A Minnesotan Moves to Montreal
Last month, I wrote a Hack Your Program post about McGill University’s School of Information Studies.
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 […]
Podcasts, Data Models, and a Library Student
What does a data model for long term storage of podcasts look like? For a person just entering into library school this may not seem like an obvious question you […]
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.
Hack Your Program: McGill University School of Information Studies
Disclaimer: This post is a product of my experiences as an McGill SIS student. Please know that my opinions are not intended to be representative of the opinions of any […]
Hijack your MLIS Part 2: Make the Most of Your Least Favorite Classes
In the course of library school studies, we all have at least one (face it, probably more) class that we just don’t like. It might be because of a conflict […]
Why Your School?
Almost one year ago, when my first year of library school was starting and I was preparing myself to go into my grad school orientation, I remember addressing the same […]
Two Databases in the Rough
As you work through your time in library school you are going to become intimately familiar with many different databases. You will know the ins and out of those hosted […]
Digital Humanities, Service to Graduate Students and Why Future Academic Librarians Should Care
This article presents a brief overview of the digital humanities and the reasons why future academic librarians ought to pay attention to it, and focuses on a somewhat neglected area of service–service to humanities graduate students
Stay Organized with Trello
In library school, as with any academic program, we not only have to manage schoolwork and projects, but we also have to keep track of related information like registration schedules, […]
The International Librarian
Hello, HLS readers! I’m Kait, and I’m excited to present to you my first post on international librarianship. This is a subject that HLS has tackled before, but I want […]
Deferring Library School (and Getting a Library Job)
The ink has only just dried on my first semester grades for my MLIS program. As proud as I am of the five months’ hard work that went into them, […]
Dance with Them that Brung You [Introduction]
Hello everyone! This is my first post as a new writer for HLS, and I am very excited to be writing for y’all! I wanted this first post to act […]
Hijacking your MLIS Program and Making it Work for You
The most difficult questions I received during the summer after I completed my English MA and before entering my MLIS program were questions like, “Huh, so why are you getting […]
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 […]
Living and Learning with Information Literacy
As a librarian-in-the-making, I have had some experience with setting up different educational websites and training aids—I run the site for my small educational business, for example, but until my […]
Lessons Learned: Tips for Starting Library School
As I’m in the midst of job searching, I’ve been thinking hard about my (almost) two years in library school, including what has gone well and what could have gone […]
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 […]
DERAIL Debrief
The third annual Diversity, Equity, Race, Accessibility, and Identity in LIS (DERAIL) Forum took place at Simmons College this past weekend. This student-led, student-centered conference was a joy to be […]
Special Librarian: An Interview with Jeff Waryan
For those of you who know me, you know that I have a lot of librarian heroes, but my favorite librarian is my dad. While I was in high school, […]
Group projects: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Group work is common experience for library school students, and a pretty popular topic of discussion here at HLS. I managed to avoid this experience during my first year as […]
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. […]
How to navigate bureaucracy at your school
While I hope this doesn’t happen, at some point during your time at school you might find yourself forced to navigate department or university bureaucracy in order to get something […]
Hack Library Conferences
There are countless of library conferences in and outside of the United States. Interested in attending? Don’t wait until after you graduate. Take advantage of your time as a student […]
So You Feel Like Your Class Was a Waste of Time
You did it. You’ve typed the final sentence of your grueling final essay. You’ve breathed a sigh of relief as your applauding classmates signal the end of your last presentation. […]
Book Club: Leisure Reading in Graduate School
As I entered my information on my Goodreads account, I hesitated. Should I even be setting a reading goal for this year? Back in January, I was determined to read […]
Building people skills at the reference desk
