Meeting the Women in the Boxes: Reflections on Events in the Archives
Have you ever seen the stacks of an archives? In most cases, they are rows and rows of standard sized archival boxes. The only indication of the exciting content within […]
Freedom and Uncertainty: The Summer After Graduation
You head to library school. You’ve got a plan. There’s a schedule of courses laid out before you, and within each course is the syllabus telling you what to do […]
Reflections and Gratitude: Farewell HLS!
As I embarked on my journey to library school, I was in saw of this here blog. Given my love for writing, I had yearned to write for Hack Library […]
Signing Off: Onward and Upward
I found Hack Library School when I was in the throes of deciding where I wanted to go to graduate school for library studies. I had applied and been accepted […]
Feeling the Burn(out)
In the summer of 2016, I quit my full-time, salaried job with benefits, packed up my belongings, and moved to Denver to begin my Master’s in Library and Information Science […]
Transitions: My Farewell Post
Before I start this post, I want to tell you all how much I have enjoyed writing for Hack Library School and sharing my perspective with its readers. Often, these […]
Why Oral Is Awesome
Us librarian types, we’re all about literacy, and we all acknowledge the power of the written word. Writing helped shape civilization as we know it; of course it’s powerful. Our […]
A Quick Guide to Choosing Classes
Hello Hackers! My name is Chloe and I’m a new writer at Hack Library School. I have two bachelor’s degrees in English and Theater with a focus in creative writing. […]
Dispatches from DERAIL!
This post is about the recent Diversity, Equity, Race, Access, and Identity in LIS (DERAIL) Forum held at Simmons College, in Boston, MA on March 4-5, 2017. Both authors (and […]
Introducing Our New Writers!
Drum roll please! Here they are: HLS’s twelve newest contributors. We can’t wait to hear how they will “hack” library school!
An Escalator That’s Only Going Up: What I’ve Learned From Failed Patron Interactions
I’ve worked at a public library for almost two and a half years now, and while I overwhelmingly love my job and working with my community, I have also had […]
Hack Your Program – University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa Library and Information Science
Aloha! I wanted to share with all of you some information about an LIS program you might not know much about. Though many people think of Hawaiʻi as a vacation […]
Just one more thing…
(Well ok, it’s actually going to be five more things but the Columbo picture wouldn’t have made sense if I’d given it that as a title). So here we are, […]
Technology & Coalition Building: A Critical Review of Online Platforms
Last September, Hack Library School outlined three initiatives to work on over the next year. Since then, we’ve made some changes according to these initiatives–some expected, some not. What has come out of those […]
Conference Planning 101
On November 11 and 12, Hawai’i Library Association held its annual conference in Hilo (on the “Big” Island). As a state-wide conference (in a small state), it’s obviously a much […]
Why Am I Here? End of Year Reflections
As we move through our individual degree programs, it is incredibly easy to get bogged down in the details of assignments, the job-hunt, and attempting to maximize our time in […]
Traveling Libraries: Librarians Thinking Outside the Box
Libraries are like safe havens to our patrons, but what happens when they can’t get to one? We have heard of the book mobiles, and some libraries throughout the nation […]
Day in the Life: Typical Tuesday
Many of us have written about a typical day in the life of a MLIS student and in an earlier post I described how all my days went in my […]
We Called, You Answered
I must confess, we weren’t entirely sure what would happen when we opened our ears to readers. Sometimes, blogging can feel a bit lackluster, a vain attempt to articulate some […]
Becoming Impossible
Let’s start by acknowledging that this post isn’t going to yield any job offers—not for you and certainly not for me.
So What Do You Do? My Experience at JHU
This post is part of our series “So What Do You Do?” in which LIS students talk about their experiences as interns. We want to showcase the wide range of […]
Hack Library School wants your input
“What will the information professions be next year if we define it for ourselves today? If we had a voice in the development of curriculum, what would that degree entail? […]
Ready, set – practicum!
