Ice Cream: The Only Good Thing About a Warm Winter
Posted February 5, 2016 by Katie Caskey
I don’t know about all of you, but I am NOT happy about this crazy warm “winter” we’ve been having this year. I want snow, and hot chocolate, and ice skating, and cold cheeks and noses! I do NOT want to walk out of my house in a spring jacket and be sweating from the humidity before I reach the train station. Last night, in particular, I was really feeling steamed about this heat wave. So, I decided to make myself chilly, even if it was 50-some degrees outside. (I should explain that I’m from Minnesota, so the cold is in my blood…it’s a part of me…I need it). Anyway, I headed to the freezer, dug out a carton of cookie dough ice cream, and prepared to make my own winter experience. As I settled onto the couch and started munching, my brain began to wander, as it does, and I got to thinking about ice cream. It’s just the most wonderful treat, and it’s so customizable! You can make it fruity, chocolatey, hard, soft,…
Color Our Collections
Posted February 4, 2016 by Tara Pealer
Anyone who’s set foot into a bookstore recently has spotted the latest trend in bookselling: the adult coloring book. There’s ocean scenes, fandom pages, and kaleidoscope images. There are funny ones, spiritual ones, and calming ones. Long story short, adults have been given a mass market way to say “it’s acceptable for me to color too!” And, when it comes to trends in the book industry, libraries and archives like to be included. Which brings us to the latest initiative sweeping archives across the nation–“Color Our Collection”. I first ran into the concept when browsing through the Librarian and Archivist tumblr community, when I saw a post about how the Bodleian Libraries (at the University of Oxford) is inviting people to add color to their rare book images. However, they’re not the only ones. A quick google search will pull up results from the Digital Public Library of America, the New York Public Library, and the Stanford Libraries. Even the Smithsonian is participating in the fun! Okay, but real talk: what do they plan on…
Interning at Johnson and Wale’s Culinary Arts Museum
Posted February 2, 2016 by Jill Silverberg
Like many students who entered SLIS in the fall of 2013, this semester I will be completing my final LIS course. While each program within SLIS is structured differently, all feature a Capstone course that usually includes an internship requirement. For this internship, students can either wait to choose a location from a database of options (similar system to what is used in LIS 438, the introductory course for those on the Archives track) or they can work alongside the Capstone Coordinator, Kendra Giannini, and set up an internship at a location of their own choosing. Since my first semester as an Archives-History dual degree student, I have known that my dream job would be to work within a museum or special library that features a large collection of cookbooks and other texts and items associated with food culture. When I met with Kendra, we talked about my interest in Food Studies and she suggested that I consider trying to satisfy my Capstone requirement by interning at the Johnson and Wales Culinary Arts Museum. With…
Not Much Happenin’ Here…Or Is There?
Posted January 29, 2016 by Katie Caskey
I’ve got to be honest…I am struggling with this blog post this week. I usually like to post about fun activities or cool experiences I’ve had in the past week. But this week has, thus far, been pretty event-less. I began the semester, and I started binge-watching episodes of Veronica Mars, which I would never have discovered if it hadn’t been for my professor including the first episode on our syllabus “reading” list. For that I am very grateful! But honestly, what do I write about in the doldrums of January? It’s not yet Valentine’s Day, I don’t have any papers to stress over, I still have a relatively firm handle on my homework load. I’m kind of coasting right now, and that doesn’t make for very interesting blogging. My apologies. ***A few hours and a few snacks later*** Alright, I’ve thought of something! Aren’t you relieved? Today’s post is for those of you who, like myself, feel like they are drifting through their first few weeks of the semester. Enough is enough! Time to…
On Hobbits and Morning Classes
Posted January 28, 2016 by Tara Pealer
I woke up early on Monday morning– –after hitting the snooze button for twenty minutes and silently yelling at myself to put down the phone and make breakfast, that is. These past few weeks, save a few days of work and ALA Midwinter, I have had the privilege to sleep in until 9 or 9:30, laze around for half an hour, eat cereal, then another half hour later I’d make some toast, and then, an hour later, I’d make an actual breakfast with actual substance. By the time I had finished that, it was lunch time and the cycle could begin again. I have long ago accepted the fact that I am probably a hobbit. However, hobbits don’t have morning classes. I have two 9 AM classes this semester, which means that my hobbit-esque schedule is irreparably broken. Waking up at 6:00 am? Definitely something I have to re-accustom myself to. Luckily, my first class of the semester, LIS 488 (one of the options to fill the technology requirement), I have with two of my…
NDSR Residencies and Digital Repositories
