Reading Deprivation
Posted July 13, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
I’m flipping the script in today’s post, meaning I plan to tell you about what I haven’t been reading instead of what I have, or rather, why I am not reading at the moment. I’m participating in an experiment this week called “reading deprivation” as a part of this Artist’s Way book I’m working through. If you think that sounds impossible and a bit insane, then I would have to agree with you. Do you know how difficult it is not to read something, or anything at all on a given day? It takes a real concentrated effort, and maybe a blindfold too. The tool is meant to “monitor the inflow and keep it to a minimum,” according to author Julia Cameron, that way you’re able to tune into your inner voice more clearly and hopefully be rewarded with more outflow. And while it’s true that I’ve seen my writing increase, I’ve also gotten petty and annoyed about the whole idea. What about my work emails? My text messages? Those quotable images that I love…
Summer Has Arrived
Posted July 11, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
Oh my goodness a heatwave has hit Massachusetts! If summer wasn’t here before, it has definitely arrived now. I must admit, I’m not really a fan of excessively hot and humid weather, and I’m glad that it seems to be cooling down just a bit. Because of the heat, I’ve been trying to stay indoors with my beloved air conditioning as much as possible. Between work and my summer class, it really has not been difficult. As I mentioned in my last post, my summer class is online, and we’re fitting 14 weeks’ worth of material into 8 weeks. The class is keeping me very busy between the readings and assignments, but I’m really enjoying learning all the new concepts and interacting with my classmates. We’ve been learning about information organization, metadata, and as of this week, encoding standards. I will admit, learning all the new material in the shortened time frame has been a challenge, but it has been an enjoyable one. One of the best parts about this class is that there…
Bookshops
Posted July 10, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
It is toasty outside guys! I took a rare day off last week to go visit a few bookshops in the Boston area and cool down out of the heat as my apartment does not have air conditioning. Who needs an excuse to visit a bookshop anyway? A quick Google search for used books leads me to Brattle Book Shop in downtown Boston. It is one of America’s largest and oldest bookshops in America! Established in 1825 and in the same family since 1949. I was in for a surprise when I went because I was really looking for newish books that were on sale. I didn’t think I would come across beautiful antique books. I kept thinking, wow, this would be an excellent place for aspiring writers to find a book about an obscure topic who want to research the old fashion way. I have a new interest in human anatomy books, and their section here was small and very old. Rubber bands held the leather covers to the books, the paper was brittle…
Dog Days
Posted July 9, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
Well I was right about my online class – it is all the work of a normal semester class in half the time. We had a research paper due at the end of our second week (last weekend)! That assignment was a bit of a wakeup call for me that 1) I really need to stay on top of the work for this class and 2) I need to prep early for research papers and take better notes. I’ve been on “vacation” still in Virginia this whole time but it hasn’t felt like much of a vacation because every night I’m up doing homework! I don’t mind too much though because I am really enjoying this class. I could have never guessed that records management would be so interesting to me. The discussion forums have been very lively and I do feel highly engaged in the course. Maybe it’s the accelerated schedule that makes it more of an “immersive” experience. Despite the rigor of the class I was still able to drive to go visit…
A Glimpse of Summer
Posted June 28, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
I had almost forgotten about the feeling of that sweet exhale summer break brings until now. I don’t know if what I’m doing 100% qualifies as a “break” since I am working a lot and still managing to keep my schedule quite full, but it is nice to be doing all of those things without having to worry about homework and readings for a few months! In terms of work, I’m still filling in as a senior substitute at the Somerville Public Library. I love it for…well, many reasons. 1) SPL is an awesome place and you should come visit us, okay? Okay. 2) We’ve got three branches, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work in various roles at each of them. Plus, I have amazing co-workers who have been so helpful and supportive. A little circulation here, some reference desk there, and my personal favorite–the children’s room. I got to do an impromptu preschool story time a couple of weeks ago and it was only a little scary, but mostly a lot of fun…
Of Classes and Museum Passes
