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Posted October 7, 2013 by Sarah Barton
Well, here it is, folks: The last installment of my “What classes is Sarah taking this semester?” posts. I suppose it is bittersweet (for lack of a better cliché), although at this point it definitely feels more sweet than bitter. I think that I have taken about all I can from GSLIS, and am ready to start applying my newfound knowledge and skills to a full-time job. But enough about me, what about my last two classes? Online – LIS 401; Foundations of Library and Information Science This is a new core class, and all students are now required to take it in their first semester. So why am I taking it now, as one of my last classes? Well, it fits my schedule (my class is completely online, but there are also sections that meet exclusively in-person), and I thought it would be patently poetic to finish the program by taking a course that is now required to start the program. Not surprisingly, many of the lecture topics are familiar to me, but the…
Internship Time
Posted October 6, 2013 by Jill Silverberg
Tomorrow afternoon, I start my internship requirement for LIS 438, Introduction to Archival Methods and Services. For those of you who don’t know, each student enrolled in LIS 438 needs to complete a 60 hour internship project. While the list of potential internship sites was numerous, each student was told to select just three potential locations and from there, one of the three would eventually be chosen. Well, after waiting anxiously, two weeks ago I was finally given my placement; the Cambridge Historical Commission. As someone very interested in history, I couldn’t be more happy with my placement. Tucked away in Cambridge, the Commission is an institution concerned with preserving and chronicling the development of the city. Although on the smaller side, the Commission is filled with photographs, registries of those who have lived in the city, and other items related to the city’s history. As for the people who work there, they seemed super excited to have another Simmons student working with them for the semester. Fortunately for me, I couldn’t have shown up at…
The Horn Book Awards at Simmons
Posted October 5, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
I am always marveling at my good fortune. I live in a beautiful city, rich in history. I have a wonderful job that challenges me. I have supportive family and friends. I do not, however, appreciate enough the opportunities that Simmons provides to its student body (that includes me) every week. Between the lunchtime lectures, the LISSA conference sponsorship, and all such other offerings it is sheer neglect that I don’t give a shout out now and again to Simmons and GSLIS itself. Today, though, I’d like to offer up praise to my forsaken program, the department of Children’s Literature. While I was only in the dual degree program for a day until I dropped it like a hot potato I do appreciate all the unique opportunities the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature offers YA junkies like myself. Last night at The Horn Book awards I got to listen to nine of the best authors and illustrators in the world speak about what they are passionate about. Robert Byrd, author and illustrator of…
Closed Until Further Notice
Posted October 4, 2013 by Emily Boyd
The government shutdown this week has me reflecting on my work with the National Park Service and what it means to be a public servant. With this partial shutdown has come a great deal of confusion and frustration from the general population and government employees alike. The National Park Service seeks to provide access and interpretation to our nation’s most treasured and unique places, something I think we can agree appeals to members of all political factions. The shutdown came mere days after “Forest Festival Weekend” at my national park, the biggest event in our calendar. This year the event was an absolute success, with perfect weather and visitors from all over the country. It was truly a weekend when I felt proud to be a federal employee and represent my country as I shared my amazing park with so many visitors. On Monday my boss sent an email to our staff expressing how he thought the weekend went: “I wanted to pause for a moment to recognize and thank all of you for providing…
How smart is your dog?
