?
Posted February 11, 2019 by Katie Carlson
This week in LIS 488, we learned the basics of HTML. As my last post shows, I was really quaking in my boots for this course! This week went really well, as we worked through a Code Academy tutorial, and coded a simple HTML site about bears! My (very minimal) experience with HTML stems from a tumblr blog I’ve been updating since I was 14. I remember the excitement of selecting my first theme, and writing my first little bio. With the help of the Wayback Machine of www.wayback.com, introduced to me by Danielle Pollock, I don’t have to just fondly remember my blog in 2011: I can see it! And now, on display, my greatest pride and greatest shame, all rolled into one. Check out this screenshot of my blog from November 6th, 2011. My first background was a wicked cool purple and black flannel. I “hated people,” and loved tea. I remember sitting in a newly funded computer lab in 3rd grade, and wondering why I was being forced to complete my report…
Finding Your Librarian Identity
Posted February 8, 2019 by Megan Ondricek
I have two interesting stories from this week! For the first, I unexpectedly came face-to-face with a real life preservation situation and I knew exactly what to do. I keep all of my family’s important documents and records in a heavy duty plastic file box. The other day I was pulling out a package of extra file folders when I noticed an icky smell. The outside of the package smelled really bad, and looked a little….wet, or maybe greasy? I looked back in the box and noticed the pocket folder next to the package was deformed and buckling, like it had gotten wet. I gingerly pulled it out and observed some interesting damage and deterioration all over the surface where the glossy finish was wrinkling and peeling. I cracked the folder open, which in retrospect, wasn’t the best idea because it was stuck together with MOLD!!! I stared at it for a good three seconds with equal parts fascination and repulsion thinking, “so that’s what active mold looks like” before I hustled the whole thing…
First Weeks
Posted February 6, 2019 by Sarah Callanan
So it has been a crazy few weeks! First, the weather has been insane. We’ve had super cold weather, we’ve had snow squalls, we’ve had ice, we’ve had rain, we’ve had sun, we’ve had wind, and yesterday the high was 63 degrees! We’ve had a little bit of everything! Will the weather ever make up its mind? Every day is a surprise! I thought one of the things about living in New England was guaranteed freezing cold weather all the time in the winter, but the past two days have proved me wrong (although I’m certainly not complaining because I did not enjoy the snow squalls last week, and I do not want anything similar to the polar vortex the Midwest experienced). The first few weeks of class have been going great! As you know, I’m taking LIS 451: Academic Libraries this semester. It’s my first elective at SLIS, and my last blog was posted on the first official day of my class, so I didn’t have many details to share, but now I do! …
Spring 2019 Kickoff
Posted February 4, 2019 by Katie Carlson
With the first week of classes coming to a close, I thought I’d give my first impressions of my second SLIS semester so far! On Tuesday I had my first section of LIS 488: Technology for Information Professionals (my final core class). I was extremely nervous about this class, so it’s not a coincidence that I saved it for last! I am someone who loves technology and is always excited to learn new things, but after a few too many attempts at troubleshooting, I go into meltdown mode. Danielle put my mind at ease when she started class by having us go around the room, share our tech backgrounds, and rate our feelings about technology on a smiley face scale ranging from love to hate (just like this one). Most of us placed ourselves on the scale at “meh,” with various justifications for why. Some rationales for not providing a more positive score were frustration, privacy concerns, and lack of sociability. Danielle stated that the course would take on all of those subjects! We…