Like some others this summer, I also completed a practicum experience for course credit in my program at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Having a vested interest in all things […]
Summer in the Univer-City
Hot town, summer in the univer-city! And you’re in the library. Helping researchers, preparing for the August onslaught of students, it’s way cooler than the outdoors (literally). But wait… what […]
How I Survived My First Semester
With my second semester fast approaching, I thought this would be a good time to review my first semester of library school. I work full-time and was taking two classes […]
An Update on Some Exciting Changes at HLS!
Things are changing here at HLS! We’re excited to welcome a new Managing Editor and Community Manager this summer. Here’s what our editorial team has to say about the change.
Digital Literacy, Small Children, & Lots of Hugs [Farewell Post]
During graduate school, lots of things changed in my life. I gained new perspectives, read challenging articles and theories, traveled to Italy to present research I worked on, faced the […]
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, […]
Sweat the small stuff: the other side of librarianship
I’ve no doubt that we have all been attracted to librarianship because of its glamorous, exciting image. However, there is another side to working in a library which may well […]
Watchdogs Guarding Watchdogs: Library Loss Prevention
Theft is a concern in all libraries. The best practices employ a combination techniques to create environments in which all stakeholders are empowered to protect the collection.
What Would Leslie Knope Do? Tools for Making Big Decisions
In the past few months, I’ve been hustling to land a summer internship, endlessly trawling the internet for opportunities, incessantly bugging professors and mentors for recommendations, and rewriting my resume […]
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 […]
From Homeschool to Library School… and lessons learned along the way
First, a brief background, since I’m new here. I finished my undergrad in 2003, and in the ensuing 12 years, went about as far outside of the academic realm as […]
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 […]
#TheBigSearch Continues
As spring rolls around, I know that many of us are “cleaning” up our resumes/CVs and wordsmithing our cover letters. It’s time to find that job…whether it be a graduate […]
Introducing Our New Writers!
Drum roll please! Here they are: HLS’s ten newest contributors. We can’t wait to hear how they will “hack” library school!
3 Lessons I Learned from a Reference Librarian
Reference librarian: A librarian employed in a reference department who is responsible for providing helpful information in response to questions posed by users of the library. Reference librarianship is […]
What Library Displays Taught Me About Effort, Good Intentions, and Failure
There aren’t a ton of articles on this topic here at HLS, so today we’re going to talk about failure. More specifically, my failure. I’ve been serving on the display […]
Call for New Writers! (Deadline Extended)
Hey there readers! Here at Hack Library School, we pride ourselves on providing engaging, thoughtful, and useful resources for Library and Information Science students. The best part of this experience is […]
HLS Holiday Gift Guide 2015
We haven’t featured a librarian gift guide since 2013, so I figured it was high time to give some updated ideas for great gifts for your friends, coworkers, and of […]
Trickling down from the top: How big decisions impact us
Often in our line of work, people above us make choices without fully comprehending what will happen next. The impact often trickles down (and usually gains momentum) and we as librarians and […]
[Series] So you want to be a UX Librarian?
Are you passionate about making libraries user-centered? Maybe you love designing study or communal spaces based on the experiences of your users. Or you find joy in crafting library services […]
The return of Dory: a farewell
It’s hard to believe that after two years of study my library school experience is finally at an end. It’s been a frantic couple of years of juggling all my […]
What am I Forgetting? Planning a Library-School-Sponsored, Community-Focused Event (for the First Time)
October, as the saying goes, is Archives Month, which gives “the archival profession an opportunity to tell – or remind – people that items that are important to them are […]
Peering Down the Rabbit Hole: Prefacing the MLIS with Work Experience
I still have two weeks until I even start classes for my MLIS degree. I’m starting to feel like Alice peering down the rabbit hole, waiting to fall. Unlike Alice, […]
Sparks Fly: Joining Returning and New Master Students
Orientation is daunting. Let’s just put it out there and admit it. You’re asked to come to a new building, talk to new people, and attempt to navigate a new […]
Theory Matters: Constructing a Personal Philosophy of Librarianship
What draws you to librarianship? What is it about this field that makes you excited, energized, purposeful? There’s something, right? Something that makes up the beating heart of your answer […]
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 […]
What’s Your Lib School Like? Part Two
Welcome to What’s Your Lib School Like? Part Two! In this series, we’ll be asking our contributing writers questions about their library school. Question 2: How does your lib school […]
Introducing Our New Writers!
