A Tour of Duty in Tech Services
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on January 31, 2018. Today we welcome a guest post by Autumn Wetli. Autumn is a graduate student pursuing her MLIS at Wayne […]
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Call for Art: Hacking the Library
Hacking the Library: Call for Creative WorkAn Exhibit by Wrest Virginia University Art in the Libraries ProgramExhibition Dates: Online and Print: August 2023 – June 2024 About: The hacker ethos in the positive sense is about the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct information systems. We invite you to highlight the […]
Explaining the U.S. News & World Report MLIS Rankings
This is a guest post from Morgan Adle, MLS. Morgan has written previously for HLS here and here. U.S. News & World Report publishes rankings of graduate schools and programs, […]
Trans and Gender Diverse LIS Network
This is a guest post from Stephen Krueger. The Trans and Gender Diverse LIS Network is a closed online community of trans and gender diverse people who work in libraries. […]
Writing your Best MLIS Application Essay
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Morgan Adle, MLS. Writing application essays can be intimidating and a complete mystery to most of us. Having spent the last 4 […]
Making the Most of your MLIS
Editor’s note: This is a guest article from Morgan Adle, MLS I finished my MLS in 2015 and managed the MLIS Program at UMD for 4 years until the Summer […]
Fall Into Canadian Reads
Editor’s note: This is a guest article from Michelle Boivin-Carriere. Fall is such a cozy season. As summer break is long behind, we work ever harder towards our MLIS. To […]
Progress Beats Perfection: Trevor Owens on Digital Preservation
This is a guest post from Scott Richard St. Louis. Trevor Owens. The Theory and Craft of Digital Preservation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018. Day by day, our digital […]
Standing Out: Becoming a Star Candidate in a Highly Competitive Job Market
This is a guest post from Elizabeth Szkirpan. Elizabeth’s first post can be found here. It’s no secret that the last two years have been exceedingly challenging for new LIS […]
Preparing for the Hunt: Tips for Setting Yourself Up for Post-MLIS Success Now
This is a guest post from Elizabeth Szkirpan. My MLIS program was a blur. The various papers and hundreds of discussion posts seemed endless at the time, but I look […]
Web Archives and the Future of Historical Inquiry: “History in the Age of Abundance” Book Review Part II
This is a guest post from Scott Richard St. Louis, and is a continuation of this post. What changes to the contemporary structure of the historical profession will be necessary […]
Web Archives and the Future of Historical Inquiry: “History in the Age of Abundance” Book Review Part I
This is a guest post from Scott Richard St. Louis. Milligan, Ian. History in the Age of Abundance? How the Web is Transforming Historical Research. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019. […]
Music Librarianship
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Sarah Alexander, and was originally published on April 1, 2013. I recently went to the Music Library Association Conference in San Jose, California where I spent five days talking about music and books. And books about music. And organizing the music that […]
The Future of Algorithms and Collaborative Tagging in Our Libraries
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Jessica Luna. Searching has become a common thread in my daily life as an MLIS student. Learning basic and advanced methods of […]
Am I Ready for Library School? [Starter Kit]
Thoughts On Being A Younger Library School Student Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Julia Feerrar, and was originally published on September 5, 2012. Just three months ago I walked across a stage in south-central Pennsylvania to receive my undergraduate degree. I thought of the hard work completed, […]
A Library Job May Not Happen For Me
This is a guest post from Charly Stoehr. In 2009, being at a crossroads with my current career ending, I decided to take some classes that I had always wanted […]
I Spent Years Preparing for a Library Job — It Never Came
