A Much Needed Break
Posted May 28, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
I’m afraid I don’t have any exciting summer adventures to report on yet; with my son’s preschool still in session our summer hasn’t officially started. To be quite honest, I’ve been laying pretty low since the semester ended. I’ve written no blogs (until this one), largely ignored my school email, and given barely any thought to school or libraries. I’ve also been sick almost the entire time (thanks kids) which has necessitated taking it easy. That means watching shows, reading books, and playing silly games on my phone. But the best part of my break so far has been all the unstructured quality time I’ve been able to spend with my family, without the worry of school deadlines weighing me down and subtly siphoning away my energy and attention. My husband and kids are thrilled to have mommy back in full for a little while. And yes, as others have mentioned, spring is in full swing here in New England. It’s that brief and magical time of year when the house needs no heating or…
E-Readers, Tree Books, Libraries & Traveling
Posted May 22, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
Currently I am in Manchester England. The UK is a place I visit often as my husband is from England. I was never much of the E-reader type. I like to hold my books, collect them, smell them, all the things people like us in the LIS & Children’s Literature programs are all too familiar with. I tried E-readers in the past and could never get behind them. It didn’t feel real. Even traveling back and forth from the UK I would lug Jonathan Frazen, Stephen King, or any of my 350+ pages of YA books across the pond. My in-laws and husband would smile at my efforts and my diligence in my devotion to the book I was reading. (The idea behind Frazen was that if I brought a long enough book I wouldn’t have to bring several smaller books, logical right?) I did begin to utilize the public library system over here, which was a huge help and downsized the small personal library I brought with me everywhere. Plus, it was interesting exploring…
Summer Travels
Posted May 17, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
Greetings from Amarillo, Texas–home of the Big Texan 72 oz. Steak Challenge, truly epic thunderstorms, and according to a 2016 article by The Weather Channel, it’s the windiest city in America. Another fun fact? A-Town’s record wind speed clocked in at 84 mph back in 1949, and I would imagine the tornado passing by the instrumentation less than a mile away may have had something to do with that. Anyway, here I am hanging out with my younger brother, caffeinating with a coconut chai, and smack dab in the middle of my cross-country road trip. It’s hard to fathom that I was at home in Somerville just last Saturday. Since then I’ve been to California to watch one of my dearest friends tie the knot, flown to Texas to spend time with my family, and made a quick trip back to my hometown in Oklahoma to visit my Grams. Y’all. It has been the definition of a whirlwind. I’m zonked from traveling and switching up time zones, and I’m only at the halfway mark. This…
Summer is Here!
Posted May 16, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
Within the past two to three weeks the weather has finally warmed up! Today it was 85 degrees outside! Can you believe it?! I can barely believe that just a few short weeks ago I was wearing a parka. Practically overnight all the trees have leafed out and everything is now so green. It just suddenly appeared. This is the weather I have been waiting for! However, as I am writing this post, there is currently a tornado warning and it is pouring rain, so I guess I can’t have everything. As I mentioned last time, I’m done with classes and I have a bit of a break before my next class starts on June 19, so I’m taking advantage of my time off to try and discover more of Massachusetts on the weekends, as I am kind of new to the area. Also, once class starts, I still want to try and explore while the weather is nice. A few months ago, I found the Massachusetts Office of Tourism and Travel’s website while working…
Simmons Connect
Posted May 8, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
I wanted to mention how helpful Simmons Connect has been for me this semester. It was my first web-based experience with Simmons (other than simmons.edu). This is where you find out your registration start date and times, how you register for classes (very important), view your schedule, check your email, find events happening around campus, access campus print (another super important one), any way you get the idea. Access to Simmons Connect keeps you on schedule with the school, but another aspect I really like is students can post things here (through a mediator of course). People looking for babysitters, jobs, sublets, and important updates you need to know such as the library only being open to students during finals (don’t forget your student ID!). I found my summer sublet here from a fellow student who is in the Social Work graduate program. I really like knowing we can sublet from other students; it feels a bit safer. When you are new to a city, craigslist can be a bit daunting with unfamiliar locations, safe/unsafe…
The Prettiest Afternoon
Posted May 4, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
I went on a lovely little outing this past Saturday! I met a friend at Copley Square and we went to treat ourselves at L.A. Burdick’s, an amazing and decadent chocolatier that I highly suggest you try at least once in your life. After we had armed ourselves with drinking chocolate–yep, that’s a real thing–and pastries, we made our way over to the Public Garden and then strolled into the Beacon Hill neighborhood. The city was pulsing with activity, with everyone coming out to sunbathe and play and enjoy the general splendor of the afternoon. It. Was. Delightful. Once we had finished up there, I was off to pick up a new library book…one of many that are piling up in my room now that the semester is over and I can genuinely read for pleasure…called The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin. I recently joined a sci-fi feminist book club, which promises to be awesome on a whole lot of levels, and Le Guin’s book is next up in our queue. I’ll…
First Semester: Complete!
