Fall Festivals
Posted October 7, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
New England is known for being a bit quirky in its weather, and one of the things that really gave me pause about moving to Boston from Vancouver was the cold and snowy winters. To be fair, Boston is relatively cold and there usually are some spectacular snowstorms, but it’s not quite on the level of the Prairies or American Mid-West in either of those categories. (Which is a good thing! I know there are people who love the cold and think skiboarding and shoesnowing are great fun, but luckily you can usually spot them coming a mile away and steer clear of them before their delusions can get you.) The thing that outweighed the cold and pushed me to come here anyway was the promise of amazing autumns. We don’t really get autumn on the West coast – not like here, with the vibrant foliage and pumpkin patches and fall festivals popping up everywhere. Autumn in Vancouver means dropping temperatures, more rain and fierce wind storms, none of which are as fun or…
John Singer Sargent is my jam, but so are weekend SLIS events!
Posted October 6, 2014 by Alexandra Bernson
As an online student working full time in the Greater Boston area, it is very difficult to participate in the multitude of SLIS social gatherings. Whether it is a lecture, a coffee meet-up, or happy hour, these events always seem to take place right in the middle of the standard work day. I understand that the majority of students at Simmons are full-time but I wish that there were more events during the weekends or week nights (I’m sure there is a trivia night somewhere in Fenway!) that might accommodate us 9-to-5-ers. Last week, as I pessimistically scanned the events “This week @ SLIS!” courtesy of LISSA, I noticed an advertisement for a free guided tour at the Art of the Americas collection of the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) on Sunday, October 5th. The event’s description made me frantic: “ONLY 3 TICKETS LEFT!” I almost dropped my phone as I dove for my computer, opened up Eventbrite, and claimed my ticket. I spent the entire week in anticipation, and not only because I absolutely…
Real World – The Library
Posted October 5, 2014 by Alison Mitchell
When I decided to apply to SLIS, I wanted to make sure that I actually liked working in a library. I was about to turn my family’s life upside down, leaving fairly calm and flexible freelance work that allowed me to always pick the kids up at school, for classes, assignments and, ultimately, set hours working in a library. What if I hated it? I applied for several positions and, since July, I’ve been working as a clerk in the Children’s Department at the Goodnow Library in Sudbury, MA. I absolutely, completely love it, and am thrilled to be in school putting this career change into motion. After only a few weeks of classes, I’m making so many connections between what we learn in school and what I do in the library. Pulling books for Interlibrary Loan? It’s all based on what we’re learning in 415! Answering questions from very different types of patrons? We talked about that in 401! The librarians at Goodnow are great resources, too, full of advice about course selection and…
Schedule Update
Posted October 4, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon
My schedule changed this week and became much more busy thanks to two new jobs of sorts. The first is an internship at Emerson College, and the second is a volunteer position at Boston Arts Academy/Fenway High School. The internship is required for my Archival Methods and Services (LIS 438) class. For eight hours a week (on Monday in my case) through the first or second week of December, students in this class must attend an internship at a local repository where they learn about the basics of archives. The internship lets me and my classmates see what archivists do on a daily basis by allowing us to both observe and complete nitty-gritty, time-consuming (and highly edifying) tasks that are perfect for students. Doing these jobs will provide us with skills to complete a final project at the internship, which will comprise a significant portion of our grade. My internship, in Emerson’s digital archives at the Iwasaki Library, has me processing a small digital collection of alumni weekend photographs and creating a finding aid for…
A Little Help Never Hurt Anybody
Posted October 2, 2014 by Hayley Botnen
It’s easy to assume–especially if you’ve already completed an undergraduate program–that you know all there is to know about writing. Or maybe I should just say that I thought I knew enough about writing to get by in a graduate program since I got my undergraduate degree in English. I could probably decorate the walls of my apartment with all the papers I wrote as an undergraduate. Not to mention the fact that I write for myself on the side. Who needs help writing a measly three page paper? Well, I do. Actually, I think we all might. For my first two papers in graduate school, both professors commented on my lack of “cohesiveness”. Maybe it’s the two years I took off, or maybe it’s the fact that I write two blogs, or maybe it’s that I feel like my brain flows just fine thank you very much, but I struggled with that comment. I put so much thought into those papers! I put so much work into those papers! I didn’t want to get…
Hello Fall!
