Head of the Charles
Posted October 21, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
I love fall here in New England. We’ve covered that topic pretty well, I think, but I don’t think I can really stress it enough, now that the foliage is changing in earnest and color is everywhere. I think I love it so much, and I appreciate it so much, because it’s nothing that I’m used to and it seems like a minor miracle to me every single year. So it was with actual, real shock that I heard someone on the radio talking about watching the boats on the Charles and how it was the only part of autumn in New England that she liked. Well. First of all I had no idea what she was even talking about, so I had to do some research. You know every movie that has ever been set in Boston, how there is at least one scene with crews doing their crew boat thing on the Charles? Apparently it’s a huge deal – and I never even expected that, because in all the time I’ve lived in…
The Librarians – Coming to a television near you!
Posted October 20, 2014 by Alexandra Bernson
Often librarians in pop culture are reduced to over-sexualized stereotypes in low tops and glasses, so I can’t help but be excited about librarian portrayals that don’t fall into this category. Throw in some corny fantasy and I am completely lost. Therefore, I feel compelled to tell you about “The Librarians” just in case you aren’t aware. First, let me promise that I am in no way employed or endorsed by TNT (though quick shout out to TNT: if you are looking for an archivist come May 2016, please let me know). I just completely love television, librarians, and librarians on television, and “The Librarians” looks like my next favorite mini-series. Last week, TNT released a trailer for their upcoming “The Librarians” mini-series. I was a little hesitant at first, as my memories of the one “Librarian” syndicated movie I saw was not great. The one moment that I do remember is Noah Wyle, the information professional in question, struggling to identify what indigenous language an Amazonian tribe was speaking in hopes of figuring out…
What Everyone Is Talking About
Posted October 18, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon
The schedule of Spring 2015 classes came out this week, and for a while, it was all anyone could talk about. I still walk through the halls and overhear conversations about it. Generally, people are excited or stressed about it. It’s exciting because we can look ahead and see ourselves moving forward in the program, but with all of our options at SLIS, that can simultaneously be a bit anxiety provoking. I’ve stayed really close with three other people with whom I had classes over the summer. We all started during that term and were all archives concentrators with the same SLIS academic advisor. Also, we were in class 12 hours a week together and worked collaboratively on many group projects, which is a good way to get to know one another. (Summer schedule is 6 hours a week for six weeks per class with a maximum of 6 total credits, instead of the usual 3 hours a week for 12-13 weeks per class with a maximum of 9 total credits.) Now, after two classes…
Explore
Posted October 16, 2014 by Hayley Botnen
This week has been fantastic for adventuring. October is drawing to a middle, but the weather is still lovely, and with having Monday off from school, I felt like this was a mini-break in the middle of a busy semester. So, of course, I did a little bit of exploring. This last Saturday, I went to Maine with my roommate. We wanted to see a few lighthouses, so we figured we’d take the scenic 1A highway up to Portland. According to GoogleMaps, Portland is usually just under 2 hours away by interstate. We figured it’d take us an extra half-hour to forty-five minutes. Ummmm. No. Being from Montana, we were still going by Montana highways, which while you will hit more towns by taking the highway, you do still have plenty of stretches going 65 mph. It tooks us four hours to get to Portland. It was a lovely drive, but we didn’t have much time to check out Portland while we were there. In fact, we pretty much walked up their Arts District street,…
#LibrariansReadComics
Posted October 13, 2014 by Alexandra Bernson
Ever since I picked up my first comic book, the possibility of one day visiting Comic Con was the goal. Middle School Alex would probably be rather disappointed in her current day counterpart with regard to my nerd cred: I didn’t keep up with anime, graphic novels, and superhero trivia and knowledge and I do not yet own an authentic Storm costume (though I did put together a pretty great replica using yellow duct tape and black exercise clothes). Several of my purist friends have complained that Comic Con is no longer only about comics, that “Hollywood took over” and “the con” has been spoiled. I can understand how these insertions could disappoint hardcore comics fans, but I was happy to learn that ALA is one of those sneaky non-comics booths that is now participating. The relationship between libraries and comics is an ever evolving one. The previously mentioned Middle School Alex would scour the one small graphic novel section of my public library for the next installment, which would almost never be available and…
“Bring Them Back”: How a Parody Helped Me Learn More About Disability
Posted October 12, 2014 by Alison Mitchell