Posted May 2, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
As of 11:55 PM last night, my first semester at Simmons is over! Not that I was counting the minutes or anything. All of my lectures are done, readings completed, and my final project has been TURNED IN! Even though this class was a lot of work, I loved every minute of it and learned so much. As I said last week, I’m really proud of everything I’ve accomplished this semester, and now I have a break from schoolwork until mid-June, which is when my summer class starts. Because I have had absolutely no free time whatsoever for the past few weeks until today because of school, stress, and personal life issues, I am a little bit relieved that I will be having a break from schoolwork, just for a little while. As I will now be having free time, I plan on catching up on some reading. I’ve really been slacking off- I’m a voracious reader, and I usually try and read several books a month but I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t…
Third semester: It’s a wrap!
Posted May 1, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
I’m all done with my third semester at SLIS West!!! Even though my courses this semester were in many ways “easier” than my others, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such a massive sense of relief. There was a lot going on in my personal life these past few weeks that made the end a major struggle. For example, the first thing I did once classes were over was to finally take my poor ailing five-year old to the doctor and find out he has a double ear infection (ouch!). I am a worrier by nature, and two things guaranteed to create a lot of worry for me are school and sick children. The difficult thing about being a mom AND a grad student is that you literally get no break. You’re with the kids all day long, and any “personal time” you manage to etch out must go to homework. You can’t just go to bed early one night if you’re super tired because then you’ll get behind in your homework and there will…
The End is Near
Posted April 25, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
I have less than one week until my first semester is over. My final project is due next Tuesday, May 1, and then I am done with my first semester at Simmons. I’m happy, stressed, excited, and terrified all at the same time because it’s crunch time and I’m working away on my project and I can see my deadline looming closer but I know I have a break coming up (until my summer class starts). This semester has gone by so fast and I’m so proud of the work I’ve done and all of the new skills I’ve acquired. In just this one class, I’ve learned how to conduct reference interviews, I’ve learned about ready reference sources, I’ve learned about ethics and professional standards in the library and archives industries, I’ve learned a variety of new search strategies and techniques for databases and web sources, I’ve learned about evaluating information and resources, I’ve learned how to plan and create a basic instruction session, I’ve learned about making LibGuides, and so much more! I think…
Everyone’s Talking About It…Wrap up + Career Fair Tidbits
Posted April 24, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
Yep. How can we not talk about it? One more semester (or the first as it is in my case) almost in the bag! One step closer to graduation and that coveted degree for us all. I finally got into a routine with my school work, work, and how to make free time for myself about four weeks ago, just after Spring Break. Funny how that works, but I will not argue about the end coming near. It is a strange mix of stress and glee for me. It is probably the only time I try to finish a paper early so that I can wrap up my semester early! This never works for me by the way, though I do feel the motivation to get on top of the work rather than the other way around. This semester it seems that spring has decided to come the last couple weeks of our semester as well. I will not complain about its delay, at least it happened! The flowers were planted and blooming before the…