Posted October 2, 2013 by Julie Steenson
My dog has been my best audience for all the presentations I have had to prepare over the last two years. One of my big surprises when I started graduate school was how often I would be presenting to my peers. There are many ways that people practice public speaking, and while I am very comfortable speaking to a group of kids in the classroom, speaking to a group of adults can be a little nerve wracking. I don’t do well talking to a mirror because I can’t help but notice a new grey hair, and I find that totally distracting! I like to imagine my younger self is giving this talk, as that gives me more confidence, so the mirror is definitely out. I have found, however, that my dog is a very willing audience. My dog has learned the following over the last 2 years: He knows how to make a website. He can define the role of a system librarian. He knows all about the value of a good survey instrument to…
The (Updated) Tale of a (More) Reformed Networker
Posted September 30, 2013 by Sarah Barton
I had my first networking revelation a little over a year ago, and my second one happened last Friday at the Special Libraries Association New England Fall conference (which conveniently took place at Simmons). I spent the day listening to presentations, pondering the meaning of special libraries, and, well, networking. For some reason there was a ridiculously long 90-minute lunch break, so I figured I would mill around for a few minutes, grab some food, then sit outside and read a magazine. Well, it turned out that instead of embracing my inner introvert, I found myself breaking bread with three complete strangers (gasp!). Ok, so they were fellow special librarians and conference attendees (calling them strangers is a bit dramatic), but still, this was a major deviation from my plan. It seems absurd that this lunch conversation was such a big deal for me, but I am pretty proud of myself for being sociable on Friday. My first networking revelation made me realize that networking truly is important, and this one made me realize that…
Tastes of Fenway
Posted September 29, 2013 by Jill Silverberg
So for those of you who don’t know, besides being a bibliophile, I am also a foodie. As a person obsessed with all things food, I always love a chance to try a new restaurant, type of cuisine, or entrée. However, since I commute from Brighton, I don’t usually get a chance to explore the neighborhoods surrounding Simmons. This is a rather unfortunate fact since just outside of campus, is a slew of eateries that every Simmons student or faculty member should check out. The one I’m featuring here today, Neighborhood Coffee and Crepes, is a place perfect for anyone who likes a good cup of coffee (or latte), mouthwateringly delicious crepes, and chill atmosphere excellent for reading a book or doing some casual studying. Located just seven minutes from campus, this little gem is tucked away amongst a number of other eateries. Since this was my first dining experience in the Fenway, I decided to pull out all the stops. Although Neighborhoods offers a number of yummy looking baked goods, I decided to go…
Banned Book Week
Posted September 27, 2013 by Emily Boyd
This year the American Library Association (ALA) has deemed the week of September 22-28 to be Banned Books Week. According to the ALA website: “Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.” (Get more info at: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek) The lofty goals of this movement are very noble. Censorship is a huge issue that needs to be discussed more openly and this week brings a lot of awareness. That said, in my opinion, talking about banned books can quickly become very dramatic. The concept of Banned Books Week seems somewhat…
I might sound like your mother, but…
Posted September 26, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I am old enough to be your mother, so it’s okay. I know you are so busy that the thought of giving your time away might seem near impossible. Like many of you, I have a job, a home, a family, and of course, school. We are all in different stages of our lives, and so some of us have a cat, others a spouse. Many of us have kids – ranging from the tiny squirming variety to adult children, and everything in between. We rent apartments, live with our parents and own homes. We commute minutes and hours, and we are so tired and busy. I know what you are thinking. “I don’t have time to volunteer.” I got my first library job in recent years by volunteering at the library first, and then working my way up as positions became available. I volunteered in a prison library and found my passion to be a correctional librarian. But I am revisiting this topic (I have mentioned it in previous blogs…) because Tuesday night, I…
Let’s Talk About the Cloud
Posted September 24, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
The cloud: depending on who you’re talking to, it’s a magical place where dreams are born and an infinite amount of data is stored forever; an invitation for hackers to steal your identity, your money, your husband, and your cat; something mysterious that your boss keeps talking about but that you never really understood; or, those puffy white things in the sky that people started recently referring to in the singular (isn’t it cloudS?). The cloud has somewhat recently made the foray into the “personal” market. One of the first that got me personally hooked was Dropbox – they were giving away free space if you signed up with an email account. (Throughout the years and various promotions we have somehow accrued about 80 Gigabytes of storage for free…Dropbox is awesome.) On Dropbox, I can access all of the files I upload on virtually any computer in the world once I enter in my dropbox information and install the software (which is the best price – free – by the way). After the cloud foray…