I was going to write about how draining the last week was for me, but then I realized that no one wants to hear about the minutiae of my life, especially when the draining parts don’t actually have to do with library school. The library school part of last week was, as always, lovely. (What? You’re wondering why my week was so draining? blah blah mammogram blah blah unrelated health issue blah blah friend’s more serious health issue blah blah husband out of town for four days leaving me with kids and work and my school but not their school, thanks teacher-professional-day-weekend-Columbus Day blah blah. I’m in my 40s, with two kids, in graduate school — it’s going to be like this a lot, so I’d better get used to it.) Anyway. Since I spent the past week basically keeping my head above water, I’ll use this space to introduce you to one of my favorite librarians. I don’t actually know her in real life, but her blog is tremendous. She’s Mary Evelyn Smith, a…
Myths about SLIS and Library School
Posted October 11, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon
Myth: I’m going to have a tough time getting a job when I graduate. Truth: You aren’t going to graduate from SLIS and become director of the New York Public Library, but you are going to graduate and find employment. If you are willing to re-locate outside of Boston, you definitely won’t have problems finding a job. If you continue to live in Boston or have a specialty (like art or law librarianship), you will still get a job, but you might either have to wait for a few months or work in something that isn’t your preferred specialty, until you can find exactly what you want. When people outside of the field joke that no one needs librarians anymore with Google and the Internet, they fail to account for the resurgence in library hiring since the recession and for non-traditional librarian jobs. As I’ve mentioned in my prior posts, SLIS’s Simmons Jobline is constantly being updated with new positions in all of the information sciences at every level (student, pre-professional, and professional). Also, many…
Printing, Pronto!
Posted October 10, 2014 by kbryan
We’ve all been that person. You know, the one who completes an assignment minutes before it’s due, not giving a second thought to printing until the very last minute. I was that person Wednesday night. I spent the last hour-and-a-half before class riding the T and furiously typing the first draft of my lesson plan due for LIS 426 that night. When I arrived at Simmons at 5:30, I’d more or less finished the assignment, but only had a half hour to get that Google Drive document into paper form. Naturally, I went to Beatley Library to accomplish this task. I see plenty of 11th hour printing woes in my job. Helping someone print their document is equal parts instruction in how to navigate the nuances of printing protocol, and therapy (“Don’t worry! You can do this! You will get this printed in time for your class that begins in three minutes!”). In an ideal world, we would allow ourselves ample time to complete an assignment and print. But the way our lives are structured…
Thoughts about Perception
Posted October 9, 2014 by Hayley Botnen
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about perception and subjectivity. Those are both ideas that we come across a lot in the fields of Library Science and Children’s Literature. As librarians, we’re supposed to set our own feelings aside and rely on what the patron is telling us. For example, if someone is asking for a “scary book,” we should get more of a sense of what they’re looking for by asking what they’ve read recently that’s like what they want or other factors they’re looking for like a certain kind of protagonist. Reader’s Advisory is, I think, a lot about putting personal preference aside. I’m not a huge fan of Stephen King (much to my father’s disappointment), but if someone was looking for a book that was scary and set in a cemetery with an adult male protagonist, I might suggest Pet Sematary. When looking at books from the perspective of my Children’s Literature courses, I can use my own perception of the book. Reading a book is ultimately a subjective experience. No matter…
It’s Pumpkin Time!
Posted October 8, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
A long time ago, in a state not too far away, my elementary school arranged a special surprise for its fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classes. It was October 2001, and to lift the spirits of the students still reeling from 9/11, the school board somehow managed to secure one pumpkin for each student (this was not a particularly large elementary school) and brought in someone to teach us how to ‘carve’ Jack O’Lanterns. Over the course of three days, each class was given an hour, a small pumpkin, and some paint while a master pumpkin carver showed everyone how to carve a spooktacular Jack O’Lantern. Pictures were taken, jokes were made, and a pumpkin contest was held to decide which student painted the best pumpkin. Although the annual Christmas Classroom Door contest was usually regarded as the best school-wide event, that year, nothing could compare to my elementary school’s pumpkin fest. And I missed the whole thing. Indeed, that year, my normally decent immune system betrayed me and on the day that my fifth…