The Good, the Bad, and the Other: The Library Community vs the Communal Library
Photo courtesy of Stones15woon Over the past few weeks, I have had several opportunities to consider the confluence of library institutions and neuroatypicality.
Summer Reading: Musings about Social Justice
I am completing two literature courses this week: Picture Books Across the Curriculum and Young Adult Materials. In ten short weeks, I read 300 picture books and 10 Young Adult […]
Libraries and the Newest Privacy Issue
Libraries no longer act solely as repositories of books. They now act as living rooms, offering anything from craft programs and makerspaces to computer classes and technology assistance. But what […]
Developing Social Consciousness
It has been discussed here on the Hack Library School Blog why LIS education must include social justice curriculum. Many schools are starting to incorporate this into their programs through […]
The Reference Interview – Customer Service or Lifelong Community?
Cover Photo by Aubrey Young I’ve been doing assignments of late that involve me seeking out reference librarians and evaluating them with my inquiries and it’s got me thinking about […]
Does the “I” in M.L.I.S. Stand for Internship?
For those just entering library school I thought I would share something I wasn’t expecting: the assumption that you secure an internship, graduate assistantship, volunteer position, and/or apprenticeship sooner than later […]
Academic or Public? Perhaps both.
I have worked in an academic library for thirty years. First in technical services, then transitioning to Access Services. Yet here I am, getting my MSIS with a concentration in […]
Having PRIDE in Your MLS
It’s June, faithful HLS readers, and, for many of us, that means one thing – Pride Month! Beyond colorful parades and fabulous parties, there is a serious meaning behind this […]
Conference Report: REFORMA Colorado
For those currently in library school, you have seen firsthand how social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion make sudden, relevant appearances in most LIS courses. If you need a place […]
Giving Credence to Experience in Library Science Education
A year ago I was finishing up my first year as a full-time English professor at a community college in a semi-rural town. After 7 years of teaching as an […]
Five (Big Picture) Tips for First-Year Library Students
When you’re caught up in the minutiae of graduate school, remember the big picture. That’s the most critical lesson I learned during my first year of library school. For me, […]
Meeting Marion
I am one semester into my Master of Library Science program and while my area of major interest (currently health librarianship!) has shifted and morphed over the past five months, […]
Reading & Resources List: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
See living document and feel free to add resources at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zcu6d-Gbgf7VkZ43POEYeqhP8VtGV6Xb-tVr_yy0-yM/edit?usp=sharing Approaching difficult conversations: Crucial Conversations book Presentation/video recording: “The Surprising Connection between Vulnerability and Power”. This 90-minute virtual session […]
Still Undecided: Public vs Academic Libraries
I entered library school undecided as to what path I wanted to take in libraries. I had worked for four years in my college’s academic library, so I was leaning […]
Trans Folks in the Library – A Meditation on Personal vs Public
A month ago, I attended a webcast seminar, ‘Transgender Inclusion in Libraries’, hosted by San Jose State University’s iSchool. This was the first webcast seminar, or webinar, I was attending under my own power since entering SJSU’s MLIS program, and this likely contributed to my wild underestimation of the number of audience members and, thus, overestimation of my ability to personally engage with the webinar speakers. Last semester saw the composition of my first academic paper written as an MLIS candidate, and with a sixteen-page paper on the queer information community in hand, I was eager to supplement the narrow spread of academic work that I had found that covers transgender issues in the library.
A People’s History of (Humanities) Computing in the United States
Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Joy Lisi Rankin’s 2018 book, A People’s History of Computing in the United States. As someone who thinks a lot and writes a […]
Thematic Research Collections: What’s the Big Deal?
