Snowpocalypse and the Brunch Bunch
Posted January 31, 2015 by Samantha Quiñon
I survived “Snowpocalypse” (as work called it)! Clearly, librarians love melodrama. It was my first blizzard in New England, and I actually kind of liked it. I walked around in the back yard in the middle of it, and it was so quiet that it didn’t feel like I was in Boston at all, more like I was on vacation in some winter wonderland. The only real trouble was AFTER the storm. No one knew where to put all the snow, so pedestrians couldn’t walk on un-shoveled sidewalks and a lot of streets were only one lane even after being plowed. So commuting was a nightmare all around, for drivers and public transportation users. I waited an hour for a bus that never came and another 40 minutes for the T and by that time I was running so late that I hailed a cab, so it cost me more money to get to work than I actually made that day. On the bright side, I had brunch with some friends the Sunday before the…
Time Management
Posted January 30, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
About ten years ago, I had a very high profile job. I carried a Blackberry (when that was a new, cool thing), was on call all the time, and regularly handled work issues at night and on the weekend while doing something else. It was not unusual for me to be working while I was at book club, or away for the weekend with my husband, or at the beach. I totally thrived on the stress and excitement. Then I had kids, and realized that talking to a newspaper reporter while my children were in the bathtub was not something to be proud of, so I left that job. I stopped multitasking and honed my scheduling and time management skills. I ditched the Blackberry, and waited several years before I got an iPhone. I realized I not only loved doing just one thing at a time, but I performed better when I did things one at a time. I was present, in the moment, with my kids. I found interesting freelance work that fit my…
Walking in a Winter Wonderland
Posted January 29, 2015 by Hayley Botnen
So I was wondering if winter was ever going to hit the Boston area. Coming to Massachusetts from Montana, I was told by everyone, “Watch out for their winters! It’s colder out there! Make sure you’re prepared!” I’d been a little let down by the weather so far. I’m not particularly a fan of snow. In fact, I usually say that I don’t like it. But growing up in Montana, you get use to snow starting around October and lasting through about March. Occasionally, it snows outside that time, like when I went to my Freshman undergrad orientation, and it snowed in June. That was unusual, but I just bought a pair of socks and a pair of sweatpants from the school store and called it good. Now, I can say that I’ve finally learned what a Boston winter is like, and it wasn’t as bad as I expected. It was a lot of snow. But what surprised me the most was how everything shut down. I never had a snow day growing up. It…
Welcome to 2015!
Posted January 25, 2015 by Jill Silverberg
Fourth semester at SLIS. Here we go! Indeed, it seems that the month of January has just flown on by. But unlike some of you, I have spent about 95% of it here in Boston rather then home with my family. The reason? Well, it’s because the offices at my job, as a student worker at the student services center (haha shameless plug), were open as we prepped for both the New Year and new students. With so much to do, I’ve lost track of the time. Instead of spending the days at home, lounging around, I was on my feet, running around and performing key tasks. Working from the perspective of being behind the scenes, I must vocalize my respect for all of those who are part of SLIS faculty and staff. These men and women are some of the most dedicated individuals I’ve ever seen. In the days leading up to the Spring 2015 Orientation, I watched as everyone in SLIS came together, both student workers and members of the faculty and staff,…
So it Begins
Posted January 24, 2015 by Samantha Quiñon
There is not much to say this week. Classes started, and work and my internship continued. Reading through my course syllabi and writing all the due dates for each class’s papers and presentations into my planner next to my work hours, suddenly the new semester became real. Seeing everything on paper like that made it click, so to speak, in my brain. Apart from being overwhelming, there were also a lot of good moments in my week where I got to catch up with peers whom I hadn’t seen since last semester. Now that I’m further along in my program, it’s pleasant to be in courses with people I’ve gotten to know in previous semesters, either through classes or student groups. A lot of my projects involve group work, so it’s nice to be able to eliminate the anxiety I felt in the past over not knowing who would make a good teammate. In retrospect, I can say that previous anxiety was entirely unfounded. I think one of my favorite parts of SLIS and information…
Who Am I Scheduling For: Me or My Kids?
