A Favorite Fall Outing
Posted September 25, 2015 by Katie Caskey
The sun is shining, the breeze is crisp, I’ve broken out the heavier scarves…it’s official! Fall. Is. HERE!!! And very few cities do fall better than Boston, with the glorious leaves, the bustling crowds, and, my personal favorite, the Copley Square Farmers Market. Held every Tuesday and Friday from 11:00am – 6:00pm in Copley Square, the market features well over 20 vendors selling everything from watercolors to watercress. Last week I ventured over to the market after my weekly trip to the library (which is conveniently right across the street), and as I wandered around I was struck by the rich variety of produce and farm goods the area has to offer. Some of my favorite tents included a lady selling artisanal cheeses made from her goats’ milk, a local greenhouse with some stunning bunches of sunflowers, and a bakery and bee farm selling homemade whoopee pies and locally-harvested honey. But my favorite find of last week was the biggest, sweetest honeydew melon I have ever seen! It was the size of my…
Mixing Introversion and Group Projects
Posted September 24, 2015 by Tara Pealer
I come from a family of extroverts. They’re loud, they’re fun, and they’re friendly. They’ll stop to talk to you on the street. They’ll have a conversation on the train with a stranger. They’ll do their best to make you feel included. I’m an introvert. (Buzzfeed keeps insisting that I’m an ambivert. But it also once sorted me into Ravenclaw when I’m Pottermore sorted as a Hufflepuff, and huffle-proud of it. So I question the legitimacy of their quizzes.) I don’t believe that you should ever talk to someone on the train, unless you know them. I know that the tried and true New Englander way to say hello to someone on the street is to barely make eye contact and keep walking as you say “Hi-How-Are-You-I’m-Good.” Of course, I’m not alone in this in the library profession. A majority of LIS people are introverted as well, though there are a good deal of extroverts who are wonderful to be around. In my 401 Foundations class, we discussed how the Myers-Briggs test can be used…
Was it the Right Move?
Posted September 22, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
I’m over 40. I have two kids and a husband. Our lives are busy and messy and crazy and good. And last year I made them busier and messier and crazier and better by starting my master’s at SLIS. Is it hard? Yes. Was it the right move? Definitely. Going to school and working (I work part-time in a public library) and parenting and keeping the house from falling apart is a challenge, I won’t lie. But I love being a librarian, and love that the SLIS program is preparing me for actual library work. It’s a practical degree — every class I’ve taken includes real life, relevant information that I can apply immediately at work. It’s a fun degree — classes and projects are interesting. The program is a lot of work — much more than I expected at the beginning, and every semester I have to remind myself that I’ll have a lot of reading! A lot of assignments! A lot of group projects! Even more group projects! A how-on-earth-could-I-have-another-group-project amount of group…
Here Comes the Sales Pitch
Posted September 21, 2015 by Alexandra Bernson
If American libraries and archives were a business, I might just be their best salesman. Not that I’m a particularly good salesman and not that I’m actually making any money for it. But I find myself talking about libraries and archives all the time to total strangers, so much so that often it feels like I’m stuck in the middle of a cold call. As a second-year student gradually pushing her way through to glorious graduation in May, my life has centered around learning about and working in libraries and archives for over a year. In that year, I’ve learned that libraries and archives have the worst marketing and public relations teams on the planet and absolutely no one has any idea what a librarian really does or what libraries offer. Further, the word “archivist” usually inspires quizzical looks that I’d like to document in a series of photographic portraits for future exhibition at the BPL. Other than the shhing, sexy librarian stereotype, the world of library and information science is virtually unknown to popular…
Guest Blogger: Katelyn Duncan
Posted September 20, 2015 by Katie Olivo
Katelyn Duncan is a former Spanish & Italian literature student who stumbled upon librarianship after realizing she wanted to balance her fondness for academia with her love for helping people. During her five semesters at Simmons, she took courses focusing on reference and academic libraries and worked in the SLIS Tech Lab as well as a small college library. In March 2015, she became the first Simmons student to go to South Korea as part of a dual degree program to get a second master’s in LIS from Yonsei University in Seoul. We’re delighted to have her share a few posts with us this semester so that we can all learn about her dual degree program at Yonsei University! ——————- When I first came to Simmons in summer 2013, I knew I wanted to take advantage of international opportunities if I could. I thought that would mean participating in SCIRRT (the LIS student group focusing on international librarianship) and attending one of the short summer study abroad sessions in Korea, France or Italy. What I never…
Welcome!