I wanted to share some interesting things I’ve come across in my research for my thesis project. The project focuses on digital tool development as a way for librarians, research […]
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 […]
Research as a Library School Student
When I arrived at grad school, I was certain that I would not do research. I had chosen a course-based program for a reason – I wanted to learn from […]
Tribal Collections [Series]: Sustainable Heritage Network
This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space that focus on Native American communities and culture, using best practices set forth by […]
Tribal Collections [Series]: Warm Springs Sound Archives Preservation Project
This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space that focus on Native American communities and culture, using best practices set forth by […]
Librarians and STEM Diversity
Recently, I had the great privilege of helping coordinate Network Detroit 2018, a digital humanities conference at Wayne State University. The theme of this year’s conference was “Digital Humanities and […]
What’s the IFLA Trend Report and Why You Should Care
As ubiquitous as the ALA was to me even before starting library school, the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) was something I only learned about through a […]
Tribal Collections [Series]: The Indigenous Digital Archive
(Image from the Indigenous Digital Archive: “The Pratt’s Quarters Carlisle Indian School housed 100,000 children between 1879 and 1918″) This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space […]
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 […]
How to Cheat on the Language Skills Section of Your Library Résumé
I recently came across a charming phrase at the University of Oregon, where the Ph.D. candidate in linguistics can fulfill a language requirement through knowledge of “library languages, such as […]
Serving English as a Second Language Patrons
I still remember how scared and nervous I felt the first time stepping into a library in America. I didn’t really speak English. I looked different than most typical patrons. […]
Book Talk: So You Want to Talk About Race
(Photo courtesy of Ijeoma Oluo, 2018) Like all forms of oppression, racism is fraught with history, guilt, complexities, nuances, multiple perspectives, and it can be a contentious discussion topic. Having […]
Social Justice Librarians: Planning for Your Own Social Justice Group
In December 2017, after the conclusion of the University of Denver’s Fall quarter, I met with students from the first Privilege and Equity special topics course to discuss creating a […]
Beyond Sir and Ma’am: Gender Inclusive Libraries
Take a look at your library. What works in the collection are from LGBTQ+ authors? Are the public restrooms gender-inclusive? Is gender a category on your library card application, and if so, are there options beyond M/F?
These are just a handful of the gender diversity issues for libraries that we explored in a recent gender diversity training for public library staff.
Libraries Matter
If you belong to the library world and are in any way involved with social media (aka. if you’re reading this sentence), then you definitely heard about the disastrous Forbes […]
The Library’s Role in Gentrification
Here’s an ugly word: “gentrification”. There are some beautiful words floating around Detroit right now. “Resurgence”, “booming”, and “exciting” are shouted boldly from large headlines. Without a doubt, over the […]
ALA Bill of Rights Amendment: What Happened? What Can We Do?
If you’ve opened Twitter in the last couple weeks – and follow as many librarians as I do – I’m sure you’ve heard of the ALA Bill of Rights Amendment […]
Diversity: Am I Doing Enough?
Have you ever had an “AH-HA” moment when you were doing your readings? That feeling is the best! It happens mostly when the text echos with my own situations and beliefs, or when the text enlightens you with insights you have never thought about before.
Social Justice in Library School Education
Social Justice, Privilege, Equity, Inclusion. These terms are all terms that each of us as MLIS students have heard with some level of frequency. Libraries are commonly thought to be […]
Get Ready! The 2020 Census is Coming!
2020 will be a very interesting year. The United States will have another presidential election. The James Webb telescope, Hubble’s replacement, is scheduled to launch into space. And the United […]
My Experience as a Woman of Color at the Reference Desk
Working on the reference desk at a public library, I answer patrons’ questions every day. As many of you may know, these questions vary from finding a book, to more […]
Nonbinary Gender Identities in Libraries and Beyond
From an annotated bibliography on nonbinary gender identities in media, written by nonbinary scholar and librarian Charlie McNabb, and adopted by the American Library Association (ALA), “Nonbinary identities are those […]
Librarians for Social Justice [Farewell]
Librarians for Social Justice started out as a group created by students at University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science, and quickly morphed into a community organization as […]
A Noble Cause, A Racist History
The origins of the San Francisco Public Library are made of the same elements as the origins of the city itself. We are a city marked by exponential growth of […]
Reflections on Information Privilege
Last month I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Coalition for Networked Information’s Spring Membership Meeting. While the conference was full of intriguing sessions, one in particular that has […]
SESTA/FOSTA and LIS [Farewell]
My semester is coming to its end, though my grad school career is not (I still have one more semester!). Still, this will be my last post on Hack Library […]
Be the Face of Your Student Organization
Does your program have an ALA Student Chapter? At University of Iowa, our student chapter is called the Library and Information Science Student Organization (LISSO, for short) and I had […]
Starting Small: My Experience at the New England Archivist
Since beginning graduate school, I’ve had difficulty knowing how to engage with professional associations. Being both a Mosaic Scholar and a Spectrum Scholar, I received a free annual membership to […]
Creativity, Communities, and Your Local Library
My neighborhood library, the Main Library in San Francisco, is continually active with classes, events, speakers, and makerspace. Although there are many programs for adults, they are mostly focused around […]
Library Adventures
Prior to library school, I never saw librarianship as a particularly adventurous career. So I was pleased to discover that librarianship can take one to exciting places.