Posted January 26, 2016 by Alexandra Bernson
Yesterday I had the opportunity of attending the NDSR Mid-Year Event, where NDSR Residents gave presentations regarding the progress of their projects at their host institutions. If you are like me and know nothing about this program, you would be completely lost as to what any of this means. Don’t worry – despite my own interest in digital preservation, digital stewardship, or any other areas within the ever-expanding world of digital libraries and repositories, I hadn’t been aware of this program either. Originally hosted by the Library of Congress, the National Digital Stewardship Residency (or NDSR) assigns its residents to libraries or repositories looking to improve or originate their own digital stewardship program. This cohort model, where residents and their “hosts” work together to analyze and implement new theories and programs, has resulted in successful programs at past host institutions. Potential applicants are all recent graduates from various iSchools or MLIS graduate programs, and many of them did not have digital stewardship tracks at their graduate program. Currently, the NDSR Boston has residents at Harvard,…
It Begins!: My Final Semester
Posted January 24, 2016 by Jill Silverberg
All throughout the Fall semester, I’ve been mentally preparing myself for this moment. However, now that the time has come, now that my final semester is about to begin, I’ve come to the realization that nothing truly could prepare me for this. That’s the funny thing about reaching the last stretch of a race or the final level of a video game; you’ve known all along that this would happen and yet you still can’t believe that you’ve finally made it. The finish line is in sight, the final boss is right behind that door. In other words, stuff is about to get very real! Last semester, I wrote a blog post about my semi-frustration with people asking me about my future. What were my post-grad school plans? Was I going to stay in Boston or contemplate moving away? Was there a PhD program waiting for me just past the horizon? Essentially, this was my life all throughout my Thanksgiving break: Ironically this scene also happens to occur during a Thanksgiving meal I didn’t know the…
300 Words or Less
Posted January 23, 2016 by Amy Wilson
This was the first week back to class and I am really looking forward to this very career-focused semester. As I have mentioned before, I want to go into legal librarianship. My classes this semester include: Wednesdays – Legal Information ServicesThursdays – Information Sources and Services& Spring Break (five full days) – Special Libraries I can already tell that this is going to be a lot of work, but I am going to throw myself into it because everything I learn is going to be directly applicable in a career. Even my Information Sources and Services course (also known as Reference) is going to be highly focused. I was worried that the broad nature of the topic would mean most of it wouldn’t relate to my career; however, Professor Froggatt made it very clear from the first night that she wants us to find our focus and use it as a lens in the class. This morning our group presentation sign-ups opened at 8am, and I set an alarm to make sure that I could get into the Special Libraries…
The First Day of a New Semester
Posted January 22, 2016 by Katie Caskey
Well, it’s that time again. Break has ended, we’ve all made our way back to Boston from our respective hometowns and states, and we are “ready” to start strong on a fresh semester of grad school. Here is this grad student’s minute-by-minute thoughts throughout her first day…and don’t judge. You all thought the same things! 10:00pm (the previous night) – “I’m going to set my alarm for 7:00 and give myself plenty of time to eat a good breakfast and get organized for class! Nothing like starting off on a healthy note!” 7:00am – “Curse you alarm clock!” 7:01am – “Snooze.” 7:10am – “One more snooze.” 7:19am – “Why, oh why, did I decide to get up this early?” 7:20am – “Ok, I’m up.” 7:30am – “Haven’t gone grocery shopping since I got back…guess it’s popcorn for breakfast.” 7:32am – “Yay! I found some cereal! My roommates won’t mind loaning me some milk, right?” 7:50am – “Nothing on this earth feels better than a warm shower.” 8:00am – “Nothing on this earth feels worse than…
Flash to 502
Posted January 19, 2016 by Alexandra Bernson
Last Saturday I showed up to the Concord Free Public Library ten minutes late, pumped full of adrenaline, wet from the rain, and clutching a Dunkin Donuts coffee and old-fashioned donut. It wasn’t necessarily how I wanted to start my very first day at my 502 internship! The night before, after playing board games with friends, I set four different alarms for the next morning. I was prepared to wake up around 7AM, get ready, make breakfast, and hop on the Fitchburg Line for a 9:18AM arrival in Concord, Massachusetts. When Simmons had originally ranked potential internships, I had chosen those with weekend or late night hours within the Boston city limits. When I found out I’d have to hike all the way to Concord, I was initially disappointed. But the prospect of the collection excited me – I’d be working with the records of the Concord Minute Men re-enactors, one of the first and most respected re-enactment groups in the United States. I had worked at Renaissance festivals and been to battle re-enactments before…