Blogs: The Perfect Remedy to Academic Article Overload
Posted November 23, 2015 by Katie Caskey
I know that as grad students, we are never in short supply of something to read. Between class work, research, any reading for the plethora of part-time jobs and internships we take on, and just trying to keep up with the latest work coming out in our particular field, it is truly surprising that our eyes don’t just go on strike and refuse to read one more word! But if, by some miracle, you should find yourself in need of something to read, might I suggest exploring the vast world of the blogosphere? With writing of every skill-level on every topic imaginable, there is no shortage of 500-word snippets to tempt any literary palette. I know the selection pool can seem overwhelming, so allow me to suggest a few of my personal favorites to get you started. In no particular order, here they are… Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac Link: http://childrensbookalmanac.com/ This blog is perfect for a librarian in search of a book for read-aloud time, a parent browsing for a new book for their…
Librarianship as Emotional Labor
Posted November 21, 2015 by Amy Wilson
This post is a little different from my previous ones – basically, I want to gather my thoughts on a topic that I recently read about. Rose Hackman wrote an article earlier this month for The Guardian, arguing that emotional labor is the next frontier of feminism. Emotional labor refers to the type of work that count on “service with a smile,” and historically there has been a “positive bias” toward women in these roles. Hackman also argues that it is work that is not accounted for in wages. “The way I think of emotional labor goes as follows: there are certain jobs where it’s a requirement, where there is no training provided, and where there’s a positive bias towards certain people – women – doing it. It’s also the kind of work that is denigrated by society at large.” The article does not mention librarianship, but I immediately thought of this profession, especially as it evolves away from the “shushing librarian” image and more toward positive user service interactions. Librarianship is an industry of knowledge,…
Inventorying the Boston Public Library’s Print Collection
Posted November 20, 2015 by Jill Silverberg
Since the beginning of October 2015, I have been part of a team that is currently working on inventorying the Boston Public Library’s print collection. The print collection, housed in the heart of the BPL, is massive and although considerable progress was made on inventorying the collection over the course of the summer, there is still a long way to go. Currently, my duties are split in two. On Mondays, I spend my shift rifling through index cards (remember those?) and looking for duplicates. Sometimes there aren’t any (YAY!); but usually there are a lot of them. For example, I am currently weaning out duplicates from a stack associated to the French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Without the duplicates, the collection of cards is about two-hundred and fifty. Multiply that number by 2. Talk about a lot of cards!!! As much fun as removing duplicate cards sound, Wednesdays are my personal favorite day of the week. That’s because on Wednesdays, I get to actually dig into the collection, open up boxes, see what’s hiding inside. Basically…
The Joys of Co-Working
Posted November 19, 2015 by Tara Pealer
“If you have a friend you like to spend time with, but also want them to have their dreams to come true, co-work. Accomplish your dreams together.”–Hannah Hart One of the biggest problems I find myself facing when I’m trying to complete schoolwork is the fact that I let myself decide that I’m not in the right mood to get anything done. I could be in a sleepy mood, and who wants to work then? Or I could be too awake to do work. Or none of the Spotify stations are playing music which I can get work done to. When I don’t ‘feel’ like getting work done, I can have a million and one excuses. Now, as a lot of people know, one of the fixes for this is to set up a space where you get work done. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but, although I love my apartment, it’s small. My desk has a mix of school books, scarves and bills on it. It’s not, currently, a friendly workspace. Another,…
Pickles and PhDs
Posted November 13, 2015 by Amy Wilson
As I approach the end of this semester (my final assignments are due 12/3 and 12/8) I am feeling an increasing sense of urgency, but also a feeling of confidence. Part of this is likely due to the fact that I have a whole weekend ahead of me with no plans, except making pickles. I’ve never pickled anything so it should be an interesting journey. Anyway, it will be nice to make some real progress on my research this weekend. Last night I indulged in a night of crafting, Gilmore Girls, and no homework. I stitched initials onto some Christmas stockings that I bought for our apartment, and then started making a hat for my boyfriend. I learned how to knit from my old bosses in my job at the Saint Michael’s College library, Kristen and Naomi. It’s an unspoken law that librarians must learn to knit. I also have a cat, so I can check off that box too. Last weekend I came very close to being the owner of two cats, when I…
