Making the Most of Autumn
Posted September 17, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
I am originally from the Midwest and moved out to Boston for the graduate opportunities out here. One of the best things about Boston is that there is so much to do, and with autumn rolling around I can’t think of a better time to explore some history the Boston area has to offer! These recommendations aren’t the “traditional” places to visit, and are often overlooked. For us Bostonians, however, they provide a wonderful opportunity to explore without tourists! Walden Pond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Pond Long known for the place where Ralph Waldo Emerson owned land that Henry David Thoreau lived on for two years while writing Walden, Walden Pond is separately a beautiful location that is only made more breathtaking by the changing of the trees. If you’re interested in the movement of transcendentalism, or even just want a peaceful place to ponder your navel, Walden Pond is a great place for you. The downside is that it’s difficult to get to if you don’t have a car – it’s in Concord, Mass – but if you…
You Could Technically Be A Better Librarian Than Me
Posted September 16, 2013 by Sarah Barton
The GSLIS curriculum offers four specialized programs: Archives, Dual Degree Archives/History, Dual Degree LIS/Children’s Literature, and School Library Teacher. If none of those “tracks” suit your fancy, then you are considered a generalist and essentially create your own track. Given the sheer number of course offerings, you can cater your classes to get down and dirty with a particular topic of interest. Given my interest in corporate/special libraries, technology is one aspect of the GSLIS curriculum that I essentially neglected. I took the one required tech class during my first semester, and that was it. GSLIS offers fourteen technology courses, which is more than enough to fill the eight electives that you need to graduate. Technically you could earn a GSLIS degree having only taken three library-specific courses, which would technically make you a better librarian than me. And I’m ok with that. There are all kinds of IT, systems, information architecture, web development, and other technology-oriented jobs out there, and I’ve heard that they generally pay quite well. Some of those jobs are in…
Autumn in Boston
Posted September 14, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
Why does cold weather feel collegiate? Walking into school yesterday was preposterous. It’s September. There’s a reason people fall for the “Back to School” sales at the mall. Autumnal wind, the smell of crisp leaves and the feel of a brand new notebook beneath my fingers is infectious. Don’t you just want to sharpen some pencils? I’ve gotten into the habit of arriving at my classes 15 minutes early, mainly because I like to people watch. I like to observe my new GSLIS cohorts lay out their new pens, write their name on the top left hand corner of their new composition notebook, and stack their textbooks underneath their chair. There’s something comforting about getting it just right on the first day even though, full disclosure, you don’t need any of these things for your first class. You need to come with an open mind and the capacity to listen to others. And yet, is there anything more refreshing than walking to class with the crisp morning air brushing your cheek, know that your backpack…
Back to the Grind
Posted September 13, 2013 by Emily Boyd
One week of commuting down and three months to go… Does that sound pessimistic? I really don’t mean it to. On the contrary, my week of commuting went better than expected! I used both two hour bus rides to catch up on my leisure reading and had three full days in Boston for classes, schoolwork and catching up on errands (including lunch and a shopping trip to the Copley Plaza with my aunt). After a full semester in the spring and my trip to Rome over the summer, GSLIS is finally starting to feel like home. I already know at least one student in each of my classes and a couple of my professors as well. As I mentioned in my last post, I have signed up for four courses with the intention of dropping one and this decision is proving more difficult than I had anticipated. I had hoped after the first week of classes I would have a clear idea of which course I should drop. That was not the case, I absolutely…
Last Semester Blues
Posted September 11, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I started the GSLIS program in January 2012, and with the completion of my three courses this semester, I will have finished my degree program. Woohoo! Well, mostly woohoo. I think I have the last semester blues. I know that sounds totally ridiculous. I will be done with homework, done with long class commutes, done with tuition, and I will have my MLIS, which will hopefully be my ticket to the job of my dreams. What in the world am I sad about?! I think I am more afraid than anything. Will it be too easy not to learn new things? Will I get tired, complacent and frumpy? Will I turn into deadwood? Will I stay committed to knowing what I need to know to be the best librarian I can be? I know these fears are unfounded. I will never stop learning with so many opportunities for continuing education through Simmons and ALA, and other LIS universities like Syracuse (where I am taking a WISE course this semester). I even have my eye on…