Focusing on Local: Librarianship and Public History
Part of what initially attracted me to pursuing a Masters in Library & Information Science was the public, or community focused, aspect of the work. As an undergraduate student in […]
Providing Library Services to Incarcerated Populations: Centinela State Prison [Series]
This is an interview series that will highlight the ways in which libraries and organizations serve incarcerated populations. You can read the first installment in the series, an interview with […]
Intellectual Freedom in the News: Net Neutrality Rollbacks & Banned Words
“Diversity. Entitlement. Evidence-Based. Fetus. Science-Based. Transgender. Vulnerable.” Over the weekend, reports have been rolling in about a list of words that the Trump administration wanted removed and banned from official […]
Providing Library Services to Incarcerated Populations: New York Public Library Correctional Services [Series]
This is an interview series that will highlight the ways in which libraries and organizations serve incarcerated populations. You can read the first installment in the series, an interview with […]
Information Science and Beyond: Remembering the Value of Information Science in Non-LIS Contexts
Last week a good friend of mine and I were discussing our experiences in our respective MLIS programs. What struck me from this conversation was how little either of our […]
Pass the 650, Please*
I am a mageirocophile. To those unaware, mageirocophilia is the love of cooking. With cooking, I get a little carried away. I devote my Mondays to food prep. I probably […]
“Professionalism” and Other Barriers to Entry
At this time of year, many of us are wading into the murky waters of the job hunt . This can be a daunting prospect, especially for those of us vying […]
Providing Library Services to Incarcerated Populations: Rare Books Outreach [Series]
This is an interview series that will highlight the ways in which libraries and organizations serve incarcerated populations. You can read the first installment in the series, an interview with […]
Check Yourself: A Career in Compassion
As I have entered my second and final year of library school, I have been doing lots of reflecting. With one year of library school down, and with graduation and […]
A Reflection on the Design for Diversity Forum
A Reflection on the Design for Diversity Forum When a friend of mine invited me to the Design for Diversity (D4D) Forum at Northeastern University earlier this week, it was […]
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 […]
Spaces
Over the past two months at my job, I have been processing the papers of Judy Chicago, a white Jewish feminist artist who is currently based in New Mexico. Prior […]
Sexual Harassment in the Library: When Patrons are the Perpetrators
I’ve held customer service positions since my undergrad in college. I’ve worked in a call center, handled escalated customer service complaints for a food service franchise, and now staff reference […]
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 […]
Thinking about “Post-Truth”, #ThisIsNotUs, & Charlottesville
Following up on yesterday’s great post about handling anxiety in our current social climate, I wanted to talk a bit more on situating ourselves as information professionals in light of […]
Feeling Some Anxiety About Recent Events? Take A Deep Breath. No, Really. [Series]
This is the second installment in a series about using Neuroscience Hacks for Library School. Here’s the first one on reasons to get more sleep. One evening, in the last […]
Information for Our Survival: LIS and Climate Change
Here at Hack Library School, we consistently highlight the ways in which the LIS field innovates. We declare over and over again: libraries are not simply warehouses of books, and […]
Not Merely Service Providers
It’s no secret that librarianship is a service-oriented profession, and that librarians are proud of this fact (as they should be). But as I’ve reflected
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 […]
A Tale of Two Outlooks
Like many of the Hack Library School writers and readers of our blog, I had the good fortune to attend the annual American Library Association (ALA) conference Chicago a week […]
Another Snapshot of a 21st-Century Librarian
The other day, I was looking through some old articles I had saved when I came across an article from last July 2016 in The Atlantic, “A Snapshot of a […]
Advanced Storytime: Beyond the Basics of Gender Representation [Series]
This series will explore the lessons that I learned about storytime through my own self-education process–through many hours of research, attending conferences, and my favorite method of learning, hands-on experience. […]
Lessons from outside the classroom : managing information overload
If I had to choose one phrase to describe my first year of library school, “information overload” would be a strong contender.
