Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on the concepts of mis- and disinformation, prompted by the current state of the world and observing how others get their […]
Like many other folks sheltering at home right now, I’ve been using my spare time to start a garden. It’s the third garden I’ve grown in my adult life. In […]
It’s official: my Spring 2020 semester has come to an end – and I am halfway through my MLIS! Along with navigating the murky middle that comes with the mid-point […]
We all keep writing about the pandemic, with no concrete answers and some advice. There are so many unknowns about what life is going to look like in even just […]
Last month, I posted about how working from home and being in school made for a terrible experience as worlds collide. I wish I could say there’s been some improvement, […]
While preparing for the end of my MLIS program and trying to figure out my next steps recently, I have to admit that I observed something interesting. As I […]
“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.” ― Paulo Coelho, Brida Before you read this any further, […]
After three years, I’ll be graduating from my MLIS program this June. This is also my last post for Hack Library School. These three years were a whirlwind and ranged […]
Fourandsixty. (2015). [International Labour Day Edit-a-Thon, University of Maryland Hornbake Library] [Photograph]. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC/UMDLabor Next week will be the first time I will not be working, in school, or both […]
There have been a couple of articles on the subject of alternative and non-traditional jobs for MLIS holders here on Hack Library School; most recently back in December of 2019 […]
Editor’s Note: Celia Emmelhainz worked as an international librarian for three years while studying for her MLS, and now works as a Social Science Data Librarian in Maine. She blogs […]
I confess I wasn’t planning to write about COVID-19. But ruminating on how my month has transpired since my last post, I realized everything I was planning to write about […]
Valentine’s Day – a day set aside to celebrate the ones you love, a day devoted to one of the highest expressions of the human spirit. This past Valentine’s Day […]
The semester is winding down. Some of us are graduating and will be waiting out hiring freezes, and others of us are facing a summer with radically changed plans or […]
So I’m gonna level with y’all: my mental health has been on a rollercoaster these past few weeks and I’m not sure I have anything super significant to contribute to […]
This post was originally published on October 26, 2015. I have a confession to make. Sometimes I color in my coloring book while I’m in class. And you know what? […]
As this crazy Spring 2020 semester begins winding down for many students, course registration has started falling upon us. One component that I enjoy about the University of Maryland’s MLIS […]
Program Overview The University of Washington iSchool currently offers several degrees: Bachelor of Science in Informatics – Undergraduate major and minor Master of Library & Information Science (residential and online) […]
As an online student at the University of Washington, I take just two courses each quarter over the course of three years. At the beginning of this quarter, I was […]
So, last October, I wrote about how finding community during your time as a MLIS student is important, especially if you are an online student. This has become especially […]
We’re all facing a lot of big, scary questions right now. What if I’m furloughed or laid off? What if I or someone I love gets sick? What if the […]
With online learning now in full swing due to COVID-19 and physical distancing, many students are feeling the strain of isolation, uncertainty, housing and food insecurity, additional childcare or family […]
Before my area went under shelter in place orders back on March 17th, I had a library paraprofessional position and went to school full time, with plans for a summer […]
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many libraries have either closed physically and moved to online service provisionally or have closed completely and laid off their employees. My local public […]
For those of us in the academic library world, the past few weeks have been an eye-opening experience. Like every schoolteacher in the world, our faculty had to convert their […]
Right now, information science professionals, along with most of the rest of the world are rightly concerned about and focused on COVID-19. Homemade masks have entered our daily wardrobes (when […]
While people all over the world self-distancing and sheltering at home, libraries and museums have been adapting to maximize opportunities to engage and connect with patrons online. Despite challenges posed […]
Disclaimer: All opinions are mine unless otherwise noted. This article does not represent the official stance of the University of Illinois, the Graduate College, the School of Library and Information […]
Are you tired of the way that your library has always shelved its books? Are you eager to shake things up as the new librarian fresh out of school? Is […]
If you follow the blog, you’ll know I have thoughts about vocational awe. And, as one would expect, Fobazi Ettarh’s concept of vocational awe is playing a large role in […]
I’m overwhelmed. I feel sure I’m not the only one. Until this month, a global pandemic is something I only thought of in terms of a distant, sepia-toned past or […]
These topics of mental health, burnout, work/life balance, and otherwise surviving library school and the profession have been frequent discussions this year. They keep coming up on the blog; Jane […]
Coronavirus has caused us to make plenty of changes, from library closures to cancelled events and a shift from residential courses to an online environment. Here are some ways to […]
So, originally, I had planned to talk about how I have observed an observable lack of agency among some of my peers from my days as an undergraduate student to […]
This past Friday, I was leading a session on Empathy-Driven Customer Service with approximately 20 public library staff members in my county. It had been an interesting day already: I […]
I’m taking a break from my series “To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color” to talk about the impact coronavirus has had on the LIS field/students. I’m in Seattle, the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. I live near the Life Care Center of Kirkland, where the first U.S. death occurred and now where over 25 people have died. All Washington state K-12 schools have been cancelled for at least six weeks and the University of Washington, along with other higher education institutions, moved online. Museums and public libraries have closed to the public, and buses and the streets of Seattle are empty. There’s no longer traffic at rush hour as many people now work from home. But what are the impacts on student library workers, grant-funded workers, or LIS students working on capstones, practicums, or internships?
If you have ever engaged with a piece of entertainment set during any historical period involving severe social events such as war or sickness, complete with emotionally charged scenes of tragedy […]
I asked some of my classmates for suggestions about what to write about this month so here’s a shout out to my friend Olivia S. at the University of Alberta […]
I’ll never forget the instructor who gave me a generous week-long extension so I could travel home for a funeral with significantly less stress. I’ll never forget the professor who […]
This week, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about all of the many things I do as a library supervisor that are not written into my job […]
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Celia Emmelhainz. Originally published on May 2, 2014 When you’re worn out by your studies and dreaming of your future post-MLIS life, […]
In my program at the University of Illinois there’s a heavy emphasis on preparing for the library job market. At first this was welcome and was a major reason why […]
Recently in one of my classes, we read the article “Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves” by Fobazi Ettarh. The themes brought up in the article and […]
This month, the Vanderbilt University Library began an advertising campaign which features a sign that reads, “Libraries don’t take sides.” It’s bright yellow with black block text floating on the […]
Black history is American history, and American libraries are no different. W.E.B. DuBois started Negro History Week in 1925. He hoped to “raise awareness of African American’s contributions to civilization”. […]
#DignidadLiteraria is new to the LIS field, but it has already created interesting discussions about publishing, who is represented in library collections, and who gets to speak on behalf of […]
What I’m about to say may not work for every program, professor, or class, but it’s a piece of advice I wish I had heard before I started my online […]
