A Bit About My Summer Classes
Posted July 27, 2015 by Samantha Quiñon
As we head into the end of July, we at SLIS are entering the final week of the summer term. This is my second year taking summer classes, and they are a lot of work (classes are condensed), but worth it (six credits in six weeks). I definitely recommend them. This semester I took Collection Development (LIS 453) and Evaluation (LIS 403). Evaluation sounds vague, I know. It’s mostly about how to evaluate and assess various aspects of your library to meet user needs and justify funding, along with the various research and data collection methods that exist. The classes complemented each other well, as Collection Development had a large part devoted to evaluation of a library’s collection. I’m working on final projects for both courses now. For Evaluation, I have to write a research proposal including literature review, and for Collection Development I have to write a collection development policy with demographic data, budget allocation information, deselection guidelines, a gift policy, and collection priorities. (Mine is about 35 pages total, single-spaced, but that includes…
Happy Birthday Trebek: An Ode to Trivia
Posted July 23, 2015 by Alexandra Bernson
Wednesday, July 22nd was a very important day because it concerns a very important man… at least for me. It is the day that Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy, turned 75 years old. The first person I knew who was also named Alex, I grew up watching him host Jeopardy. To this day, I love that show and become glued to the TV if I stumble upon it. I have been tempted to buy cable solely so that I could watch Jeopardy every night at 7:30pm. Alex Trebek and Jeopardy are most likely the reason for my love of knowledge and trivia, which itself is most likely the reason why I am pursuing library science. A general knowledge of everything tends to come in handy in this line of work! And doesn’t Mr. Trebek look amazing for 75? But to return to the subject at hand: trivia. Now, when I say I love trivia, I don’t think you really understand. I LOVE trivia. It makes me so excited. If I know I’m going to trivia…
Summer Reading
Posted July 20, 2015 by Jill Silverberg
It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago, the city of Boston was still blanketed in snow, my apartment was a frozen tundra, and I was elbows deep in school work. Even though school ended for me back in early May, it still feels like just yesterday that I would spend a solid twelve hours a day on the Simmons campus working on final papers and projects. Fortunately for me, days like that are now simply just fond memories and hilarious anecdotes. And with the 2014/2015 academic year now a thing of the recent past, I’ve finally had the opportunity to do something that I only really get to do during the summer months: leisure read!!!!!!!! I don’t joke around when I tell people that I am a blbliophile. I REALLY love books. However, not even my love of the written word is enough to find time to read a book for fun while also working on all the reading and other academic responsibilities that require my attention during the school year. While…
Summer Laziness
Posted July 15, 2015 by Hayley Botnen
How is it already halfway through July? I thought summer was going to be less busy than the school year, but between my internship and the classes I was taking, I feel like it’s been really busy. Maybe it’s also the fact that it’s summer. Summer, to me, means lounging. It means reading. It means going to movies and hanging out in places with AC on the hot-hot days. I went to a concert last week which was fun. I want to go to a baseball game. Summer means a lot of things, but maybe being productive isn’t necessarily one of them. I’ve been trying to work on my novel this month (for Camp Nanowrimo), but it’s hard work when it’s sunny out and it’s hot in my apartment. It’s easier to read things other people have written. It’s easier to see one of the so-called blockbusters in a cool theater. The best part about being a future librarian? Even the things I use to be un-productive are weirdly productive. It’s important for me to…
One School, One Book?