Posted January 23, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
Well hello, second semester! It’s nice to see you. And I think I’m going to enjoy your courses, even though I picked them based on what was offered at a time that still allowed me to pick my kids up at school every day, and not really based on what I actually wanted to take. Sigh. Last fall, when we were registering for the spring semester, I had a list of things I needed in my schedule. Not one of them was an actual class. I didn’t want to take a Monday class, because of all the Monday holidays. I didn’t want to take a Friday class, because my kids have several Fridays off for teacher professional development and Parent-Teacher conferences. I wanted morning classes, because my husband can drive the kids to school if I take a 9am class, but I’d have to find a babysitter if I took a 1pm or 6pm class. At some point, I know, I’m going to have to take classes that are only offered at one certain…
Productivity and the Spring
Posted January 22, 2015 by Hayley Botnen
How is it already Spring semester? I feel like the break just flew by, and to be honest, I didn’t even really do that much! I volunteered a couple of times. I had my book club meet. I read ten books or so. I watched a lot of movies. I watched an entire season of Scandal, and Cousins on Call. (I watch an honestly embarrassing amount of television shows.) But I didn’t really do that much. I have the hardest time compelling myself to do things if I’m not busy. If I have a whole bunch of things happening, I manage to get a whole lot of things done. But if I’m completely free all day–I do absolutely nothing. Well, I don’t stare at the wall. I read stuff online. I spend a lot of time on Tumblr or twitter. I watch a lot of TV. But I feel like once the semester starts again, I’m more productive. Of course, there’s always the initial confusion of trying to get back into the swing of things,…
What’s in Store
Posted January 17, 2015 by Samantha Quiñon
I started a job last week at the Snell Library at Northeastern University. It’s in the Circulation Department (called Access Services there) supervising work-study students at the information desk, doing interlibrary loans (ILLs) and working with reserves, and a variety of other basic things. I think it’s a great way to get my feet wet at a large, academic, research library. I also started my cataloging internship at WGBH at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Unlike at Snell, I feel really confident about what I’m doing here. I have experience with digital collections and metadata from my internship last fall at Emerson College’s digital archives. I’m sure I’ll catch on and feel right at home at my other job soon though. Classes start next week. I’m taking Principles of Management (LIS 404 with Mónica Colón-Aguirre who could read the phone book and make it interesting), Subject Cataloging and Classification (LIS 417 with Danny Joudrey who literally wrote the book–the textbook–for Organization of Information, LIS 415), and Metadata online (LIS 445-OL with Kathy Wisser who…
My 2014 Reading in Review
Posted January 12, 2015 by Alison Mitchell
For most of my adult life, I’ve had a loose goal of reading 52 books a year (one a week, or roughly four a month). I keep a handwritten list of all the books I read, but I don’t always count them or hold myself to 52. This year, however, I realized I was at 50 on December 29, and powered through to get to 52 by the 31st (yay! or, maybe I’m too obsessive about an arbitrary number!). Jessamyn West at librarian.net is always setting goals for her reading, like more women or more authors of color. I was planning to analyze my list that way and see where my holes were, but typing it out I realized that I read a pretty diverse range of books. Fiction, non-fiction, YA, classics, men women, international authors… I definitely read more than just tales of women battling the patriarchy, as my husband would have you believe. (Please note that he says that very kindly, of course.) Thoughts on my 2014 reading: Re-reading most of Harry Potter…
Holiday in Summary and a Return to Boston
Posted January 10, 2015 by Samantha Quiñon
This year was my first Christmas at my family’s home in Florida while in library school. Holidays are about more than gifts, but I am going to talk about them anyway, because I was surprised by how many were book-themed. There were book ornaments, books drawn on PJs, book-print socks, a mug with lines from famous books, actual books (of course), and more. It’s strange having this new identity, which I don’t mind, but it’s definitely odd. I’m the same person I’ve always been. I’ve always loved books. No one gave me anything book-related when I majored in English literature for my undergraduate degree, and that actually had a lot more to do with books. I guess people are always happy to find another way to relate to someone as a way of showing love and support, and libraries and books are something everyone understands and has experienced. Beyond being slightly puzzled, I’m grateful that my family seems genuinely happy to see me start a new part of my life and cares enough to bond…