Landing a librarian gig seemed simple enough. After all, I already had a year of experience working as a circulation assistant at a law library when I applied to UW-Madison’s […]
LIS Research Methods Feedback Opportunity
The Librarian Parlor (aka @LibParlor) is a space for conversing, sharing expertise, and asking questions about the process of developing, pursuing, and publishing library research. Recently LibParlor received funding from […]
8 Simple Ways to Kick Start Your Research in Grad School
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on November 7, 2018. Hello! Paige and Suzy here from the team over at The Librarian Parlor (@LibParlor), a space for librarians and […]
Doubling Down: Becoming a Parent During your MLIS
Many of us pursuing graduate studies are at the stage of planning growing families as well. Ifyou’ve considered adding a child to the mix while doing your MLIS, and are […]
The Two Towers: Vocational Awe and Neutrality
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from author and librarian Josh Chan. In May 2021, I had the great honour of being one of five presenters for the British […]
Changing Jobs During Grad School: Do’s and Don’t’s
During my first semester as an MLS student, I changed jobs. I went from working at a private university as a Circulation Manager to working at a state university as […]
Patrons with Mental Health Issues or Illnesses: Story + Tips
Recently, I’ve experienced something frightening and maybe even unusual for some, at the library. To give you some context, during the pandemic, our library first opened back up for computer […]
Budget-Friendly Professional Development and Continuing Education Resources
I spent about half of 2020 trying desperately to not go back to school. I had realized that I was interested in an archival career (an interest that’s grown to […]
5 Tips for Online Interviews with Library Employers
With the increase in colleges and companies using software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, online interviews have become more common. In my role as Circulation Manager at an academic library, […]
Behind the Scenes: LIS Hiring at Academic Institutions
After having participated in five on-campus, academic librarianship interviews, I have learned a good deal through observation and immersion in the market’s ebbs and flows. As a follow-up to “Things […]
Facing my stereotypes
I am a Californian by birth. I was raised in a city that included one of the many missions that dot coastal California, in my case the Mission San Jose. […]
I Decided to Make a Mid-Career Transition to LIS and You Can Too
Coming from a working class background, career satisfaction was like the unicorn of life goals – nice to think about, but probably out of reach. Work life was something very […]
Documenting the Chinese student experience at an American college during the pandemic
This past summer, I took part in an oral history project designed to collect stories of the University of Iowa (UI) community’s reactions to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic in textual […]
LIS Programs & the Need for Dialogue
I feel lucky to have grown up in Miami, a primarily Hispanic city, where I am not very different from any other Hispanic American. However, as I have grown and […]
An International Library Student’s Perspective on Remote Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic
While attending the University of Iowa’s School of Information Science, I have also served as a student cataloger in the UI Main Library’s cataloging department. Like most metadata and cataloging […]
Contribute to Open Peer Review for an LIS Textbook
Hi, Hack Library School readers! My name is Brianna Marshall and I am excited to be contributing a guest post for HLS. I was a HLS writer and managing editor […]
Surviving Library School While Working
Whether you are starting your library school journey or nearing the end, many of us are juggling working while going to school. If you are like me, I was apprehensive […]
The Value of Remote Work in Librarianship
As this July closes, I will be finishing up my third semester of library school. During this time, I’ve managed to juggle a part-time library specialist position, a part-time graduate assistantship, […]
Africana Librarianship Anyone?