HLS is proud to introduce our nine new writers. With an impressive range of experience and interests, we can’t wait to hear what they have to say! Jennifer Eltringham is […]
A New Chapter
During the last two years that I have been writing for Hack Library School, and serving as Managing Editor for most of that time, I have often thought about what […]
LIS Advice: the Greatest Hits
I’ve been thinking a lot about this post – how to sum up my time in library school, how to sum up my time with HLS, and what kind of […]
What’s Your Lib School Like? Part One
Welcome to What’s Your Lib School Like? Part One! In this series, we’ll be asking our contributing writers questions about their library school. Question 1: What has been your favorite […]
[Series] So you want to be a Children’s/Youth Librarian?
Do you love working with kids? Is storytime your “thing?” Do you do a great Hagrid impression? If so, a career in children’s/youth librarianship might be for you! To get […]
4 Things That Will Never Happen When You Become a Librarian
So here it is my final blog post for Hack Library School. As I type these words on the keyboard, my eyes are flooded with tears…of joy! It means that […]
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 […]
Farewell, HLS!
On May 29th, I successfully defended my dissertation (yay!) and now can make all those around me call me Dr. Skinner (seriously, with that name, how could I not?) Soon […]
Call for New Writers!
Hey there readers! Here at Hack Library School, we pride ourselves on providing engaging, thoughtful, and useful resources for Library and Information Science students. The best part of this experience, in […]
Managing Expectations: A Farewell
Sometimes life doesn’t quite work out the way we want. You might have been passed over for that great internship, your dream job might have been posted a full semester […]
The More Things Change
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 1849 I began my comprehensive exam with this quotation. Forgive me as I plagiarize myself, but it seemed fitting, as […]
Things I Miss about Library School–and What I’m Doing About It!
Since I graduated from North Carolina Central University with a Masters in Library Science last December, I’ve had about five months (where does the time go?) to catch up some […]
Moving On
For some, library school is a learning experience. It’s a chance to wrap your head around information ethics and Python and RDA, a chance to geek out with other residents […]
So you want to be a Latin American/Area Studies librarian?
So you know that you want to be a librarian, but have you thought about specializing in a certain field? If you have an interest in foreign languages and cultures or […]
This Is How I Study: Part 4
Inspired by the popular Lifehacker series, This Is How I Work, and the companion post from Letters to a Young Librarian, we here at Hack Library School would like to share with […]
This Is How I Study: Part 3
Inspired by the popular Lifehacker series, This Is How I Work, and the companion post from Letters to a Young Librarian, we here at Hack Library School would like to share with […]
This Is How I Study: Part 2
Inspired by the popular Lifehacker series, This Is How I Work, and the companion post from Letters to a Young Librarian, we here at Hack Library School would like to share with […]
Some Exciting Introductions
As we gear up for graduation season, that means we’re also gearing up for some turnover here at HLS. This year, that includes two of our senior hackers who are […]
Five Mistakes I Made in My First Quarter of Library School
New year’s resolutions and last year’s mistakes are two sides of the same coin. So, as we jump into the new year, the new quarter/semester, and the new stumbles it will […]
#critlib: Chatty Critical Librarianship on Twitter
No matter how exhausted I am, every other Tuesday night I do something that helps reinforce and nuance what I’m learning in library school: I spend an hour or so […]
On Overcommitting
It’s the final stretch of my third semester of library school, and I. Am. Exhausted. Between taking on several special projects at work, serving as an officer of […]
Introducing Our New Writers!