Posted July 14, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
I recently finished The Martian by Andy Weir for “Somerville Reads”/One City One Book, and it was fabulous. Actually, I’ll admit that in the beginning, I thought it was just OK. However, right about the time I thought “I don’t think I can read 300 pages of this,” the perspective of the story changed, a whole bunch of new characters were introduced, and it really took off. Excellent, excellent book. Seriously — more than one night I’ve fallen asleep imagining that the characters were real people and wondering how the United States would respond if the situation in the book really happened. (Side note: I’ll get to continue my fantasy with the characters, since the movie version of the book is coming out soon — starring Matt Damon!) Anyway, back to the point. My family has really enjoyed One City One Book here in Somerville. A few years ago, my husband won a Vietnam War-era trivia contest based on when we read The Things They Carried. Last year, we read Dark Tide, and our local…
Outside the Box
Posted July 2, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
Between working in a public library children’s department, getting my master’s at SLIS, and hanging around with my kids and their friends, I spend a lot of time talking about, thinking about and witnessing children reading. For eager readers, there are limitless options for books to read, stories to write, and vocabulary to learn. For more reluctant readers, it might help to think outside the box. Lately, I’ve seen hesitant readers fall in love with the following: Poetry. Specifically, Shel Silverstein. His poems are short enough to not be intimidating, and interesting enough to encourage kids to stick with challenging words. Drawings help pull readers into the text. And– bonus! — people of all ages find Shel Silverstein hilarious. Graphic Novels. Even though there are plenty of Early Readers with the same number of words on a page and pictures to help you follow the story, something about the graphic format really captures reluctant readers. I love anything published by Toon, and, for older readers, Raina Telgemeier’s fabulous books and El Deafo by Cece Bell….
Happy 150th Birthday, Alice!
Posted June 30, 2015 by Jill Silverberg
It’s almost hard to believe that it has been 150 years since Lewis Carroll’s Alice fell down the rabbit hole and tumbled into the weird, mad, and impossible world of Wonderland. Since its publication in 1865, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has not only become part of the literary classic but also a figure that squarely represents the innocence of childhood. Considering its age, it’s understandable that there have been quite a few interpretations on Carroll’s -or Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s- most famous character. Indeed, the metaphorical journey of Alice has almost become as iconic as the girl herself. So, in honor of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland turning the big 1-5-0, I’ve compiled a top five list of Alices. But before I reveal the list, let’s get some things out of the way. This list and its ranking has been created based on my own personal opinions. So yes, expect some biases For the sake of simplicity, I’m only sticking to Alices from direct adaptions. There are simply too many Alices from works that are allusions or influenced by Carroll’s novel…
You Had Me At Diorama
Posted June 21, 2015 by Samantha Quiñon
With classes starting this week, I’ve been running around checking things off of my “To Do In Boston” List. Two weekends ago, I walked the entire Freedom Trail with some friends. (It’s only about 2.5 miles long.) The weather was sunny and breezy, so it was the perfect time to take in the sights outdoors. We hit every stop! I was most impressed with the less touristy ones, like King’s Chapel and the Bunker Hill Monument, which commemorates an early battle in the Revolutionary War and is actually located on Breed’s Hill, where most of the combat took place. If you are walking the whole trail from end to end, you can either start at the State House or at the Bunker Hill Monument. We didn’t think we were going to see everything, so we started at the USS Constitution. Launched in 1797, it is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat (even though it’s temporarily in dry dock). My friend Nick had been there on a tour with the New England Archivists (NEA)…
A New View
Posted June 19, 2015 by Hayley Botnen
Summer has been a bit of a whirlwind. I’ve finished two classes, I’ve been doing an internship and volunteering, and my roommate just moved back across the country. She moved out here with me from Montana, and I’ve loved having her here. Before she left, we managed to sneak in a last minute trip into the city. We checked out spots along the Freedom Trail, and it was interesting to see history in a place where I have grown accustomed to living. Once I got used to being in the city and used to treading the same path (or same couple of paths) every day, I stopped looking around me. I stopped seeing what I was going by every day. I think it’s easy to fall into the trap of “oh I see that every day, it’s no longer interesting”. Ever since that walk along the Freedom Trail, I’ve been trying to remember that everything is interesting. Every person has a story. Every object has a history. It’s nice to approach each day with curiosity…
The Funny and the Serious
Posted June 16, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
Happy Summer! Two links today, one to make you laugh and one to make you think. Laugh: Librarian Problems. My favorite might be “watching patrons try to find things in the collection after shifting,” especially the comment “watching the rest of the staff after you shifted.” Um, yes, that was me. Think: The Library News. A great collection of articles. Unsurprisingly, several of these have appeared in my Facebook feed from other sources, and it’s nice to have them all in one place. Enjoy!