If I say. . . ceebu jën Islam Wolof wax print boubous incense the Atlantic taxis and car rapides . . . do you know where we are? We’re in […]
Things You Can Do as a Library Student to Prepare for a Career as a Data Librarian
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 […]
Libraries in the Time of Coronavirus
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 […]
Fresh Shelving Ideas for Spring
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 […]
5 Things to Know When Taking a Librarian Job Abroad
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, […]
The First Step in Preparing for a LIS Education
In a supportive group of professionals that brainstorm together, a potential student recently asked what subject is best to major in prior to pursuing an MLIS. I’m not an expert […]
Ten Tips for Time Management: Surviving Library School and Life
The new year is here, and with that, a new semester has begun. However, many of us have jobs, relationships, hobbies, and various other obligations in addition to our academic […]
Alternative Careers for LIS Grads
Alternative careers for LIS graduates is something that’s not often discussed and, in classrooms, is often ignored. Yet you might be surprised to know that your LIS degree is good […]
Conference Scholarships Announcement
RBMS Conference Scholarships Available, with expanded eligibility! Power, Resistance, and LeadershipRBMS 2020June 23-26, 2020Indiana University, Bloomington, IN The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and […]
Hacking the Master’s Program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science (SILS) recently had an event for its students to “hack” its graduate program. The hour-long event, titled “Managing Expectations,” was set up […]
Librarians We Need
Confession: While I’ve been working in libraries since around 2011, I did not think I wanted to be a librarian until about 8 months ago when I started to look […]
Why Library Science and Social Work Need to Collaborate More
Service. Equity. Commitment to communities. These are themes found in both the American Library Association Code of Ethics and the National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics. Indeed, librarians […]
How to Hack Your Way Into Tech Conferences
Allison Jennings-Roche recently wrote about attending conferences outside of library land and I couldn’t agree more. In fact, just a few months ago, I was at a cross-disciplinary workshop facilitated […]
Gonzo Archivism in Practice
I know my title may conjure up memories of a particular blue Muppet, but I’m referring to gonzo in the journalistic sense. Gonzo Journalism, of which Hunter S. Thompson found […]
Why Library School Might Not Be For Me
At 16, I landed my first library “job” — a semester-long gig spending 90 minutes a day helping out at my high school media center for course credit. I loved […]
Hacking the Atkins Fellows Program
This summer, we participated in the Atkins Fellows program at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. We were the fifth cohort of the […]
Showcasing Digital Projects
In my previous post, I mentioned that part of my motivation for wanting to learn more about digital exhibits was to better tell the story of Rastovich Family Farm, Deschutes […]
The Value of an Internship
Ever since I discovered the New York Public Library’s Digital Collections, I’ve been interested in digital collections. The thought of those free and publicly available historical images filled me with […]
Showing Up for Yourself: Mental Health and Your MLIS
I have been reflecting on my experiences in graduate school and I want to share some of these thoughts, primarily related to survival. Since April, I have had conversations with […]
4 Ways to Prepare to be a Children’s Librarian
No amount of coursework can prepare you for the experiences you will have as a children’s librarian. In one week you might make mermaid slime, wear a giant inflatable dinosaur […]
How to Set Up a Preschool Library: 4 Tips for Teachers
It is important that children are introduced to books at preschool age. This is the period when the little ones best absorb the information and skills taught to them. Books […]
Hack Your Program: Syracuse University School of Information Studies
The School of Information Studies at Syracuse University is “the original information school,” having been the first library school to rename itself in the 1970’s. Home to an undergraduate information […]
Soldiers, At Ease: Finding Your Career in Libraries
I saw myself through to the end of my seventh year, and with reluctance and eagerness I retired my uniform, my rank, and my identity. I had aspirations to learn […]
Cooking on a Busy Schedule
Today, I wanted to share a guest post that is a little off of our beaten path, but would be helpful for all of us. As graduate students who all […]
FOSTA/SESTA and Libraries
Tumblr and Facebook’s decisions to censor and remove any adult or erotic material on their platforms has set the internet atwitter (pun intended). There were, of course, thinkpieces lauding or […]
Career Paths: Visual Resources
Are you interested in issues relating to the organization, access, and preservation of visual information? Interested in careers relating to data management, digital collections, cultural heritage, or art information? You […]
Emotional Labor in Library School and Work
A typical day for me might include going to class, meeting with a professor or two, scouring LinkedIn, staffing the reference desk, grocery shopping, and talking to my mom. I […]
The Five Stages of Discussion Posts
If your classes are asynchronous, you probably have to write posts and responses about class readings. This format is not isolated to LIS programs. In a former graduate program, I […]
Tales from the Basement
Chezlani Casar is currently the Program Leader for Earl’s Garage, a non-profit makerspace that encourages kids to become inventors and problem solvers. Nope, definitely not a library! As I mentioned in my farewell post last spring, my first professional position after finishing my MLISc was an unexpected contract role in […]
A day in the life : Substitute Librarian III, Hilo Public Library
Chezlani Casar is a 2017 UH Manoa and Hack Library School alumni. She is currently a “freelance librarian,” meaning that she subs in the public system when possible and spends […]
The Weird and Wonderful World of Music Librarianship
Megan Dyson is a newly qualified librarian currently job hunting after taking time out to be a full time mom. Originally from Louisiana, Megan studied violin performance at Belhaven University, earned her MMus at Leeds University and MA Information and Library Management at Northumbria University. She’s worked in school […]
The Big Move: From Education to Librarianship
Today we welcome a guest post by Symphony Bruce. Symphony Bruce is a recent graduate of the iSchool of the University of Missouri and completed her MLIS in December of 2017. […]
Hack Your Program: Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Today we welcome a guest post by Amanda M. Leftwich and Alena McNamara. Amanda and Alena are recent graduates from Clarion. Amanda’s areas of specialization include collection development, circulation, outreach, […]
What can a lens of newness afford us?
