Thinking Like an Archivist
Posted November 6, 2017 by Megan Ondricek
We are more than halfway through the semester and with a few days off for holidays this month, I think I can safely say we are in the home stretch. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Woo! With my archives internship wrapping up, I thought I’d share some of my observations. First of all, this internship required some serious time management. It is built right into the Intro to Archives course (LIS 438) on top of a typical load of coursework, and it’s a lot. I actually advised a classmate the other day not to take it, unless she was serious about archives. Because unless you’ve got all kinds of free time and not many daytime commitments, it will require some major sacrifices beyond the typical course. That being said, I have loved all the course material (not so much the online format) and the work I’ve been doing for my internship. I have finally gotten some hands-on experience in an archive. It really is essential. I’ve heard several times now…
Decisions, decisions, decisions…
Posted October 31, 2017 by Giuliana Gilbert-Igelsrud
Enrollment has rolled around for Spring 2018, and I’m completely torn apart. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m definitely struggling. Every semester there seems to be at least six classes I want to take, even though I’m limited to four, and self-limited to three due to money. It feels like I can see infinitely branching paths in front of me depending on what I decide. Young adult collections? Collection development? Information services for diverse users? Everything sounds so great! Let’s say there are six classes I’m interested in, none of which create scheduling conflicts (totally hypothetical, definitely NOT enrolled in three classes and on three waitlists right now…). We can determine the amount of possible course combinations by using a non-ordered combination formula. This results in a whopping…twenty combinations. Okay, so not quite a staggering number, but maybe an almost-tripped-but-caught-myself number? Anyway, each of these twenty paths could lead me to a totally different future, depending on my classmates, my professors, my assignments, and of course, the content. One of these combinations would…
The Life of a SLIS West Student
Posted October 30, 2017 by Megan Ondricek
It’s been a while since I’ve written specifically about the SLIS West student experience, and I’ve now taken spring, summer, and fall classes so I’m not the “new girl” on the block anymore. I’ve never been to the Simmons campus in Boston so I can’t exactly compare and contrast, but I can give you a good description of what makes a SLIS West student. 1. SLIS West students commute. Based on all the people that I’ve met and talked to, the SLIS West commute is anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, and most are somewhere right in the middle. My drive, at 2 hours, is one of the farthest I’ve heard of and to me it really doesn’t seem that bad. Traffic is usually pretty good on a Saturday and the views are lovely. Right now, it’s dark when I hit the road and I get to watch the sun rise as I drive. 2. SLIS West students have jobs and families. I have yet to meet a SLIS West student who is just…
Fun Facts From My Publishing Class
Posted October 25, 2017 by Josie Snow
My publishing class is very interesting, my professor has been in the world of publishing for a very long time, and knows all sorts of things about books, and the people behind them. She was a friend of the authors of Curious George, and according to her, the Reys were Jews in German-occupied France, and when they left, they grabbed some of their work to take with them. They were stopped at the border, but when the soldier detaining them heard that they were writing books for children he asked to see their work. He thought his children would like the story, so he let them through. Also, did you know that new evidence suggests that Laura Ingalls Wilder had help from her daughter Rose Wilder when writing her books? Laura wrote down her memories, and then Rose, who was a ghostwriter by profession, turned the books into the works of fiction we know today. (For more information see the links below). https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/01/10/books-laura-ingalls-wilder-autobiography http://mentalfloss.com/article/24513/quick-10-curious-george-gets-flossy
Mass Effect
Posted October 24, 2017 by Giuliana Gilbert-Igelsrud
Last fall, I moved out of California for the first time in my life. I’d visited Boston once, years before. I had vague memories of quaint brick architecture. But travel ≠ transplantation. When I said I was from California, people warned me about snow. But I’ve been to Minnesota. My culture shock came from other sources. 1. Fall. On the west coast, fall means everything dies and it gets colder. It’s a short transition between summer and not-summer. But here, fall is an event. People go “apple-picking” and “leaf-peeping,” everyone dresses up, cider is consumed. Oh, and IT’S INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL. 2. Darkness. In my hometown, we get 300 sunny days a year. Did you know the sun can set at 4:15? Did you know it can be overcast for a week straight? I didn’t. 3. Sense of distance. Here, I can visit four states in two hours. A trip to Maine can be shorter than a BART ride to SFO. 4. Regionalisms. I’ve mentioned “apple-picking” and “leaf-peeping”; other terms that tripped me up include “turnpike,” “bodega,” and, yes, “wicked”. 5. Drivers. Californians are not good…
Massachusetts State Archives Field Trip
Posted October 19, 2017 by Katie Olivo
Another guest blog by current student, Sarah Nafis. Sarah is in her final year of the dual Archives/History (MS/MA) program. Since moving to Boston, she’s exploring the city one restaurant at a time and has learned to embrace the quirks of public transportation. This semester I’m taking Government Archives as one of my electives. The class focuses on government archives at the local, state, and national levels and covers topics such as legal responsibilities, relationship between the different branches of government, accessibility, and challenges facing government archives. In addition to the course readings and discussion, we also have the opportunity to meet with guest speakers and visit a couple of government archives. And field trips are just as much fun in graduate school as they were in elementary school. Our class was fortunate enough to be given a personal tour of the Massachusetts State Archives (located just around the corner from the JFK Library and Museum) by the Executive Director, Michael Comeau. We spent just under 3 hours on site and I probably could have…
Libraries or Archives?
