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…
Chillin’ with my Professors
Posted September 23, 2013 by Sarah Barton
Friday afternoon I spent thirty minutes with a professor, then went to the office next door and met with another professor. This was the second of my five planned trips to campus this semester, and was a nice change from my mostly virtual class schedule. First I chewed the fat with my de facto advisor, then had a one-on-one introductory meeting with the professor for my online course. The meeting was far from introductory, however, as last fall I had a face-to-face class with that same professor. Our meeting ended up being more of a “how are things going?” rather than “hi, nice to meet you” encounter. I was with professors, who are officially my superiors, but it almost felt like hanging out with friends. Don’t worry, I have no plans to start ditching my friends to spend time with professors, but it was great to spend a bit of time with professors outside of class. It’s easy to get lost in a whirlwind of classes and homework and forget that professors are people, not…
#GSLISchat
Posted September 23, 2013 by Katie Olivo
Hello readers! It’s that time again – Simmons GSLIS Live Q&A with Katie – an Admission Rep and current student in the Dual Archives/Hist program! If you have any questions about the application process, life as a student, types of careers, etc., then you can tweet them all to #GSLISchat from 4:30-5:30 EST today! It’s probably time to start thinking about applications for Summer and Fall 2014, and it may be possible for you to still apply for Spring 2014. I’ll help you out to the best of my ability, so don’t hesitate to ask! You can follow the hashtag #GSLISchat to get all the information you need. Also, you can join the conversation on Twubs, which is an application which makes it easier to see all the tweets in the discussion – it will also add the hashtag for you: http://twubs.com/GSLISchat. If you aren’t a fan of Twitter or don’t feel comfortable using it to ask your questions, you can always email me at [email protected], message me on Facebook or LinkedIn, leave a comment on this…
The T and Me
Posted September 22, 2013 by Jill Silverberg
I’m sure that this has happened to everyone at least once. Picture this: It’s a school day and you have class at 9am. It’s 8:15am, and you have just rushed out of your apartment, running as fast as you possibly can to the T with high hopes that it will be pulling in just as you arrive. Instead though, the T is just leaving, the passengers all turning to watch you as the train leaves you behind in its dust. Now its 8:30am and the next train has finally pulled in. Hallelujah! But with only 30 minutes left and a number of T stops to go AND a lengthy walk separating you from the T stop and your classroom, the question remains: will you make it to class on time? Well when the above scenario happened to me, I ended up making it to class with ten minutes to spare. Yes, I was out of breath and somewhat half crazed from worry, but I had made it to class on time. As I boarded the T back home later…
Getting Involved
Posted September 21, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
It’s September and all around us we are inundated with announcements. Don’t forget, tomorrow on the quad, the annual picnic to save the squirrels! Save the date for next Friday’s twister mixer! And then there are the events that you really do want to attend. All GSLIS students automatically receive LISSA updates, and orientation is a swathe of sign-up sheets that put us on a million list-servs that remind us that there are learning opportunities for GSLIS students and librarians all the time. Weeding out the good events from the bad, rather the ones you’re interested in versus the ones you could not care less about, is a chore. It takes time to slug through the many, many emails you receive in your school inbox, your work inbox, and your personal inbox. Pretty soon, you’re ready to call the whole thing quits and give up on professional development altogether. I wouldn’t say that I have the whole thing figured out, but I do know that I need to participate in the dialogue that’s happening outside…