Today we welcome a post by Jennifer Jarson as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Jennifer Jarson is the Head […]
I Am Not “Just the Diversity Hire”: Racial Difference, Authenticity, and Tokenism in Academic Libraries
Today we welcome a post by Veronica Arellano Douglas as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Veronica Arellano Douglas is a Reference […]
Does This Candidate Meet the Requirements for Tenure? Preparing as a Student for Questions About Tenure
Today we welcome a post by Dylan Burns as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Dylan Burns is the Digital Scholarship Librarian […]
Previous Positions or Relevant Skills? Both!
Today we welcome a post by Maura Smale as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Maura Smale is Chief Librarian and […]
The Myth of the Neutral Library: Why Social Activism is Integral to Librarianship
In 2014, following widely reported incidences of police brutality leading to the deaths of two African Americans, the Black Lives Matter movement dominated headlines as the grassroots initiative grew to […]
Choose Your Own Adventure: Maryland’s Individualized Program Plan
ach semester, every MLIS class I take begins the same way. “All right, class. Let’s say your name, your specialization…” If you’re like me, you may not have an easy shorthand in your program’s specialization lingo for indicating where your professional interests lie.
Need an Internship? Here’s How to Apply
Rachel Friedman attended Pepperdine Law School before deciding she would prefer a career in library science. She is currently enrolled in the University of Southern California’s MMLIS program, and volunteers at the Studio City Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This is her […]
Review: Real-World Teen Services Librarianship with Jennifer Velasquez
Allison Randall Gatt is in her sixth and final year at the San José State University iSchool, studying to be a youth services librarian. When not taking classes, writing for […]
How to IFLA Right
Through generous professional funds offered in conjunction with my post as a resident librarian at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I was able to attend the International Federation of […]
Interpersonal Skills and Thank You’s: The People Part of Librarianship
I’m going to state an obvious fact: being a good librarian means having strong interpersonal skills. I already knew this on a basic level when I decided to become a librarian. […]
Strategies for the Reserved: Staying Engaged in a Distance Learning Environment
Throughout my school career, I have always heard the terms “shy” and “reserved” used to describe me. I must admit, the description did not seem positive and would often affect […]
Library Team Dynamics: Texting my way through the LIS Conversation
Having experienced numerous career changes in my lifetime and mid-life exposure to higher education, I am in my third semester in Library School at the age of 47. Each semester, […]
Connecting Nonprofits to the Library World
Having started library school only this past January, I found out quickly how broad the profession can be. I found myself informally networking every other week with professionals in the […]
Long-Distance Distance Education
The conversation around the merits of distance LIS education is an ongoing process in the library profession. Popular discussion points include connecting with peers, job and life flexibility, financial pressures, […]
Modern Lud: How I Cope with the Rise of Technology
I am a Luddite, or at least on the Luddite spectrum. I drive a stick shift. I write in cursive. The only thing I dread more than a software update […]
History of LIS Education
When we talk about LIS education, we’re talking about providing education for a professional career in libraries, with all the traits the word ‘profession’ implies: professionalism, prolonged training, and formal education. This […]
Things You Learn on Your First Interview
Summer 2015 I went on an interview for a position at a large, Midwestern university for work in the academic librarianship field. It started right before 8:00 a.m. and ended after […]
How to Be a Good Manager: Tips from the Books and Real Life
During the course of my career as a library science graduate student, I learned that it is critical for librarians to have strong interpersonal skills, such as how to be a […]
