If you’ve been following my writing for any length of time here, or you’re someone with an interest in non-traditional and alternative paths to librarianship then you are probably already […]
Since I’m graduating this May, I wanted to use my final HLS blog post to reflect a bit on the things I wish I knew before I started grad school. […]
I love wearing clothes. Nothing can boost my confidence like a cute outfit. Especially when days can be so…repetitive, clothes bring me life. If you’re here, you might feel the […]
I’ve been very fortunate to have gotten a new full-time librarian job before I graduate from my MLIS program this May, but transitioning to a new job in the middle […]
Disclaimer: This post is particular to the author’s perspectives and opinions. It is not intended to be representative or indicative of any other member of the MLIS Admissions Committee and […]
With two months to go until I finish my MLIS program, I recently completed my first full-time library job search. I started seriously looking and applying for jobs this past […]
Winter quarter has to be one of the toughest quarters to survive in library school (assuming you are on the quarter system). This is my third winter quarter, and it […]
You may remember from one of my articles way back that all of my education and background have been firmly rooted in the humanities. I lack serious experience in the […]
It was inevitable, no matter how hard I tried not to think about it. Staring down my fourth and last semester of library school, I knew it was time to […]
Twitter is my social media of choice lately as I try to avoid going down the Insta/Meta rabbit holes that are out there and frankly I do not have time […]
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 […]
Student groups. Their importance has been noted in previous posts for networking and building community and connection in your program. Last summer I decided that becoming involved in a student […]
This topic may not relate directly per se to library school, but it applies to anyone who has a job, will have a job (whether in the LIS field or […]
I have a friend who just graduated from the MLIS program at the University of Washington, and she and I had a conversation recently about how, whether when you’re in […]
I don’t know about anyone else, but I got sick A LOT this semester. I haven’t really gotten sick the last two years, and it’s like my body decided it […]
Last month I wrote about surviving group work as it had been a frequent topic on the HLS blog. This month I wanted to briefly cover another important HLS topic […]
When I first started working with interlibrary loan, back around 2014, I received an email reply from one of the students I’d found an article for. “Thank you very much […]
The topic of group work has been a frequent one at HLS and since I am embroiled in a lengthy and complicated group project during this fall quarter at the […]
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 […]
Learning how to give effective feedback to colleagues, classmates, and even professors as well as receive feedback yourself is a skill that takes practice, nurturing, an open mind, and a […]
With autumn comes application season. Even though you’ve done this before, applications are stressful. Hopefully what I’ve learned will save you some time, anxiety, and, with any luck, some money […]
I’m in my final semester of my dual degree program at Simmons University. As I’m writing this post, the semester is about 1/3 of the way through. It’s the point […]
Tell me if any of this sounds familiar. You’ve got a job, a family, and a list of homework assignments filling up your calendar for the rest of the semester. […]
In the past, I had been hesitant to declare a strong career interest in metadata and cataloging (I even wrote about my desire for an interdisciplinary library school curriculum for […]
Thinking about library school? Wondering what it’s really like? Think that online school might be the best/easiest option for your increasingly complicated life? Let me tell you about it, since […]
The new school year has started, and with just two semesters left of my MLIS program, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what practical skills I […]
According to the 2021 MLIS Skills at Work report from the SJSU iSchool 90% of the job postings they analyzed require job-specific experience representing an 11% increase over the 2020 […]
Hello, everyone! Last month I wrote about the first four tips and tricks for managing your library’s social media account which included 1.) know your audiences, 2.) know your platforms, […]
The home stretch towards my MLIS degree is in sight as I wrap up my final few days of my summer directed fieldwork (DFW) and look forward to my third […]
When I was interviewing for my current position, my future supervisor asked me, “Would you be interested in helping us run our social media accounts?” Like a good interviewee I […]
I have been thinking about the incoming cohort at the University of Washington’s Information School and wondering how they are coping with the unknown and uncertainty of graduate school life […]
When I started my MLIS program at Simmons University last fall, I regularly heard my classmates introduce themselves with exactly what type of librarian they wanted to be. There were […]