Posted October 1, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
Although it only feels like it was just yesterday that summer was upon us (AKA this past weekend), the changing of the leaves and the cooler temperatures are sending a signal to all of us Bostonians that Autumn is here. And I cannot for the life of me figure out how September went by so quickly! Am I the only one who is shocked by how quickly the month of September went by? I swear, just a few weeks ago I was moving into my new apartment. Now, the leaves are not only changing, but falling off the trees and I’m bundled up in my Northface!!!! But I digress. Despite my apparent shock and slight hint of denial, I actually love October. Next to December, this is my favorite month. Why? Well, other then the obvious reason of Halloween, October means pumpkin season! And cold nights with a big cup of hot cocoa. And let’s not forget massive leaf piles! Essentially, all the things I loved as a kid and still continue to love today….
ThatCamp Harvard 2014
Posted September 30, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
On Saturday I attended THATCamp at Harvard University. THATCamps are popping up all over the place these days – the name stands for The Humanities and Technology Camp, and they are meant to be a collaborative day between people working in the humanities and people working in technology. As the THATCamp website describes it, “an open, inexpensive meeting where humanists and technologists of all skill levels learn and build together in sessions proposed on the spot.” THATCamps are meant to be very informal and spontaneous, not at all like a regular conference. (Much better than a regular conference for promoting productive work, which is one of the goals behind THATCamps.) Sessions on Saturday ranged from Wikipedia and conversations about how to foster more collaboration to archival tools and discussions of using social media and ways to visualize music. Sessions were informal groups chatting; no lectures or hierarchies. Professors and students spoke as equals as they tried to solve problems. Most important of all: it was fun! It really was. (And you know I am not…
Is this meme making me a hypochondriac?
Posted September 29, 2014 by Alexandra Bernson
“The library is a hospital for the mind.” A friend shared this meme on Facebook this weekend and predictably tagged me, his library student friend, in the post (he also tags me in anything at all Game of Thrones related – I am okay with both of these habits of his). I thought the picture and quote had a nice general sentiment but didn’t dwell too much on the actual text – until the controversy started. Now, to be fair, I might be describing this with a touch more drama than what actually happened. By “controversy” I mean, “someone benevolently disagreed in a Facebook comment.” This responder offered the following instead: “[The library is] More like a buffet. I only go to the hospital when something is wrong, and I can’t choose my treatment. I eat every day and much like a library, the buffet has options for whatever I’m hungry for.” Perhaps it is because I am reading about the “service perspective” within library and information science in one of my current classes, but…
Don’t Censor Me
Posted September 28, 2014 by Alison Mitchell
I’ve become a little obsessed with the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics and Freedom to Read statement. The idea that anyone can access any kind of information at a public library is so egalitarian and so truly democratic, and really appeals to me. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and was a little taken aback the other day by an exchange at my local branch library. Some relevant information: the librarian working that day was not one of the regular librarians, all of whom know my family very well, so this was someone with no information about me or my kids. my older daughter reads and comprehends well above her grade level (3rd grade), and looks younger than her actual age (8). she selects her own books, and independently chooses to stop reading if the text or subject matter is too much for her. Back to the story. One of the books we were checking out was Wonder by R.J. Palacio (which turned out to be fabulous — I highly recommend it). I…
ASIS&T Trivia Night
Posted September 27, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon
There are so many student groups to get involved with at SLIS. If you have an interest or professional aspiration, chances are good you can find a group connected to it. (A list of student groups and their descriptions can be found here.) All SLIS students pay an activities fee each term. Part of the fee is given to LISSA (Library and Information Science Student Association), of which all students are automatically members. LISSA then disburses this money across all student organizations according to the budget each group has been allotted. This arrangement has many benefits. For one, you don’t have to pay dues to any of the SLIS student groups, and since your activity fee goes towards all of them, you are eligible to join any and as many as you’d like. Another fun part of this is that you can attend any event or meeting a student organization is having without having to be part of the group. For example, I’m going on a free guided tour of the Boston Museum of Fine…