Database Management
Posted September 10, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
It feels so odd to be back in the swing of the graduate program. The transition from working full-time to the calendar of a graduate student…well, let’s just say there are pros and cons (pro: lots more time to refill prescriptions, go to the post office, make dinner, sleep… cons: well, a moth just flew out of my wallet. Oh yeah…this is why I need a job). I actually accidentally have been waking up at 5 am, which is odd because even when I was working I didn’t wake up at 5 am. I guess it’s my brain’s way of protesting at the schedule switches. But time presses forward, and what I really want to talk about are DATABASES. Databases are awesome wonderful tools that almost everyone on the planet uses daily. I was recently talking with a friend of mine, who complained that every job she has worked uses Excel spreadsheets, and why did everyone think they were so useful. Honestly? It’s because they’re primitive databases – data storage with lists of attributes and…
Career Over Curriculum
Posted September 9, 2013 by Sarah Barton
At the beginning of each semester I expect to briefly plunge into a state of anxiety because classes are starting. This semester, however, feels different to me for three reasons: 1) It is my last semester, 2) My current work schedule is staying exactly the same, and 3) I will be physically on campus only a few times all semester. Despite those changes, of late my requisite anxiety has been superseded by an odd state of calmness, bordering on indifference. As auspicious as that sounds, I am suspicious that this calmness is just a temporary placeholder for anxiety…but for now I can’t complain. I have two classes this semester; one fully online and one blended, which means that some class meetings are on campus and some are online. My biggest fear with such a heavy online schedule is forgetting to do the work – it seems all too easy to accidentally skip a class that I need not physically attend. I chose this more remote schedule mainly to give myself extra flexibility at work and…
The Library Lady
Posted September 8, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
All stereotypes come from somewhere. This, we all know to be true. How many of us, though, work with all of our might to confound the stereotype when it comes to being a librarian? I believe that many of us do. We despise the stereotype that all librarians are surly wenches with their hair wound so tight it seems as if it never gets let down. We counter that librarians are a force for positive change in this world of information overload, not the gatekeepers of dusty, musty books. Then I ask you why, why oh why does every librarian I know own a cat?! Now, before I am pegged as the cat-hater in GSLIS let me first just say that I myself just got a kitty at the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Her name is Eva. She jumps on my face. She naps on my tummy and her arch nemesis is a ball of tin foil I rolled off the counter a few nights ago. I am quite the opposite of the naysayer….
Whirlwind Summer Wind Down
Posted August 30, 2013 by Emily Boyd
Yesterday I was getting on a plane for Rome, right? It feels that way anyhow. I cannot believe it is the end of August and summer is coming to a close. I don’t remember a summer in recent history where I did so much or went through so many changes in such a short period of time. What a ride it has been and now, just as my routine feels settled, things are about to shift again. I am in the midst of my last full week at my job with the National Park Service and I start my new public library job on September 5th! The fall promises to be full of challenges that come with a new job, new classes, and a new schedule, but I cannot wait to get things started. I will be working a few more hours per week this semester than last and with three classes, my time management skills are going to get a workout. That said, I will finally have personal experience working in a library to…
Winter is Coming
Posted August 19, 2013 by Sarah Barton
I watched the first episode of Game of Thrones on June 22 as an escape from the afternoon heat in Washington, DC. Fast-forward 24 hours, and I had watched five more. The only thing stopping me from completing the entire ten-episode season by dinnertime on June 23 was my flight back to Boston. I hurried home from the airport and immediately went to my library’s webpage to request Seasons One and Two on DVD. When I saw that there were 100-something holds on 90-something copies of each season (my library is part of a network of libraries in the greater Boston area, hence the large numbers), I added myself to both hold lists and vowed to start reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series upon which the Game of Thrones television show is based. It didn’t take long to become so immersed in the books that I forgot about the queue for the DVDs. The novels initially intimidated me, as there are currently five (with two more forthcoming) that…