I’ve been working shifts at the central reference desk at the University of Illinois Main Library for nearly a year and half now, and it’s occurred to me recently that […]
Words of Wisdom: The Advantages of Having a Peer Mentor
I would not be exactly where I am today if it were not for the people who make up my support system. In particular, I have greatly benefitted from the […]
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 […]
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, […]
Stressed About School? Stick Your Head in a Good Book [Series]
This is the fourth installment in a series about using Neuroscience Hacks for Library School. Here’s the first one on reasons to get more sleep ,the second on breathing to regulate the […]
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 […]
The library’s role in scholarly communication
Over the last several months I’ve become increasingly interested in the role that libraries and librarians play in scholarly communications. Scholarly communication is, according to Wikipedia, “the process by which […]
Accidental Special Librarian – advice for when you decide to pursue the “alternate” path
Like many LIS students, I went into the program with the goal of someday working at a library as a professional librarian. I set off on my MLIS journey through […]
Learning Styles Debunked [Series]
This is the third installment in a series about using Neuroscience Hacks for Library School. Here’s the first one on reasons to get more sleep and the second on breathing to […]
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 […]
My Complicated Feelings About Being an “Unconventional” Library School Student
I’ve been writing for Hack Library School for about 6 months now, and in some ways, I’ve felt like a fraud the entire time. You see, I’m only taking one […]
Let’s Talk about Checks, Baby: Paying for Library School
If you’re thinking about applying for a graduate degree in library science, you know a thing or two about writing big checks. Maybe you’ve already been making payments on your […]
Helpful Hacks from the Halfway Mark
“Once you’re halfway home, you know that you can probably get the rest of the way there.” – Janis Ian Last August, I quit my full-time nonprofit tech job and […]
Incoming Student Checklist
Welcome, incoming library students! These first few weeks before school starts can be a mixture of excitement and nerves. If you want to get acquainted with the profession before school […]
Connecting with the Incoming Class
It’s officially August, which means summer is coming to an end, and the first day of classes is right around the corner. This time last year marked a move to […]
Variety is the Spice of Life: The Multiple Dimensions of Academic Librarianship
This summer I had the opportunity to slightly switch gears and work at the International Area Studies Library at my university.
Notes on Acquisitions Trips
As you may or may not know, I’m ultimately interested in becoming a subject librarian. More on this (hopefully) in a later blog post, but for now what you need […]
Hack Your Conference Budget
When I first started library school, my professors told me that conferences are great… if you had a couple thousand dollars to spend. While there’s no dodging the fact that […]
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 […]
Trace: Perspectives Beyond Library World
“One journey seeded all that followed” (Savoy 2015, 5). This opening sentence to Trace: Memory, History, Race and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy sets the tone for the entire […]
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 […]
Advanced Storytime: Beyond the Basics of Discipline [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.
Hack Your Program: University of Iowa (Update)
Disclaimer: This post, co-written by Annie Tunnicliff and Chloe Waryan, is an update to Julia Skinner’s fantastic 2011 post about the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). […]
One way or another: deciding which librarianship path is for you
You know you want to be a librarian, but do you know which kind of librarian you would like to be? There are many fascinating areas of specialties in librarianship, but the ultimate divide is most often between academic librarianship and public librarianship. Why do some people choose one route […]
Off the Tracks: The Benefits of Being Unspecialized in your LIS Education
The ALA states that the LIS student’s choice to specialize (also called “tracks” or “concentrations”) depends on “an assessment of [the students’] past experiences, education, personal strengths and interests, geographic […]
Professional Development for your Earbuds
One of the hazards of library school is a distinct lack of spare time. While I find myself doing plenty of reading for classes, it’s tough to squeeze in extra […]
Medical Librarianship: You Can Do It Too!