Three Things I am Not Neutral About
On April 13, Ivanka Trump sent out a tweet in honor of National Library Week. “…we honor our libraries and librarians for opening our eyes to the world of knowledge.” […]
It’s Not Shelved In the 420s: Legalized Marijuana and Other Intellectual Freedom Concerns
I’m lucky enough to live in Colorado – an absolutely beautiful state that boasts mountains and prairies, great educational opportunities, and an awesome community of library professionals. It’s also one […]
Advanced Storytime: Beyond the Basics of Diversity [Series]
This series will explore the lessons that I learned about storytime through my own self-education process–through many hours of research, attending conferences, and my favorite method of learning, hands-on experience. […]
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 […]
Imposter Syndrome as a Barrier to Library Use
Library school isn’t my first graduate school experience, nor is it my first experience at the University of Illinois.
Creating Community: Five Simple Steps to Help You Become Involved On and Off Campus
Getting involved as a student is an important part of the MLIS experience but it’s easier said than done (especially for those of us who are introverts!) Here are five short and simple ways to get involved on and off campus as an MLIS student:
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 […]
Our Work, Our Selves: Using Our Tools for Resistance
In the transformation of silence into language and action, it is vitally necessary for each one of us to establish or examine her function in that transformation and to recognize […]
Social Context and Assessment
Decontextualization is becoming one of the most dangerous concepts we face. In libraries. In our personal lives. Everywhere. When I say decontextualization, I am talking about removing social factors from […]
The Wonderful World of Non-Traditional Library Collections: Spotlight on Seeds!
You probably know by now that libraries worldwide are lending out so much more than books and media. To highlight just a few: The Sacramento Public “Library of Things” loans […]
ESOL Programs in Public Libraries
Public libraries offer a variety of programs for their patrons, from music concerts to DIY programs, and even English classes. Knowing that libraries are places where people seek information and […]
Archives, the academy, and the community
This article includes input from Carissa Hansen, Des Alaniz, and Samantha Abrams, three LIS-archives students interested in non-traditional archives settings and ways archivists can help make archives work more community-oriented. […]
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 […]
Adventures in Book Studies: Taking a Class inside Special Collections
As an LIS student, I’ve spent a lot of time in the main library on campus. My classes are there, I work there, and some mornings I even eat breakfast […]
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, […]
The Fight Against Restricted Access to Information: An Interview with Emily J.M. Knox
If you remember, back in early 2016 I wrote one of my very first posts about my personal challenge with balancing radical anti-neutral librarianship and intellectual freedom, and how this […]
Moving Past “Diversity and Inclusion” In Troubling Times: A Response to the SAA
It’s been a rough few weeks for everyone, it seems. The election of a Trump/Pence administration was not unexpected, but brings new urgency to the same calls for equity and […]
The Library Bubble: Why It’s Important and Why We Need to Burst It
In the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the bubbles I create for myself – the bubble that made the recent election results so utterly unimaginable to […]
So You Wanna Do A Thesis? Part 2: Moving Forward
Welcome to my new series about my decision to do the thesis option for my program, and my advice to those of you considering the same. Are you considering doing […]
Making Connections: Your SLIS-mates and You
As I’m sure many of you know the last month or so of the semester is a real time crunch. (We do have some posts on managing it all here, here, […]
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 […]
Human Library: Forming Community one “Book” at a Time
In September, the Human Library Champaign-Urbana had it’s inaugural event! Here are the experiences of the event and how it relates to libraries written by two of HLS’ writers. Nisha […]
Bilingual Preferred?: Library School and Foreign Language Requirements
Last year I wrote a paper about services for non-English-speaking patrons in public libraries. As I studied the history of the library’s relationship with languages, I couldn’t help but feel […]
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 […]
Metadata and Cataloging, Past and Present
This past summer, I took a Digital Collections Institute course. It was a one week, all day intensive course that delved into all aspects of the digital collections lifecycle, and […]
Professional Development While Oppressed
This post was inspired by something that happened to me, but I hope to make it relevant and helpful to all of our amazing readers. (Thank you all for filling […]
What’s Mine is Yours: A Love Letter to Interlibrary Loan
When I started working in interlibrary loan two years ago, my experience with the system was limited to getting one book on vintage hairstyles through my public library and frantically […]
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 […]
Changing Tides? Diversity and Inclusion in the Society of American Archivists
We live in interesting times to be an information professional. Among archives and allied professions (cultural heritage institutions, libraries), more professional organizations are recognizing the value of and urgent need […]
Archival Education: The Varied Landscape
Over the last six months, I’ve taken two archives courses at institutions outside of my home school through the WISE consortium – Archival Appraisal, Arrangement, and Access and Encoded Archival […]
