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…
Crunch Time
Posted April 23, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
We’ve now entered the last two weeks of the semester, otherwise known as “crunch time.” I have three end-of-semester projects on the horizon that I’m busily plugging away at. Now is the time when my kids get away with a little extra TV in the afternoons and I remind my husband daily, “just two more weeks….” The summer break is so close you can taste it, as it hovers like a sunny promise just out of reach. Oh how the pleasure reading and the hobbies and the home organization projects are calling! In my experience, you never know quite how the end will play out until it is suddenly upon you, but this semester (so far) I feel like the crunch won’t be too bad. The end of the semester is always an exciting time, and not just for the prospect of homework-free evenings. It represents the culmination of all we’ve been studying and working on throughout the semester and usually includes some kind of presentation in front of our peers. The project I’m most…
End of Semester Thoughts
Posted April 19, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
I won’t lie, y’all. It was hard for me to think of something to write about for my post today. I’ve actually been having a lot of trouble in that area where inspiration meets diligence lately…which, you might guess, and guess correctly, is not the nicest position to be in here at the end of semester when final papers and projects are due. Still, I’m showing up, and that’s always a good first step! Things are winding down, which is simultaneously a relief and bittersweet. It’s surreal to think I’m almost done with my first year of the program (which flew by crazy fast), meaning I’m almost halfway through (how on earth did that happen?), meaning sooner rather than later I’ll need to consider what I want to do and where I want to apply for jobs and live and start my actual adult life. Because strangely enough, I don’t feel that it’s started that yet. Being in school again makes me feel like I’m in a perpetual state of youth somehow. Anyway, I digress….
Job Hunt
Posted April 18, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
Before I applied to Simmons, I did thorough research on the Master’s of Library Science programs and what types of jobs you can get after you graduate. Unfortunately, what I did not have was experience working in a library. The only experience that I had working in a library was volunteering in middle school to help sign people up for the summer reading program (I’m pretty certain that doesn’t count). The thing that was stressed over and over in the information sessions that I attended before applying, and while meeting with my advisor, and in class was to get experience during your time at Simmons. So, right now, I’m looking for that experience. The Archives Management concentration does require an internship course, LIS 438: Introduction to Archival Methods and Services, so I know I will get some experience when I take that class. However, I’m not taking that class now so I’m hoping to find something before I take that class, whether it be a paid job, an internship, and/or more volunteer experience. As I…
The Boston Marathon!
Posted April 17, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
The Boston Marathon was yesterday and what a day for it! Being a new resident of the Northeast, I was not too keen on how big of a deal this was for the residents of Boston. Of course, I have heard of the marathon, it is major, but being in the city to experience it first hand was a whole other thing. Restaurants and bars offer free food and drinks to the runners, my local nail spa provided free manicures if you had a runner’s bib, and that’s what I noticed just walking down Beacon. I have the pleasure of living only steps away from Beacon Street (not too great for studying- those cowbells are loud!), one of the last major stretches to the finish line on Boylston. First, the weather. Holy moly. I am not a runner, but I can imagine this wasn’t the most ideal condition for 26.2 miles of running. What I understand is the streets are usually full of people cheering on the runners, but with yesterday’s conditions, there were still…
Living Grad School to the Fullest
Posted April 16, 2018 by Megan Ondricek
This post was inspired by a guest speaker we had in academic libraries – a recent SLIS West graduate that many of us knew. Marco is now a Reference & Collection Development Librarian and he gave a wonderful interactive presentation about his current job. I remember taking Collection Development with Marco and it was inspiring to see how he had made that his work and now he was behind the podium, teaching us with the very same material he had been learning just the previous year. Marco was full of confidence and enthusiasm, and it made me feel very encouraged about the value of our preparation at grad school. Observing Marco gave me something to strive toward: a vision of what I hope to achieve after graduation. Library school is a lot of work on its own: there are some weeks when all I can do is submit assignments on time and get myself to class in some semi-prepared fashion. But I’d like it to be more than that. I’d like this to be a…
Reflections
Posted April 13, 2018 by Josie Snow
My goodness, it is hard to believe it has been two months since my last post! The time went by in a blur. So much has happened, I went on a trip to Vermont for some cross-country skiing; Played in some snow from the many Nor’easters; Visited the Eric Carle Picture Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts; wrote paper after paper; took a whirlwind tour of Washington DC; and read more books than I ever thought possible. To top it all off, Winter is edging towards Spring (slowly…oh so slowly it seems, but getting closer every day!), and somehow, I am almost done with my first year in grad school. Wow, where do I even begin? Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, Massachusetts Simmons maintains a close relationship with the Eric Carle Museum of picture book art in Amherst, Mass. Some students take classes there. Curious to see the museum I ventured out there, Amherst is a very interesting place, it was once the home of Emily Dickenson and many other literary figures visited. I…