We are delighted to announce that Hack Library School has welcomed eleven new contributing writers. We were all very impressed with the range of interests and experiences that they will bring […]
Library School Life Lessons
I struggled with what to write about for my final HLS post. I got swept away in the transition from library school to new job, then considered and re-considered what […]
Out of Hopeful Green Stuff Woven
I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. – Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass […]
Call for New Writers!
Greetings readers! Here at Hack Library School, we pride ourselves on providing engaging, thoughtful, and useful resources for Library and Information Science students. The best part of this experience, in my opinion, is the community the writers have with each other and our readers. Unfortunately, because we’re a blog by […]
Why I Loved Lucy Even Though It Got Terrible Reviews: Toward an Info-Humanism
The last movie I went to before the onslaught of finals was Luc Besson’s Lucy. A lot of critics thought it was awful. A lot of critics felt they were too smart for its widely-debunked pseudoscience. A lot of critics argued about whether Scarlett Johansson is turning out to be secretly […]
Farewell Post: Never Miss a (News) Beat
This probably does not come as news to most, but moving to a new city, starting a full-time job and balancing an actual life is hard work. The past two months have been crazy busy and stressful. Every time I remembered I needed to still write a farewell post for […]
Farewell for now, and how I made a job-search battle plan
Writing my farewell post for HLS is a bittersweet experience. On the one hand, it means I have completed my MLIS program. On the other hand, it means that my time as an active Hacker has come to an end. Writing for HLS was the highlight of my experiences as […]
Jefferson Smith, Billy Beane and a Fond Farewell
Hey there Hackers, it’s been a while. The last semester has been a whirlwind of activity, and it’s been hard to string two thoughts together to share with you all. Not that you’ve missed me, as the rest of the HLS team has been doing a bang up job during […]
The Power of Story
Stories are everywhere: on our shelves, on our screens, and in our conversations. They compose the shows we stream and the ads we tolerate, the news we read and the news we share. As Jonathan Safran Foer wrote, “We live in a world made up more of story than stuff.” […]
Introducing the New hacklibraryschool.com: A Love Letter to Our Readers
Dear hackers, Well, we did a little spring cleaning, and we are delighted to welcome you to the new and improved hacklibraryschool.com! Since the Fall of 2010, Hack Library School has grown by leaps and bounds, from Google doc to wiki to the rotating cast of bloggers you all know and […]
T.T.F.N–Ta-ta for now!
Hack Library School’s greatest strength, in my opinion, is its changing nature. As writers come and go, the blog stays current, and the new crop of writers take HLS into the conversations that are happening in library schools across the country and around the world. This is a longwinded way […]
Digital Humanities Week, 1/20-1/24
We’re excited to share that next week Hack Library School will feature an entire week of digital humanities-related content – we’re dubbing it “DH week.” Here’s what you have to look forward to: 1/20 – An introduction to DH for library-dwellers, Ashley Maynor 1/21 – From an undergrad digital humanist, […]
Hack Library School Congratulates the LIS Class of 2013!
Hack Library School would like to take this time to congratulate all of our fellow LIS students who will be graduating this month. You’ve mastered the art of cataloging, curation, web design and story time and soon you will become the newest members of the MLS family. Though we can’t list every […]
The HLS 2013 Librarian Gift Guide
We thought it would be fun to put together a gift guide for library students. In fact, it inspired us to create our own Hack Library School Pinterest account where you will find this entire guide plus more under the Librarian Gift Guide board. See anything you like? Have other […]
Seeking Digital Humanities Blog Posts!
