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
Here is this week’s installment of the Library School Career Center feature, which is presented in partnership with the folks from the blog Hiring Librarians. If you’re interested in library […]
I’ve already written in previous posts about my fairly “amateur” foray into the world of libraries as an MLS student – that is, my lack of specific experience in the […]
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on July 23, 2014. I saw a whole bunch of family and friends I don’t get to see very often not long ago, and naturally many of them asked me what I’m taking for classes this summer. I learned pretty early in my […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on February 2, 2011. As I’m sure many readers can attest to, it can be difficult to figure out the “right” path to take in library school in terms of courses. Since I was fairly undecided as to what type of library I […]
This is a guest post from Morgan Adle, MLS. Morgan has written previously for HLS here and here. U.S. News & World Report publishes rankings of graduate schools and programs, […]
Here is this week’s installment of the Library School Career Center feature, which is presented in partnership with the folks from the blog Hiring Librarians. If you’re interested in library […]
My decision to apply for an MLS program was one motivated primarily by the desire for a career change. My previous transitions between jobs have often been linked by more […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on September 18, 2018. What does a data model for long term storage of podcasts look like? For a person just entering into […]
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Morgan Adle, MLS. Writing application essays can be intimidating and a complete mystery to most of us. Having spent the last 4 […]
Editor’s note: This is a guest article from Morgan Adle, MLS I finished my MLS in 2015 and managed the MLIS Program at UMD for 4 years until the Summer […]
Long before Batman vs. Superman or Alien vs. Predator, a far more intense battle between library classification systems was waged – and it continues to this day.
For the low cost of free, these apps and websites might just help you out.
Disclaimer: This post represents the perspectives and experiences of a current student at the University of North Texas. This information is accurate only at the time of publication, and the […]
As I enter my second year (and final, Goddess willing!) of library school, I’m excited for several things happening this semester. I will be the incoming president of our school’s […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 19, 2015. Starting library school this semester? We’ve been there! Here’s our advice on everything from scheduling to technology to maintaining […]
THAT is the question. Although I feel like I’ve just started my journey as an MLS student, by the end of this week I will officially be one-third of the […]
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on July 28, 2016 One of the most important aspects of library school and, in the future as we pursue work in the […]
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Sarah Alexander, and was originally published on April 1, 2013. I recently went to the Music Library Association Conference in San Jose, California where I spent five days talking about music and books. And books about music. And organizing the music that […]
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Jessica Luna. Searching has become a common thread in my daily life as an MLIS student. Learning basic and advanced methods of […]
This article was originally published on October 20, 2016. Welcome to my new series about my decision to do the thesis option for my program, and my advice to those […]
If you’ve been following my writing for any length of time here, or you’re someone with an interest in non-traditional and alternative paths to librarianship then you are probably already […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on July 7, 2016. Recently a panel of Catholic University of America faculty and department affiliates interviewed me as a part of a […]
I started my library career as a page at a branch of a midsize public library system, and I still maintain that it’s my favorite job I ever had. (If […]
This article was originally written by a full-time on-campus student in 2011 but has since been updated by two current Simmons students and a recent graduate in 2022. Below are short bios and reasons why we chose Simmons over other programs as a preface to where our opinions are coming […]
Landing a librarian gig seemed simple enough. After all, I already had a year of experience working as a circulation assistant at a law library when I applied to UW-Madison’s […]
I love programming. It’s my favorite part of my job. It is enormously satisfying to see patrons enjoying themselves in the library. In the best situations, they learn something too. […]
Editor’s note: this article was originally published on September 21, 2017 Like many LIS students, I went into the program with the goal of someday working at a library as […]
As I work my way closer to my professional goal of becoming an instruction librarian, I have found myself digging deeper into the theory and practice of critical pedagogy. If […]
Disclaimer: This post is particular to the author’s perspectives and experiences. It is not intended to be representative or indicative of any other student, does not represent the official stance […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on November 7, 2018. Hello! Paige and Suzy here from the team over at The Librarian Parlor (@LibParlor), a space for librarians and […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on February 5, 2018. For those of you who know me, you know that I have a lot of librarian heroes, but my […]