Posted October 16, 2017 by Megan Ondricek
As you may know, Simmons has one of the highest-rated Archives Management programs in the country. This was a major factor in my decision to choose Simmons because the idea of an MLIS with a focus in archives interested me much more than a standard MLIS. I felt like it would give me more options – I would graduate with the qualifications to work in both libraries and archives. And frankly, I wasn’t sure I was 100% on board with libraries. My interest in the MLIS degree came in a roundabout way as I chased my dreams of working in museums/cultural institutions while maintaining a connection to the world of academia. I knew I wanted to work in a museum or an archives, but I also thought that library jobs would be easier to come by and that I might be just as content to work in an academic library. The happy news is, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of my classes at SLIS West so far, and only one out of five has been an…
Adjusting to Urban Life on the East Coast
Posted October 12, 2017 by Josie Snow
Things I love: Access to almost everything: Concerts, shows, stores…stimulation is everywhere. Being at a nexus of the literary world Boston is a very literate city, with many events promoting literacy. In the span of a month, I will have attended the Boston Teen Author Festival, and the Horn Book Globe Awards and Symposium, and the Boston Book Festival. These events all bring me close to authors, editors, and agents. The Dress Code: It is nice to be able to dress casually more often. Even though I strove for comfort in my professional clothes, nothing beats jeans and a t-shirt. The diverse environment: Like any city, Boston is home to a wide variety of people, from a wide variety of locations. It also helps that my residence caters to international students, so I get to meet people from many different countries, and learn from, and with them. It is amazing how diverse the group is, on my floor of nine residents alone; there are residents from 5 of the 7 continents. Things I will need…
Adventures by the sea
Posted October 5, 2017 by Josie Snow
I have been here a month now, classes have begun, jobs have started, and I am more confident about where I am going. It is finally sinking in that I am not a tourist any more. I have begun to develop routines, and to truly adjust to my life in Boston. I did get a chance to do some more exploring and had a few more adventures before settling down in my little world of Boston. First, I went to the former home of August St. Gaudens, an artist who is particularly famous for his sculptures and coin faces. He is responsible for some of the most famous coin faces in the US, particularly the double eagle gold piece, as well as several Civil War statues. Next I went to visit the town of Kennebunkport, Maine. Where I got my first taste of New England’s famous rocky coastlines. Finally, I returned to the cape and to one last dip in the Atlantic Ocean. As I got out of the water, I witnessed a very interesting…
Living the Dream
Posted October 2, 2017 by Megan Ondricek
WHOA it’s been a crazy week! So crazy, in fact, I’m going to have to break it down with a numbered list. Here are the important announcements/news items from this week: 1. I started my internship at the Fairfield University archives! This internship is a big deal for me. I haven’t worked since I had my son almost five years ago, so I need all the professional experience I can get. Also, I’ve never done any actual archives work before. I have some library experience and some museum experience, and here I am in grad school claiming I want to be an archivist with only a foggy idea of what that actually means. So YAY FOR INTERNSHIPS! Can you tell I’m excited? I’m super excited. This internship is perfect for me. It’s not too far from my home and it’s a small university archives, which frankly is exactly the kind of institution I see myself in some day. 2. I visited an archives for my field study. This would be only the second…