Readers, we have exciting news! Hack Library School will be featuring a digital humanities-themed week of posts in early January 2014. We are soliciting content from readers who have ideas they’d like to share. We’re looking for posts on the following themes: A basic introduction to DH Alt-ac careers for […]
Wrapping Up #HLSDITL Round 2
A few weeks ago, we asked fellow HLS readers to join us in providing a small glimpse of what it’s like to be a library student. Round 2 of this year’s Library Student Day in the Life, better known as #HLSDITL, began on Monday, October 27th and went through Friday, […]
#HLSDITL, Round 2
We would like to invite all library students to participate in round two of Library Student Day in the Life from October 28 – November 1. Our first round in March 2013 was a smashing success with seventy students participating! We hope this project, which will revolve around a community of students […]
Introducing Our Newest Writers!
We are super excited to share the newest Hack Library School writers. It was challenging to choose from a very talented pool of applicants, but ultimately these eleven stood out. Please join us in welcoming them! Aidy Silva-Ortiz Aidy began a love affair with libraries as a volunteer in her […]
Hack Library School Ebook
We’ve been keeping a little secret. Over the summer, we began the process of compiling content for our very own Hack Library School ebook. We’ve recently finished and decided it’s time to share The HLS Guide to Library School with the world. The ebook is a whopping 328 pages of content: […]
Goodbye Library School, Hello High School
Well, this is it, kids: my time in library school is over, and so too ends my time writing for Hack Library School. This is so long, this is farewell, this is auf wiedersehen and adieu. This is also when I’m supposed to write a nice post summing up my time […]
EveryLibrary/HLS Intern Update #1
This post is part 1 of 2 from our EveryLibrary/Hack Library School intern Mallory Arents. Stay tuned for her second post in September! Okay, so here’s the thing: working with EveryLibrary is a little scary. Scary not in the way of shark infested hurricanes or flesh-eating viruses, but rather because […]
Call For New Writers!
Greetings readers! Here at Hack Library School, we pride ourselves on providing engaging, thoughtful, and useful resources for Library and Information Science students. The best part of this experience, in my opinion, is the community the writers have with each other and our readers. Unfortunately, because we’re a blog by […]
Mapping Hack Library School
Dear Hack Library School Readers, We would like to visualize where HLS readers are in the world. To that end, we’ve created an open Google Map for collaborative pinning. Please add yourself to the map so that we can see where people live! You will need to be logged in […]
June Meetups in DC!
It’s that time again! Summer is here, and we know lots of Hack Library School fans are in the nation’s capitol for work, or internships, or school, or just for the heck of it. So we’ve got a series of meetups planned for everyone to get to know each other. […]
A Short But (Hopefully) Sweet Farewell, and Three Small Bits of Advice
With my program finished and graduation looming, I have officially reached the end of my short but happy tenure as a Hack Library School contributor. It was a fabulous experience, and I’m grateful to have had it. It was a two-shot privilege – not only did I have the chance […]
Introducing the EveryLibrary/Hack Library School Intern: Mallory Arents!
We are very happy to announce our first intern! While it was challenging to select just one person out of so many qualified and passionate candidates, ultimately Syracuse University student Mallory Arents stood out as the best fit for the role. Right now Mallory is working with EveryLibrary founder John […]
Goodbye. Farewell. So Long. C-ya!
With my final semester in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee wrapping up and the graduation ceremony quickly approaching, I wanted to take the opportunity of today’s post to say a farewell to all the fine readers of Hack Library School. It’s been a fun adventure […]
Updates from the World of a PhD Student: Finishing Up the Second Year
Hey everyone! I’ve been absent from posting as regularly as I used to, but I wanted to poke my head in and tell you all about how my PhD program is going. Hopefully it will be helpful for those of you considering a PhD yourselves! I’ve posted a bit about […]
Hack the Open Thread: Friday Edition
As those of us at Maryland’s iSchool wrap up our Spring Break, I’ve been reminiscing a bit about the school year so far, and trying to figure out my favorite moments. You know, those things about studying this profession you cling to when you need to remember that this journey […]
HLS 