Dear LIS Professors, Your jobs are extremely demanding, especially now. You have to deal with the pressures of publication, teaching, serving on committees, and hopefully retaining a semblance of work-life […]
Winter quarter has to be one of the toughest quarters to survive in library school (assuming you are on the quarter system). This is my third winter quarter, and it […]
Editor’s note: This article was first published on January 27, 2012. Since I was a high school teacher before I started library school, I’m finding it really hard to switch off my “teacher brain” even well into my second semester. This makes sense, considering that I want to become a […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 28, 2017. I’ve been writing for Hack Library School for about 6 months now, and in some ways, I’ve felt like […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on October 12, 2016. The following post is a joint endeavor by Chezlani Casar (online) and Kendra Werst (on-campus)… (Chezlani) When I started […]
You may remember from one of my articles way back that all of my education and background have been firmly rooted in the humanities. I lack serious experience in the […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 5, 2016. This semester I decided to do something that terrifies me: I enrolled in a storytelling course. As an anxious […]
We may be students, but expect to be asked to teach sometime in your library school experience, too. Maybe it’s a class specifically devoted to learning how to give effective […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on December 22, 2014. My registration for Spring 2015 was on the stressful side. Registration opened at 8:30AM on registration day, which meant […]
This past week I did something crazy. Or at least something I thought I would have to be crazy to ever do again. Maybe it was the fact that I […]
When I first started working with interlibrary loan, back around 2014, I received an email reply from one of the students I’d found an article for. “Thank you very much […]
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: […]
As a set of professions that facilitate and structure access to information, learning how to be a librarian or an archivist is clearly more than just knowing about reference and cataloging standards.
“Oh, this smells. What if there’s mold? Am I going to get the black lung? And eew! Is that mouse poop?!”
Tis the start of the season when we begin to list all the things we are thankful for: Tofurkey, pajama skinny jeans, NFL Sunday tickets, and failing a class in library school. I know, you probably said, “pajama skinny jeans, really?” but they’ll come in handy on Turkey Day, trust […]
So you know that you want to be a librarian, but have you thought about specializing in a certain field? Maybe you have an interest in emerging technologies or you want […]
Maybe you’ve heard of citation management software and maybe you haven’t but I am here to tell you why you need one for library school and life beyond library school. […]
Tell me if any of this sounds familiar. You’ve got a job, a family, and a list of homework assignments filling up your calendar for the rest of the semester. […]
In the past, I had been hesitant to declare a strong career interest in metadata and cataloging (I even wrote about my desire for an interdisciplinary library school curriculum for […]
Thinking about library school? Wondering what it’s really like? Think that online school might be the best/easiest option for your increasingly complicated life? Let me tell you about it, since […]
I spent about half of 2020 trying desperately to not go back to school. I had realized that I was interested in an archival career (an interest that’s grown to […]
The new school year has started, and with just two semesters left of my MLIS program, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what practical skills I […]
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. While it seems like a no-brainer that library students should get library cards and take advantage of public library resources, I thought I’d […]
Years ago as an undergrad on vacation, I strolled into the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s reading room. I may not have looked professional with my dyed bright red hair and […]
The home stretch towards my MLIS degree is in sight as I wrap up my final few days of my summer directed fieldwork (DFW) and look forward to my third […]
I’ve wanted to write on this topic for a long time, but kept putting it off. (There’s so many variables! Talking about money is weird and awkward!) What finally prompted […]
I’m not aiming to duplicate the wonderful work of Macy on the topic of environmental sustainability in libraries, although that topic will come up. It is quite amusing though that […]
Last month I wrote that I moved to academic libraries after spending four years working at a public library, first as a page then as a desk assistant. I thought […]
Disclaimer: This post represents the perspectives and experiences of the authors at the University of Alberta. Our opinions are not intended to be the opinions of any other student, faculty, […]
When I started my MLIS program at Simmons University last fall, I regularly heard my classmates introduce themselves with exactly what type of librarian they wanted to be. There were […]
Although it’s falling out of fashion, how many times were we given the advice, “pursue your passion”? As a young person, I took this for granted as a blaringly obvious […]
