SLIS
Pushing Through Spring Semester
Posted April 3, 2024 by Isabella Rodrigues
If you’re like me then you might already be hoping for summer to start. The weather, seemingly, is getting warmer. People are getting antsy in class and in the streets. In a few weeks, the swan boats will be on the pond, crowds of baseball fans will overrun Fenway, and tourists will swarm the city. Whether you stay in Boston over summer break or go elsewhere, we all still have the same hurdle to jump. Ending the semester. We are about a month out from the end of the semester so everyone is cracking down or about to crack down on finals. Here are some helpful tips on staying focused while also keeping yourself healthy.
Conferences: NEA Spring 2024 Meeting
Posted March 29, 2024 by Regina Dziergas
One of the best (and sometimes, the most intimidating!) parts of grad school is the opportunity to attend and present your work at conferences, held by the numerous academic/professional organizations that support our disciplines. Conferences give you the opportunity to hear about and learn from what academic research and on-the-job procedures and issues are being discussed, debated, reassessed, and worked on in your field, as well as grow your professional network by connecting with information professionals from many different corners of librarianship. I recently got to present at the New England Archivists’ Spring 2024 meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, and it was both an incredible learning experience and a great first step into this part of our field. The New England Archivists (NEA) are a organization representing the New England region’s archival community, and their 2024 Spring meeting brought together archivists, students in LIS programs, other informational professionals, and people focusing on other disciplines who work in archives or do related community programming to talk about their work. (Regional LIS organizations are a great way…
Archival Fieldwork for LIS 438
Posted March 22, 2024 by Clarabel Smith
For many Simmons MLIS students, LIS 438: Introduction to Archival Theory & Practice is a natural next step forward after completing their core classes, especially if they’re thinking of going into the Archives concentration. As someone who is currently in the Design Your Own concentration, I wanted to take LIS 438 to see whether the Archives track is for me, and in any case was interested in how archival practices compared to library and special collections. I was somewhat apprehensive of the field experience component of the class, even though I had been enjoying the concepts we’d been studying so far and I like to apply my learning in a hands-on way. I was worried that it would be more time than I was able to commit outside of class, and that I would be out of my depth in an environment where I didn’t know the people or the institution. However, halfway through the semester, field experience is my favorite part of my week. Field experience host sites are assigned with the help of…
Time Management at the End of Grad School
Posted February 19, 2024 by Regina Dziergas
This last semester is a particularly difficult one for graduating students, as we apply for post-graduate employment, work part time-jobs, and manage conferences/networking all while finishing up the last of our coursework at SLIS. After nearly four (!) years of being in grad school between my previous program and my current MLIS, I’ve managed to get a pretty good idea of how to create and stick to a set, effective schedule that works for me. Even so, during this semester it’s taken a lot of hard work to find the right balance! Here are a few tips on time-management that I can offer as someone who’s currently working and searching for long-term employment while still in school.
Conferences
Posted February 14, 2024 by Isabella Rodrigues
In the journey from academia to professionalism, library conferences can be an excellent tool for networking, updates about the industry, and job searching. Simmons holds memberships with many prestigious organizations such as the American Library Association, Massachusetts Library Association, and International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. A comprehensive list of these organizations can be found here. A great in to these places and the greater community of librarians nationwide and worldwide is by attending yearly conferences. Ask your professors or advisors about the conferences they attend! Ask other SLIS students! Here are some of the advertised conferences for this year! Many organizations are still updating and listing their dates so check in frequently for more information.
Starting the Post-Grad Job Search – LIS Listservs and Job Boards
Posted January 29, 2024 by Regina Dziergas
Hi Sharks, I hope you’ve had a great start to the spring semester! As I face my last semester and the end of my time in grad school, I thought I’d share some insight into the process of searching for post-grad work. Leaving graduate school for full-time work is a tough transition, and finding a job is the hardest part of that transition, but I’ve found a few resources that have made my search a lot easier. First, the SLIS Jobline is a lifesaver for finding positions that look to recruit SLIS students or alumni. The Jobline (https://slis-jobline.simmons.edu) accepts postings from organizations who send in their job listings hoping to recruit from our SLIS community, and provides postings from a wide variety of organizations spanning all of the degrees and concentrations offered at SLIS. Listservs like Jobline are great resources to access these postings without having to track them down from individual organizations’ websites, and it’s incredibly useful to have a Simmons-run career platform specifically concentrated on positions in libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and…
Experience: Where to Start Looking for It
Posted January 24, 2024 by Isabella Rodrigues
I, like a lot of students new to the SLIS program, have been told time and time again of the importance of getting practical experience. During my first semester at Simmons, it seemed like every professor made a point to emphasize how vital internships and volunteering are, especially to those on the archives track. If you’re an overthinker like I am, you might be worried about where to start. Landing a perfect internship is always tricky. Here are some helpful tips for those searching for SLIS-related work experiences.
Ode to the SLIS Lounge
Posted November 12, 2021 by Bryanne McArdle
Opine for gossip The long knowing microwave beeps The sound that fills the space before a bite or sip ~~~ Discussions of theoretical leaps Of job postings that best fit our skills The latest weekly crisis crawls in, seeping ~~~ It all shows the academic hills that we climb everyday Trying to understand our own desires within what the world wills ~~~ But this is the point of spaces like this, the way for us to connect, whether physical or digital we find to connect and stay ~~~ It’s multifunctional And never illogical
A Three-Part Guide to Daylight Savings
Posted November 9, 2021 by Abbey Metzler
On Monday evening, or really what I would call at most late afternoon, I sat at my desk in my office building watching the sun go down. Spring forward and fall back, daylight saving time has come to an end here in the United States. I know that I am somewhat alone in loving winter. Five lake-effect snow laden years living in Central New York will do that to a girl. But, even I felt the spike of dread at watching the sky darken at an early 4:30pm. I know that a lot of Simmons students aren’t from New England, myself included. Winter here is not the same dusting of snow that shuts down major Southern cities. Before we also start to resign ourselves to hibernation until Spring, I thought I would share my plan to make our long, cold nights a little less daunting. Maybe these three tips will make you winter people yet. We are always looking for converts! Step 1: Read. I know. I know. We are all here in the…
An Ode to Western Mass.
Posted November 8, 2021 by Erin Finn
Western Massachusetts is one of my favorite areas to explore in my free time! Maybe I’m a bit biased as I grew up here, but it’s an area rich with history, the arts, beautiful scenery, and plenty of other things to see and do. If you are a student at SLIS West, whether new to the area or visiting to take a library course on the Mount Holyoke campus for the first time, here are some of my recommendations of things to do in the surrounding area near the SLIS West campus! If you enjoy being out in nature, whether that be biking, hiking, walking, or your preferred nature activity, there are many trails and conservation sites to spend some time basking in the outdoors. My personal favorites are the following: Hiking up to the Summit House on top of Mt. Holyoke (if you want to see the beautiful views of the valley, but can’t do the hike, you can drive and park at the top when the road is open). Check out the view…