Although it’s falling out of fashion, how many times were we given the advice, “pursue your passion”? As a young person, I took this for granted as a blaringly obvious […]
I vividly remember in March 2020 when I learned my daughter was going to be home for two weeks solid as schools were closing and thinking there was no way […]
Summer is an interesting time in the life of a grad student. Some people have internships (mostly remote this summer), those of us who work during the school year are […]
I’ve seen this meme a couple of times now and I love it, because it’s not wrong, this really is the basic structure of a cover letter and I love […]
This is my last post with HLS! In honor of that – and my impending graduation (wow/yikes) – I’d like to present a list of seven things that I learned […]
I’ve written before about my desire to tailor my time as an MLIS student to becoming a generalist with the skills and competencies to succeed in various contexts or careers. […]
Over the past 16 months as a contributing writer and community manager, I found myself in a new world of librarianship that I didn’t know existed. From my very first […]
Dear readers, when you may be reading this, I am currently two weeks away from graduating from my Master of Library and Information Science graduate program at San Jose State […]
This year, I had the privilege of being part of the Chinese American Librarians Association selection committee for the CALA Best Book Award. I’m aware that being part of book […]
To say that I’m excited about graduating this coming May is a massive understatement. I’ve been waiting for this moment since finding SJSU School of Information’s MLIS program in December […]
I have high expectations for myself when in comes to school. I always have, sometimes to the point of unnecessary angst. Case in point, I have a vivid third-grade memory […]
We’ve been talking a lot on the blog lately about how the past year has impacted our lives, our education, our job searches, and everything in between. One of the […]
Recently, I attended an information panel about LIS careers, where I heard one of the most helpful pieces of advice yet: technical skills will open the door and soft skills will […]
So, all throughout my tenure here at Hack Library School, I have emphasized the importance of preparing for graduation throughout your time in graduate school. In November 2019, I […]
It’s 2021, and we’re still over a year later dealing with COVID-19 and the physical and emotional and mental strain that this pandemic is putting on all of us. We’re […]
For the past few weeks in my Library Programs and Services for Young Adults course, we’ve started our class period with materials talks. Every student has spent five to seven […]
As I mentioned last month, it is important for you as a library school student to begin researching not only potential job and internship openings, but employers as well, as […]
My piece on non-traditional and alternative jobs for LIS professionals from May 2020 was really popular. The Introduction to the Library and Information Industry (the course that I shouted out […]
My class this semester, as so many of our classes do, started with an assignment to introduce ourselves on an online discussion board. One popular topic of conversation ended up […]
One of the most incredible things that you, as a student, can do for yourself is to step out of your comfort zone in terms of course planning. Most of […]
One of the new responsibilities that I’ve undertook this semester is monitoring our library’s online chat reference service as an on-call librarian once a week. When talking with some friends, […]
My undergraduate degrees are in History and Political Science. I’ve written countless amounts of midterm and final papers (plus a thesis that hit triple-digit page length) and considered myself a […]
Registration for the Spring quarter is just around the corner for many students. With this comes the sometimes frustrating process of deciding which classes to take. Should you take classes […]
Out of everything I know I will have to manage this semester in addition to my culminating project and my internship, job hunting is one task that, at times, has […]
Because many LIS programs are online-based, it can be difficult to meet people in your program. Yes, there may be required group assignments in certain classes, but that doesn’t guarantee […]
Almost exactly one year ago, I published my first post here on HLS all about the lessons I learned during my first semester of library school. Past me who wrote […]
We all know the quintessential librarian stereotype: meek, bookish, bespectacled folks who sit surrounded by stacks of books all day long, shushing children and wielding large inky stamps with which […]
I will admit that writing this particular article was difficult for me as, after finishing my last class for the Fall semester, I went into my winter break feeling […]
Ten units down, thirty-three more to go! I completed my first year of graduate school this month, and in the spirit of the new year, I thought I’d do a […]
With only two semesters left in my library school journey, I’d like to share what has worked well for me in terms of planning. While many graduate students employ the […]
Check out these 9 Best Practices for Library Virtual Programming!
