Boston Winter Survival Guide
Posted November 5, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
This past Sunday morning, my roommate ran into the living room of our apartment, opened the window and stuck her head outside of it. “It’s snowing out there!” she proclaimed in disbelief. I stood up and joined her at the window and took a look at all the white, fluffy stuff that was coming down. “Well, considering other years, snow in November isn’t such a shocking thing around here. However, this is only the beginning.” For those out there who do not know me, I love snow. One of the reasons I ended up going to an undergraduate university in Massachusetts was because I was guaranteed to have at least more than one snow day. But, my love for snow extends far beyond just the possibility of not having school. I love walking through it, playing in it, taking pictures of it, watching snow collect outside while sitting inside with a warm cup of hot cider. Essentially, if it is a snow based activity (other than shoveling it), chances are high that I’ve participated in it….
Bookfest!
Posted November 4, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
Edgar Allen Poe is famous for spewing vitriol about Boston and the literary habits of its inhabitants, pretty much from the moment he left Boston to the day of his death. (The thing that makes it funny, of course, is that today the only Bostonian monument to Poe is a plaque on the side of a Boloco two blocks from his long-demolished childhood home. They are, grudgingly, going to install a statue of him eventually. Lesson: do not crap on a city, because it will always outlive you and have the last laugh.) It’s true that Boston isn’t a literary city on par with New York or San Francisco, but it’s not a book wasteland, either. I mean, we have to have something to do in the winter when the internet’s out. So: the Boston Book Festival, or BookFest, is a huge one day celebration of all things bookish. It takes place in Copley Square and is, get this, entirely free. You have to have tickets to some of the more popular author readings or…
Mid-Semester Status Update
Posted November 2, 2014 by Alison Mitchell
So — I’m halfway through my first semester at SLIS. For anyone out there looking for a status update, especially anyone considering becoming an older student with kids at home and work on the side, here’s my assessment of things so far. Better than Expected The people. I thought I would be the old lady in all my classes, and not make any friends. I was partially right — I am the old lady — but the rest of the students are by and large kind, interesting, smart, thoughtful people, and it’s been a treat getting to know them. The professors. Outstanding. I feel so lucky that I got to take a course with Candy Schwartz before her retirement (note to future students: you still have two years!). And I love how different professors have lectured in 401, exposing us to their styles and personalities. The resources. From the tech lab to career services to the writing center, Simmons offers an incredibly wide range of support to students — please take advantage of it! Harder…
Massachusetts Historical Society Visit
Posted November 1, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon
On Thursday night, my Introduction to Archival Methods and Services (LIS 438) class visited the Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded in 1791, the society is an independent research library open to the public that specializes in early American, Massachusetts, and New England historical documents. Before our visit even began, most of our class walked together from Simmons to the historical society, which is a little less than a mile away. It was (finally) one of those classic New England brisk fall evenings outside, and we walked over bright, damp leaves as everyone chatted and observed the omnipresent geese. When we arrived, Director of Collection Services Brenda Lawson gave a short talk to welcome and orient us. She told our class that she too went on a tour of the historical society with her archives class when she was getting her MSLIS at Simmons over 25 years ago. Then, carrying out a long-running tradition, we broke into three groups and took a two-hour tour. We saw all the essential parts of the repository, like the processing room,…
Relax
Posted October 30, 2014 by Hayley Botnen
We have six weeks of school left. Not even six weeks! Because of Thanksgiving, we more or less have five weeks of school left! I’m at the point in the semester where all my group projects are looming in November, and I have three research papers to do, and I still have to figure out what the heck a pathfinder even is, but for some reason I’m not that stressed out about it. I think a huge part of the reason why I’m not stressed out is because for me reading is a de-stressing activity. So even when I have to read novels for homework, my brain can’t disassociate from the de-stressing. I love reading. So I love doing my homework. I almost forgot to write this blog post because I got too engrossed in Beverly Cleary’s Fifteen. Even though I had some issues with the text, the mere act of reading it made me calm. So in this high stress time, remember what makes you calm. Maybe it’s taking a break and just sipping…
NEA Mentoring Program
Posted October 28, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