Posted June 27, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
Oh my gosh the past few weeks have been so busy! My class officially started last week and it’s been a wild ride! It’s been all good so far. There are a lot of opportunities for group discussion in this class (even more than my last class), so I don’t feel like I’m missing the student interaction part of an in-person class at all! Admittedly, it is all behind a screen and in a forum, but still. The summer class is a bit intense though. We’re fitting 14 weeks’ worth of material into an 8-week class, which is a bit daunting. But so far everything has been great, and the material is really interesting! On a more fun-related note, I’ve finally gotten around to doing some more sightseeing! I went into Boston to go to the Museum of Science with my family. When my dad was a child, he had a book with a Van de Graaff generator in it, and he’s wanted to see one in person for a long time, so that’s what…
Our Neighbors at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Posted June 26, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
Hi guys! This week I took the opportunity, as a fairly new resident to the Boston area, to explore our neighbors at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. I have heard a lot about this museum and have been itching to get over. First things first, Simmons students get in free! I was prepared to pay the much-discounted student price of $5, but the lovely girl at the desk said no fee with my student ID! I believe this is true for the Museum of Fine Arts which is nearby as well. It’s a gorgeous building and was Gardner’s home as well. She traveled the world looking for fine art, collected it, and brought it back to Boston to display in her house. She picked where each piece went so it is unique in that way and unlike any museum I have been to. Her pieces are amazing. I often found myself wondering how they shipped some of the pieces over to Boston. Now for the juicy part. This museum is home of many works of…
Back in the Saddle!
Posted June 25, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
Hoo-boy it’s been a wild week! Summer has officially started. My online class has officially started. I spent two days at Hershey Park with my family, two nights at a remote cabin getaway with my husband, and have somewhat settled into the new summer routine at my folks’ house in Virginia. Everyone is healthy and things are going really well. My online class is off to a great start with the usual virtual introductions and the first forum discussion. I didn’t realize it before, but this summer class has only seven weeks and each week encompasses two “modules.” So I guess I should expect it to be more intense than a typical semester-long class? This is my second online class and as with the first, it will be a lot of reading and writing. The way I see it, the extra reading makes up for the lack of classroom lecture time and the extra writing fills in for the lack of classroom discussion. There are pros and cons to online courses that I hope I’ll…
Some Thoughts on Cars and Parking Permits
Posted June 15, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
Hello, people of the world! I’d like to pass along some practical advice about what it’s like to bring your out of state car to Massachusetts, because there are a number of things I’ve had to learn the hard way since I did just that a couple of weeks ago. First off, there are a number of cities in the Greater Boston Area that will require you to have a street parking permit if you aren’t lucky enough to land in a place with a driveway or garage. Know that you have been blessed by the parking gods if such fortune falls upon your head. And since the spaces in the lot behind my apartment complex were already filled up, I was in need of such a permit. I made a big, fat assumption that since I was a grad student living here temporarily, I’d still be able to get some kind of permit. Oh, I was wrong. So very wrong. It turns out that when you’re living here and have your vehicle here, you’re…
Pondering the Future
Posted June 13, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
So, readers, my little summer break is almost over. My new class starts next week (LIS 415: Information Organization). As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, it’s an online class again and I’m excited to start. I am a little bit ambivalent about the shorter timeframe, but I’m really excited about the topic and I’ve already started in on the reading. Over the past few weeks I’ve been pondering my future a lot. Currently, I’m doing the Archives Management concentration within the MS in Library and Information Science program. Even though I’m near the beginning of the program and am still taking my core classes, I can’t help but wonder whether or not the Archives Management track is right for me and if I should instead be doing the design-your-own option. I’ve been doing a lot of informal networking lately, and through my discussions with other librarians I’ve started to think about what I really want to do with my life once I graduate from Simmons, and if archives will play a role in that. …