After two months working as a Health & Life Sciences Librarian at UCLA and fresh off attending my first Medical Library Association (MLA) annual conference in Seattle, I can tell […]
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. […]
Method to the Madness: Reflecting on my First Year of Library School
The end of a semester is always a whirlwind. I am especially trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have just completed my first year of graduate […]
Choose Your Own Professor: Faculty Interviews from a Student Perspective
This year, my LIS program will be losing a faculty member to another university. We are sad to see them go! Because we are a smaller department, this is a […]
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 […]
So You Wanna Do a Thesis? Part 6: The End
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 […]
Reflections on a Distance MSLIS
Like many of you out there, I am fast approaching the end of my time working on my MSLIS. Although I will be moving on into a PhD program at […]
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. […]
I Say Processing; You Say Cataloging: An Exploration of Archives in Libraries
As I am fast approaching the midpoint of my graduate program, I am realizing the importance of following my curiosities about the LIS field. One reason for this mindset is […]
Getting Through Group Projects
In Library and Information Science programs, there’s one assignment that students dread more than any other. Yes, I’m talking about the group project. Group projects are extremely common in LIS […]
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 […]
The Value of Librarianship: A Worthwhile Pursuit
While studying History in undergrad, I was assailed all too frequently with “So, what are you going to do with that degree?” And now, when I tell folks that I […]
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. […]
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:
I Break Books (And Put them Together Again): The Sacred Book and Book Conservation
With some trepidation I laid a ruler on the book, just at the hinge of the spine, took up my scalpel and sliced right through the book cloth. With another quick incision along the back, the spine was loose and I peeled it off the text bock. The book lay before me in pieces.
So You Wanna Do a Thesis? Part 5: The Literature Review
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 […]
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.
ASpace: The Archival Frontier
ASpace: The Archival Frontier. These are the voyages of the Star Ship UIowa. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new information management systems, to seek out new tricks and new […]
So You Wanna Do a Thesis? Part 4: Paper Structure
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Adieu 2016…Bring It 2017
A year ago I was finishing up my last days of being a speech therapist. A year ago I was leaving Chicago, my home of 10 years, only 25 miles […]
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 Ultimate “Malquestion”: Online or Face-to-Face Classes?
I am currently enrolled in the on-campus MSLIS program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My initial plan was to do their online Leep program so I could still […]
Thesis or Internship- What’s Best for me ?
We know that as graduate students we have to do a capstone project our last semester. Usually this capstone is a thesis, which may be scary and overwhelming. Some graduate […]
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 […]
Speed Mentoring- Can it Work for You?
The importance of mentoring has been addressed often by Hack Library School contributors (here, here, and here). In an effort to learn more about how to obtain a mentor, I […]
Every e-reader their digital book
In studying for an MLIS in Digital Library and Information Services, one of the subjects we’ve covered in detail is digital reading. This has been from the viewpoints of the […]
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 […]
Digital, Digital, Digital: Content & Collections
Co-authored by HLS Contributing Writers, Carissa Hansen and Kendra Werst. This post is meant to serve as a primer for beginners interested in digital collections work. There are three sections: […]
So You Wanna Do A Thesis? Part 1: Preparation
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 […]
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 […]
How to participate (when you can’t participate)
The following post is a joint endeavor by Chezlani Casar (online) and Kendra Werst (on-campus)… (Chezlani) When I started library school in the fall of 2015, I virtually attended the […]
Giving Yourself Credit(s)!
As my previous HLS posts have urged, it is important to take it easy on yourself, stay grounded, speak up, and trust the process. Well, in this post, I am […]
Dirty Books: A Hypochondriac’s Guide to Archival Donations
“Oh, this smells. What if there’s mold? Am I going to get the black lung? And eew! Is that mouse poop?!”
First steps in Information Retrieval
Before starting an MLIS in digital librarianship I have worked in libraries for around nine years. Despite being involved and enthusiastic, a lot on the course is new to me. […]
Cataloging the Margins: Zine Librarianship
Zine librarianship presents an interesting intersection of archival practices and librarianship, while also posing a number of challenges for fitting zines into the practices and standards developed around printed books.
Hack Your Program: University of Wisconsin, Madison (Update)
Disclaimer: This post is an update of Tomissa Porath’s 2011 “Hack Your Program” review of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s MA Program in Library and Information Studies with an emphasis on […]
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 […]
Making Your Program Your Own
It’s that time of the year again. For those of us that took a summer off from our LIS studies to have, well, a summer away from school, welcome back! […]
Summer Practicum in the Repository & Digital Curation Department
It is required that students in the MLS program at Indiana University fulfill one internship. Since I am specializing in Art Librarianship, I am required to complete two internships. This […]
How Do Librarians Learn to Teach?
“Here,” my boss said, handing me a DVD, “you can watch this recording of me teaching. It will help.” I was a few months into a library technician job at […]
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 […]