Posted September 19, 2015 by Amy Wilson
I’m Amy, a first semester student at Simmons School of Library and Information Science. I live in Somerville and work full time at a law firm, in addition to attending evening classes. In the past year and a half, my life has changed in many ways. It began last winter, when I very hastily applied to Simmons School of Library and Information Science. This is not to say that my decision was hasty, only that the process went very quickly. I had been sitting on the decision for a long time, and realized in the middle of January that if I applied by February 1, I would qualify for a scholarship. I had told people all along that I was thinking about it, but honestly, I wasn’t. I was enjoying my life as a non-student and didn’t feel any rush; however I also realized that if I didn’t make up my mind, another year could slip away. I knew that my deposit wouldn’t be due until May, and there was no harm in applying while I…
A Checklist for the Perfect Coffee Shop
Posted September 18, 2015 by Katie Caskey
Being from Minnesota, I do not handle the heat well. Give me -40 degrees and I am perfectly capable of layering up and venturing out into the tundra, but when it’s hot, as it has been here the last few weeks, I find my energy and motivation slowly wilting away. So, when last week saw the emergence of the pumpkin spice latte at various coffee shops around the city, I was ecstatic because I knew it could only mean one thing…fall is near! Any literature or library student worth their salt knows the importance of finding the perfect coffee shop. It provides the necessary atmosphere for contemplative writing, critical reading, and people watching when you Just. Can’t. Read. One. More. Article. But what exactly makes for the perfect coffee shop? When I first came to Boston, I set out to find my regular study spot but found it difficult to narrow down my search, given the enormous selection around the city. I will include my checklist of must-haves here, for those of you new to…
I Can’t Use GPS
Posted September 17, 2015 by Tara Pealer
I got lost this week. I mean, technically, since I have my phone on me 24/7, I wasn’t really lost, but I was doing a really good impression of it. I moved to Boston to start the fall semester a few weeks ago, so I haven’t gotten the hang of the city yet. I was running…not late, exactly, but there was some kind of issue affecting the E line, so I got off at Hynes. My best friend, on days she wanted to walk, would get off there. She and I had walked that way once, and she had shown me some of her favorite sites on the route. I had planned to be about an hour early anyway–no big issue if I took a walk, right? The walk would hardly add fifteen minutes to my commute. I got out of the Hynes stop and got lost immediately. At first, I went the wrong direction. Twice. Then, after consulting my GPS, I realized I had no clue where I was, since my phone was taking…
Trivia Night at Thornton’s
Posted September 16, 2015 by Jill Silverberg
Last Friday night I attended the trivia event that was hosted by ASIS&T, ALA, LISSA, Panopticon, PLG, SCoSAA, SCIRRT, SLA, and Spectra. Considering the number of student organizations that were involved with making trivia night possible, I think we should really be calling it a super event. I’m not certain how often the SLIS student organizations come together to collaborate on putting together big events like this but I hope that they do more of them in the near future. For those who have never been, Thornton’s Fenway Grill is located on the opposite side of the Emerald Necklace from Simmons, on Peterborough Street. It is conveniently located on a strip of businesses that almost all specialize in food. By the time a friend and I arrived at Thornton’s for trivia, the place was already jammed packed with students. Fortunately, I was able to snag one of the few remaining seats at a table of friends. After ordering a round of drinks (the place was featuring a $5 Blue Shark drink that we all couldn’t ignore), we…
Nope, Not in a Routine Yet
Posted September 15, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
It’s technically the third week of classes at SLIS, and I am definitely not in a routine yet. My kids are only in their first full week of school and gymnastics, so I’m not completely clear about their rhythm, which means I’m also not completely clear about my rhythm. I’m taking two classes — 481, Children’s Collections, which meets Thursday evenings (my first evening class!), and 407, Reference, which I’m taking online and has significant work due every Tuesday night. Because of some one-time scheduling issues, I’m a bit behind this week — I’m not the type who enjoys doing work due Tuesday on Tuesday, but that’s what’s happening right now! Hopefully I’ll get it all straightened out this week, and by next week be on a better schedule for schoolwork. And I have full confidence that the kids will get themselves straightened out. They have excellent teachers, love their classrooms and enjoy gymnastics, so as long as I get them where they need to be when they need to be there, with snacks, we…