There’s Always Room for Improvement.
One of the classes I am taking this term is Information Access and Retrieval. Back in the day, I suspect this course would have simply been titled Reference, but the […]
Thoughts on An “Ideal” MLS
As a hacker for HLS, I am challenged to consider some of the biggest ideas in the field of library and information science. Furthermore, one of the primary questions for […]
Less-charted Territory: Attending a professional conference outside of library land.
As a follow up to my previous post about taking classes outside of your program’s core curriculum, I also want to recommend attending conferences outside of library land. Last week, […]
How to Combat Imposter Syndrome During Your MLIS Journey
As I’ve mentioned before in my previous posts, starting graduate school can be stressful. This is especially true if you’re starting a program you have no previous field experience in; […]
Hack Your Studying with Retrieval Practice
At the beginning of my previous quarter, my Database Management professor announced to the class that we would be assigned a short quiz based on the lecture every week during […]
Gonzo Archivism in Practice
I know my title may conjure up memories of a particular blue Muppet, but I’m referring to gonzo in the journalistic sense. Gonzo Journalism, of which Hunter S. Thompson found […]
How I Survived My First Full Week of Classes
The very first classes of my first semester of library school started on the 3rd of this month; which means that, at the time of writing this, I am about […]
Why Being Organized Matters
Let’s face it. Most students who are getting a graduate degree are driven. Many, including me, work full time. And many are taking two classes and still trying to achieve […]
How to Hack Your Undergraduate Degree and Prepare for Your LIS Career
Starting graduate school, let alone college in general, can be a stressful experience. From selecting colleges and universities to apply to and being accepted to selecting a major, finding a […]
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 […]
A Librarian Without Their Library
What is a librarian without their library? This isn’t some ancient riddle that you only learn the answer to once you’ve earned that hallowed MLS (or MLIS, or MIS, or […]
Uncharted Territory: Taking classes outside of your MLIS program’s core curriculum
Sometimes, one of the best decisions you can make in your academic career is to go off the beaten track, and challenge expectations, even your own. After coming off one […]
The Value of an Internship
Ever since I discovered the New York Public Library’s Digital Collections, I’ve been interested in digital collections. The thought of those free and publicly available historical images filled me with […]
Why You Should Attend Mental Health First Aid Training
If you currently work at a library, take a moment to think about your user base. Have you ever served anyone who: Is depressed or anxious? Experiences panic attacks? Is […]
Going back to school for an MLIS as a full-time library worker
I’ll be five years into my first full-time gig in a library (technically second, if we count a promotion two years in) come August of this year; and I’ll be […]
Summer Reading List—Instruction Style
Learning about learning benefits us all. Whether you’re interested in public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries, archives, or museums, it’s highly likely that instruction will be part of your job […]
Showing Up for Yourself: Mental Health and Your MLIS
I have been reflecting on my experiences in graduate school and I want to share some of these thoughts, primarily related to survival. Since April, I have had conversations with […]
Making a Makerspace
Before starting at the University of Washington, a former coworker once asked if I was going to be taking classes on how to sew and thread a needle in my […]
4 Ways to Prepare to be a Children’s Librarian
No amount of coursework can prepare you for the experiences you will have as a children’s librarian. In one week you might make mermaid slime, wear a giant inflatable dinosaur […]
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 […]
How to Set Up a Preschool Library: 4 Tips for Teachers
It is important that children are introduced to books at preschool age. This is the period when the little ones best absorb the information and skills taught to them. Books […]
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 […]
On Job Hunting and Farewell!
It’s time for my final post, and is of course obligatory here at Hack Library School, I’ll be writing about finishing school and that dreaded job hunt. As Melissa so […]
How to Plan Your Graduate School Education
The “first” of anything has the capacity to be stress-inducing, from first days of school to first days on the job and beyond. This is especially true when it comes […]
Visiting Campus as an Online Student
Drexel University sometimes offers a class concurrently online and face to face. Online students like me attend asynchronously, learning through discussion boards, readings, videos, and activities. The face-to-face students meet […]
Hacking Online Classes
My first experience with an online class was British Literature my sophomore year. I began the semester excited about the flexibility an online class provides and the idea that I could be “in class” in my pajamas at home. I mean, who wouldn’t love that?
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, […]
Hack Your Program: Western University Faculty of Information and Media Studies
Disclaimer: This post represents my own perspectives and experiences. My opinions are not intended to be the opinions of any other student, faculty, or staff. Quick Overview I may be […]
Learning to Be Leaders
Picture someone you refer to as a “leader” and write down a few of the characteristics that define them as a leader. It can be a supervisor, a relative, or […]
What to Do When You’re Starting an MLIS Degree Without Previous Library Experience
As I reach the end of my first semester in graduate school, I’ve taken some time to reflect on my experiences so far in my program. Being in an […]
Hack your program: University of Tennessee Knoxville
The MSIS program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is comprised of on-campus and distance learners. Housed in the College of Communication and Information UTK’s SIS program has much to […]
On Being Perfect (97% of the Time) in Library School
By day, I am an academic advisor for medical students. I enroll students, counsel student, and generally make sure at least one small slice of the next generation of doctors […]
4 Tips for Creating Successful Online Group Projects
The biggest worry I had before starting library school was about group projects. Online group projects.
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 […]
Hack Your Program: Syracuse University School of Information Studies
The School of Information Studies at Syracuse University is “the original information school,” having been the first library school to rename itself in the 1970’s. Home to an undergraduate information […]
Research: It’s Not That Scary
When I was freshly enrolled in my MLIS and pouring over my courses for my very first semester, there was one class that I was very much not looking forward […]
Academic Currency and Leprechaun Gold
I don’t know how many times I have heard the peer-reviewed journal article referred to as the “currency” of academia but, just as with other forms of currency, it seems […]
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 […]
Why Library School?
I was so shocked the first time I learned that most libraries require a masters degree for librarians.
Facilitation & Data Operations in Academic Libraries
Many thanks to Christina Harlow for sharing her story! “Get your hands dirty. Go to conferences; sign up for workshops; propose the sessions and meetings you think are missing wherever […]
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 […]
Saving Money with a Second Master’s
In past installments, I’ve shown you how to test your job marketability with a deferred enrollment and how to cheat on the language skills section of your résumé. Today, we […]
Resources Beyond the Library
I recently had the pleasure of writing a post about some topic modeling research I did for a Digital Humanities class I took last year for our fellow library blog […]
Making the Most of Winter Break
Some programs might be a bit different, but at my school, the University of Denver, we get a long break between our Fall and Winter quarters—from about mid-November to the […]
8 Simple Ways to Kick Start Your Research in Grad School
Hello! Paige and Suzy here from the team over at The Librarian Parlor (@LibParlor), a space for librarians and other information professionals to share their experiences with research.
Supporting Scholarly Communication (Part 2)
This is part 2 of a two part post about the ways in which a Liaison Librarian can help support scholarly communication. You can read part one which covers how […]
What’s Your Teaching Philosophy?
During my recent library blog catch-up, I read this article from ACRLog about teaching philosophies. In it, the author speaks about how she was unable to answer a question in […]
Career Paths: Visual Resources
Are you interested in issues relating to the organization, access, and preservation of visual information? Interested in careers relating to data management, digital collections, cultural heritage, or art information? You […]
Should I take that Class?
When I first learned that I was accepted to library school, the first thing I did after telling my family and friends was looking at the class schedule. It had […]
Supporting Scholarly Communication (Part 1)
This is part 1 of a two part post about the ways in which a Liaison Librarian can help support scholarly communication. Recently I was invited to interview for an […]
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 […]
