Recognizing the Right Time to Challenge Yourself
Some of you may remember my decision to tackle my weaknesses head-on during the Spring 2015 semester. My database and cataloging skills were weak to non-existent, so I signed up […]
Author Archives
Kara MacKeil-Pepin
Librarian working with government documents, cataloging, and reference assistance.
YAY ALA! The Student Takes San Francisco
OMG GUYS I GOT TO GO TO ALA IN SAN FRANCISCO!!! I’m sorry, that was undignified. But seriously, this is really awesome. By the time you read this I will […]
Avoiding Common Internship Problems (Tip, don’t be a go-fer)
If you’re in the second year of your MLS, you’re probably just finishing or just starting an internship. Congratulations and/or good luck! While internships can be a challenge you really […]
On Addressing Weaknesses
What are your least favorite parts of library school? Your answer will depend on a lot of things, but one of the biggest factors in my personal likes and dislikes […]
When Registration Day Goes Wrong
My registration for Spring 2015 was on the stressful side. Registration opened at 8:30AM on registration day, which meant I had to register from work. Not a big deal, I’m […]
Open Access (or, why I love the internet)
The internet is pretty awesome guys. Privacy attacks and trolls aside, no other tool humans have ever created can match its potential for information transfer. Sure, I often use it […]
Rock that discussion board
Learning to love online classes has to be one of the biggest surprises I’ve had in my first year of library school. I’d still go for in-person classes if time and money permitted it, because being physically isolated from library people can suck, but I’ve genuinely enjoyed the online atmosphere […]
Why You Need Project Management
I saw a whole bunch of family and friends I don’t get to see very often not long ago, and naturally many of them asked me what I’m taking for classes this summer. I learned pretty early in my MLS that most people expect you to say something about books […]
Extra Credit: Expanding Your Library Education beyond the Classroom
I don’t think any of us entered library school with the notion that it would turn us into perfectly formed librarians, armed with everything we could possibly need to know to become whatever kind of librarian we wanted to be. Our field is much too wide ranging and evolves far […]
Asking for Help When You Need It and Knowing When to Help Yourself
Do you remember what it was like to be an undergraduate? I took a few years off between college and my MLS, but I can still recall the endless “student social events,” the finals-week pampering and “de-stressing” events that my college hosted without fail. The intro-to-the-library session all the first-years […]
Hack your Enthusiasm: Boosting Motivation When Torpor Hits
Library school is great. After a standard Bachelor of Arts and a few years in the workforce I’m finally making progress towards my career goals, and it’s refreshing to be in classes that I chose myself and will impact my career in real and direct ways. On most days I […]
Full Time Work and an MLS: Will it Work for You?
Like any graduate program, library school is a big time commitment. Whether your program is online or in person, full time or part time, there’s just no way to get the education you need to be a librarian without putting in a significant chunk of your life. But if time […]
Defending your chosen profession to friends, family, and complete strangers
Today’s post was supposed to be a fluffy list of librarian-centric movies you could work into a nice Netflix binge on your last weekend or two before the spring semester starts up. I had actually started to compile a nice little list for you. But then Saturday night I stumbled […]
Tackling Library School Debt with Scholarships
For many of us, library school = big student loans. Some programs are less expensive than others, particularly if you’re able to get in-state tuition, but we all know that none of them can really be described as cheap. Have you looked at your student accounts lately? Take a moment, […]
Staying Connected as a Distance Learner
When I applied for my MLS a few years ago, the realities of the working world had me dreaming of a retreat from the outside world in the arms of academia. I pictured days spent in stimulating classes and evenings immersed in my studies, totally plugged into the world of […]