This Blogger’s Ranking of the Best Book-To-Movie Adaptations
Posted November 13, 2015 by Katie Caskey
With excitement building for the upcoming final installment of The Hunger Games film series, I got to thinking this week about other successful (and not so successful) book-to-movie adaptations. So here are my top five favorite movies that started as beloved books. ***NOTICE: I said MY top five. Agree, disagree, vehemently disagree…that’s fine. I’d love to hear your lists as well! My Regulations: I am only including films on the list that I have seen about books that I have read. Hence, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Twilight will not be making an appearance…cheer or grumble as you will. I am only including film adaptations of children’s books. I could go on and on about the plethora of Jane Austen movies (and I just might in one of these posts), but I have to narrow the field for this list. I am not including made-for-TV movies or miniseries. There are some wonderful creations out there, and it could even be argued that the miniseries is a better format for book adaptation as it…
Attending a SLIS How To Panel
Posted November 12, 2015 by Tara Pealer
I’ve been to conferences before, so when one of my friends expressed an interest in going to the How To Attend a Conference event put on by SLIS groups, I was a little hesitant. It wasn’t that I didn’t find the topic interesting. It’s that when you do something once, you kind of assume you know how to do it. I went to a national conference. I presented for a whole fifteen minutes. I had it down pat. But I’m a sucker for peer pressure and free food, so I went with her. I’m so glad I went. It made me address some of my preconceived notions. One, there’s a difference between attending a National Conference as an undergraduate. When you go to a conference as an undergraduate, no one really expects anything out of you. You’re like a little baby to people who are Professionals In Their Field. They love that you’re so excited but they know that you don’t know half as much as them. Two, there’s a difference between an academic conference…
Learning about the Copyright Act
Posted November 11, 2015 by Jill Silverberg
Yesterday in my Photographic Archives course (LIS 471) taught by the wonderful Professor Martha Mahard, my class was was treated to a crash course in the Copyright Act and all of its wonderful quirks. For those not acquainted with the Copyright Act, it is something that many of us will encounter more than once in our line of work as librarians, archivists, and information professionals. To describe the Copyright Act is no simple task but I will do my best to define it in under 100 words. The U.S. Copyright Act: a piece of federal legislation that provides Constitutional protection to the writings of authors. The term ‘writings’ is a loose term, one that encompasses architectural design, software, graphic arts, movies, and sound recordings. The owner of a copyright has the sole rights to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, and license works based on the copyrighted work. The rights of the copyright owner are subject to limitation by the ‘fair use’ doctrine. Fair use applies to criticism, comment, news, reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. These are not…
Temporary Disturbances in the Force
Posted November 7, 2015 by Amy Wilson
Hello there! I’ve had trouble finding time to write recently because work has been incredibly busy. I like my job for many reasons, one being that my firm offers great benefits, like sabbaticals every 10 years; however, in the last two weeks, one coworker’s sabbatical overlapped with another person’s honeymoon. Doing the job of three specialists has made me feel like a battle droid running around with its head cut off. This week, one of my coworkers is back, so things have quieted down a bit. Finding time to celebrate Halloween! I have definitely started to find a healthy balance when it comes to school work, and my last few assignments have come back with high marks. I felt confident enough, when I registered for classes next semester, to sign up for 9 credits instead of 6 – kind of. It will work like this: during spring break in March my adviser, Jim Matarazzo, is teaching a week long class called “Special Libraries,” which is 3 credits like any other course, but meets from…
Go See Some Art!
Posted November 6, 2015 by Katie Caskey
I know that, for a graduate student, the concept of “free time” is like some ungraspable mist, always hanging nearby making you aware of its existence, but rarely solidifying into something practical and tangible and enjoyable. Because its appearance is so rare, it is important to make the most of it when it arrives. And Boston is never lacking in cool events to check out in that precious free moment. For a theatre geek like myself, one of my favorite discoveries over my last year and a half in Boston has been the Student Rush program. This program has been such a gift for my grad-school-afflicted wallet. For just $25 and a peek at your student ID, you can receive amazing tickets to some of the biggest Broadway touring shows in town! All you have to do is show up an hour before the house opens and show your ID! Now I know this sounds too good to be true, and while it IS true, there are a few downsides… You can only get one…