With the fall semester wrapping up, many of us are looking ahead to the spring semester and what may lie beyond. And, for those graduating at the end of the […]
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 […]
So, I’m done?! I finished my last class in Children’s and Youth Programming a few weeks ago after presenting my final group project; which was a summer reading program designed […]
In a little more than a week’s time, I will don my deliciously lemon yellow hood, (virtually) cross a stage, and know, with a heart full in equal measure of […]
OER (open educational resources) and ZTC (zero textbook cost) courses and programs are big topics of conversation at the community college where I work. Not a single Professional Development Day […]
As the end of the semester looms on the horizon and a month of Winter break awaits us, we have endless possibilities for how to utilize our time. Many of […]
My MLIS program at Wayne State University requires that one of the first classes a student takes in the program is Introduction to the Information Professions. Part of the course […]
Getting stuck in a funk is a common occurrence. Feeling off your game and disconnected from the world can impact your life, work, and school. So, how do you get […]
So, I am writing this roughly a week after the initial Election Day here in the United States, two days after our president-elect and vice president-elect have been announced […]
I am a few weeks shy of completing my MSIS degree. This past month has been full of ups and downs and yet, no matter how tough it has been, […]
It’s Election Day in America. Libraries and those who work in them have always played a leading role in American democracy. From librarians helping first-time voters register, to resources (both […]
After my first semester of library school I decided that taking useful classes wasn’t for me. Employers don’t appear to care about coursework or grades, there’s a big chunk of […]
I like writing papers about as much as anyone who holds a B.A. in English can. However, there are times that writing a paper doesn’t always cut it and there […]
*Okay, it is. But you know what I mean. Three years and five months have passed since I graduated with my undergraduate degrees, but it seems like longer than that […]
Back in August, I discussed the importance of student groups to your future career; and briefly discussed how, if your schedule allows it, you should consider pursuing student leadership […]
When it comes to online library school, the old adage, ‘you get out of it only what you put in,’ is imperative. With grad school in general, you’re expected to […]
I recently finished Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and just let me say, “Woah!”. If you haven’t heard of The Midnight Library or haven’t been lucky enough to get your […]
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 […]
While many students have already started their school year, I still have a few weeks left before starting my final year. Self-care is something I prioritize and have written about […]
When I first started preparing to enter my Master’s program, there were two questions I regularly asked professional librarians: What tricks did you develop that helped you to be successful […]
After months of masks, sheltering and social distancing, Labor Day this year just feels weird. In society’s mind, this is the unofficial end-of-summer and start of school year. Folks plan […]
As I approach the end of my MLS program, I find myself already starting to miss the library science academic environment and (as hard as it is to believe) the […]
I was browsing through the blog recently as I was trying to decide what to write about this month, and noticed a common theme in Mary, Sarah, and Nick’s posts: […]
I write this from my home in San Jose, California, where I am currently not able to open my windows. The wildfires raging to the east and west of me […]
Online learning isn’t for everyone, yet it can be the only option at times. Whether in a residential program that is phasing into in-person classes as the pandemic rages on […]
As I observed in my previous articles from last June and October, as well as this past April, finding, cultivating, and sustaining community is a big part of graduate school. […]
I’m rapidly approaching the end of my second year of grad school. Over the past 8 quarters and 13 classes, I have experienced a wide range of teaching styles and […]
This article marks the end of my MLIS program, and it will be the final article that I will write for Hack Library School as an MLIS candidate. If you […]
There is no class on it, it isn’t one of the ALA’s core values, and there aren’t many professional development opportunities focused on it solely. But, flexibility is a key […]
In one of my first posts, I wrote about why I decided to go to library school immediately after I graduated with my bachelor’s degree. In that article, I focused […]
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, […]
“I hope that in those weeks that you feel you really have it, you go even deeper. Don’t say ‘I’m just in this week to satisfy the requirements of the […]
Depending on your library school, you may already be mentally preparing to start classes or still have plenty of time to relax if your program is on the quarter system. […]
I think it is safe to say that it is no surprise that our current job market is incredibly precarious, and has been for a while, our current pandemic […]
2020 will define the next several years, perhaps the next decade or two, of librarianship in the United States. A cascade of statewide quarantines from March and onward wreaked havoc […]
When I entered library school in early 2019, I was slightly obsessed with planning out my degree. Part of this comes with the terrain of being an academic advisor, but […]
HLS 