Comic-Con Librarianship
Librarians love a conference – there’s nothing quite like getting together with a hall full of your like-minded peers to discuss library life. However, dedicated librarian conferences like ALA Annual […]
A Day in the Life of an LIS Student [Guest Post]
Talking about time management is helpful. Tips and encouragement (as found here previously on HLS) are great ways to offer help about the time we have and how to best […]
Podcasts in Library Land
Nancy Lovas is pursuing her MLS at the University of Maryland, where she works in the University Libraries as a Research & Teaching Fellow and as a graduate assistant in […]
Valuing Professional Librarianship
Paul Lai, HLS alumnus, works as a manager of information resources for an online university’s writing center and as a librarian in a public library. He lives in the Twin Cities, […]
Voces del Sur (Voices from the South): Rethinking LIS from the Latin American and Caribbean Perspective [Series]
Editor’s note: This is the first post in our Voces del Sur series, featuring writers from the blog Infotecarios. Guest bloggers will answer questions about their experience as librarians and library […]
Book Review: Information Services Today
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Nicole Gibby-Munguia. Nicole Gibby-Munguia is in her second-to-last semester in the MLIS program at Dominican University in River Forest, IL. Her interests […]
Hack Your Program: Florida State University
Editor’s note: this is a guest post by Camille Thomas and Grace Kaletski. Camille and Grace are currently graduate assistants at FSU Libraries. Both are in their final semesters and transitioning […]
Hack Your Program: St. John’s University Division of Library and Information Science
Editor’s Note – This is a guest post by Anastasia Chiu, a 2014 graduate of St. John’s. Disclaimer – This post consists of the perspectives of one student of St. John’s DLIS, and does not represent the experiences of the entire student body of the program. All criticism is intended […]
So What Do You Do? Knowledge Management at an Accounting Consulting Firm
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Sarah Dashow. Tell us a bit about yourself. My name is Sarah Dashow, and I am from Raleigh, North Carolina. My undergraduate degree is from NC State in English and International Studies. I am pursuing my MLIS at the University of Western […]
Surviving Cataloging Class
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Tracy Wasserman. Many LIS students dread cataloging/classification class, a required course in some library schools. I found the class piqued my interest enough to take advanced cataloging/classification, a road travelled by few judging by the small class size. This was against the […]
Seeking Feedback on SLA Core Competencies Revision Draft
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Kim Dority. For those of you who are part of or interested in the profession of special librarianship and related fields, the SLA Core Competencies Task Force would like to solicit your feedback on the recently completed draft revision of the Core […]
Get Involved and Reap the Benefits: Advantages of Professional Library Membership
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Sara Kelso. This is the post where I convince you to get involved, if you aren’t already, with professional organizations as a library or information professional. “But I don’t have time!” you say. “But it’s expensive!” you protest. “And what do they ever do […]
DIY DH+LIS
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Dana Bublitz. So, you’re interested in digital humanities as a library science student, but your LIS program (and maybe your whole university) doesn’t even have the slightest idea what you mean when you talk about “DH”–or maybe they just give you a […]
From an Undergraduate Digital Humanist
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Grace Thomas. “I am an English major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), with a minor in Computer Science.” After the initial eye-widening or eyebrow-knitting of the questioner, I am asked, “So…what do you, umm, hope to do with that…?” Depending on […]
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