A few months ago the New England Archivists sent around an email to the Simmons email list looking for students or early professionals in the archives field to join a mentoring circle, wherein a few seasoned archivists will give career advice to people just starting out. It sounded like a great opportunity to meet people and learn a little bit about how the archives field in New England looks from the other side, once people have successfully gotten their careers in motion. That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot anyway, as I begin to apply for actual professional jobs. A mentoring circle, I thought, would help. I’m not sure exactly what I expected, but at the very least I thought it couldn’t hurt to have a dialogue about what a career in archives really looked like, especially with informal discussion. I’ve already proven that I’m no good at conferences, but the small group aspect of this was much more appealing. We had the first meeting this week, and it was actually fun to talk…
Losing It
Posted October 26, 2014 by Alison Mitchell
Well, I lost it. I thought I was doing a pretty great job at keeping it all together. School, kids, work, check. House, parents, in-laws, friends with issues, got it. Crazy scheduling? Husband travelling? Bring it on. Until I lost my notebook. My 415 notebook. My 415 notebook for the class taught by Candy Schwartz, the legendary SLIS professor. Not good. I think I lost the notebook sometime last Friday, when I met three classmates to work on a group project. My kids didn’t have school that day, so I brought them with me — and they were really well behaved, but still, I was a little distracted, trying to focus on the group work but also make sure my children didn’t wreak havoc in the Harvard Coop or Cambridge Public Library, the two places the group met. It seemed to go so well. But today, when I sat down to finish one of Candy’s never-ending-quite-challenging-yet-interesting assignments, I couldn’t find my notebook. I called the library and the Coop, and it wasn’t in lost and…
Small victories this week
Posted October 25, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon
Making an Important Decision I’m staying in the archives concentration after a little internal debate about whether or not to study something more general. I can’t do everything I may love, so I’ll do one thing I’m certain I love. I’m really passionate about people accessing and using archives, so I’ll find a way to do something with that. Having this decided brings me a little peace of mind, especially for selecting my Spring courses during registration next week. Getting a Flu Shot I got a free flu shot on a break between classes in the Main College Building near the Fens Café. I love how Simmons uses its students in nursing school to administer the vaccines. They get to practice their new skills, and everyone else gets to not be in agony this winter. It took literally three minutes from filling out a piece of paper to getting the vaccination in my left arm, which is still a little sore when I try to lift my backpack which weighs a ton. It’s like Hermione’s…
Want to spend more time writing this November?
Posted October 23, 2014 by Hayley Botnen
Many people who like to read also like to write. I definitely belong in this group. In fact, every November, I am one of those crazy people who participate in NaNoWriMo. What is NaNoWriMo you might be asking? NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. It takes place every November, and it is when people decide to tackle their writing projects. Typically, NaNoWriMoers write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. That’s 1,667 words a day. Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t say typically. That’s usually what the goal word count is, but I, for one, have only met it once in the five years I’ve done it. 1,667 words a day doesn’t seem overly hard until you get behind a couple days. I’ll let you know how I do this year. Until then, if you’re interested in trying the challenge, head on over to Nanowrimo.org and get started. Let me know in the comments if you’re participating! I always love to have friends to spur me on towards the goal. All the Best – Hayley
BAHFest
Posted October 22, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
What do you think when you read the words, ‘Bad Ad Hoc Hypothesis Festival?’ If you think that the event is going to be as ridiculously fun as it sounds, then you are correct. Sponsored by the online comic strip “Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal” BAHFest is a celebration of science and how amazingly awesome it can be. The rules of the contest are simple: come up with an outlandish theory and then prove it with science. What makes BAHFest amazing is that even the most ridiculous theory is backed up with absolute science. All the data and formulas are real even if they are being applied to something crazy like trying to prove that smugness is hereditary. As someone who isn’t exactly amazing at science, I was worried that I would not be able to enjoy the presentations. However, all six presentations were hilarious, and different. The winner (I won’t spoil who) 100% deserved the 3D printed statue of Darwin looking doubtful. Although this is only the second year that BAHFest has been held, it was…