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 […]
I just finished my second year at Simmons University. Many full-time MLIS students are done with their degrees after two years; however, I’m in a dual degree program combining my […]
Group projects – love them or hate them, you’ll probably find yourself doing a fair few of them during library school. I’m in an all-online program, so I knew going […]
I’ve written before about my desire to tailor my time as an MLIS student to becoming a generalist with the skills and competencies to succeed in various contexts or careers. […]
The following post reflects my own experiences with the University of Maryland’s iSchool and the MLIS Program. These opinions do not reflect the opinions of all UMD iSchool students, the […]
Are you debating what type of library field you’d like to pursue after graduation? Has it been a challenge for you to sit down and decide your options? Would you […]
I’ve been fortunate enough to stay employed (at a library) during the pandemic, but even a quick glance through the posts at #protectlibraryworkers will reveal libraries who furloughed their staff […]
To say that I’m excited about graduating this coming May is a massive understatement. I’ve been waiting for this moment since finding SJSU School of Information’s MLIS program in December […]
So, all throughout my tenure here at Hack Library School, I have emphasized the importance of preparing for graduation throughout your time in graduate school. In November 2019, I […]
It’s 2021, and we’re still over a year later dealing with COVID-19 and the physical and emotional and mental strain that this pandemic is putting on all of us. We’re […]
Last September, I wrote on how the elementary school library I worked in was providing services despite distance learning. Now, at a new school site and closer to the light […]
This is a post that I’ve wanted to write for months, but I honestly struggled with figuring out what exactly I wanted to say. It’s no secret that invisible labor […]
I’ve always enjoyed learning about history, politics, and the US Supreme Court. With that background, you would think I was interested in going the law school and becoming a lawyer. […]
My piece on non-traditional and alternative jobs for LIS professionals from May 2020 was really popular. The Introduction to the Library and Information Industry (the course that I shouted out […]
One of the most incredible things that you, as a student, can do for yourself is to step out of your comfort zone in terms of course planning. Most of […]
More than five years beyond Andy Woodworth’s original call for big tent librarianship and Brit Foster’s echoing call for big tent librarian education, I begin to think that the theory may not serve us so well moving forward.
Registration for the Spring quarter is just around the corner for many students. With this comes the sometimes frustrating process of deciding which classes to take. Should you take classes […]
“The irregularity of our roles and the ever-changing nature of our profession can be a draw for those who crave variety and enjoy learning new things. Librarianship, thankfully, is rarely […]
I am a Californian by birth. I was raised in a city that included one of the many missions that dot coastal California, in my case the Mission San Jose. […]
I will admit that writing this particular article was difficult for me as, after finishing my last class for the Fall semester, I went into my winter break feeling […]
Remember all the way back to 2020. I know, I know you don’t want to. It’s fine, I promise, we’re only going back to November when I wrote about how […]
We talk a lot about equity, diversity, and inclusivity – or some other combination of those words – in our field a lot. It makes sense, given that librarianship is […]
COVID-19 has changed how I think about school. Prior to switching to remote learning this spring, I’d never taken a fully online course and I had no desire to. I […]
Ten units down, thirty-three more to go! I completed my first year of graduate school this month, and in the spirit of the new year, I thought I’d do a […]
With only two semesters left in my library school journey, I’d like to share what has worked well for me in terms of planning. While many graduate students employ the […]
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the fact that a master’s degree is required to be a librarian. For me, choosing to pursue a graduate degree in library […]
Coming from a working class background, career satisfaction was like the unicorn of life goals – nice to think about, but probably out of reach. Work life was something very […]
Over nine months ago, I was sitting in my seminar on academic libraries in McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland. COVID-19 cases were on the rise and many universities […]
This is probably unsurprising to many of you reading this, but LIS as an industry seems pretty active in podcasting. I myself have never really listened to any podcasts other […]
At the University of Washington, all MLIS students are required to complete a capstone project – some sort of large-scale, cumulative work that demonstrates information science skills relevant to our […]
OER (open educational resources) and ZTC (zero textbook cost) courses and programs are big topics of conversation at the community college where I work. Not a single Professional Development Day […]
My MLIS program at Wayne State University requires that one of the first classes a student takes in the program is Introduction to the Information Professions. Part of the course […]
I make no secret that I am a huge proponent of the open education and open pedagogy movements. Everyone who knows me professionally knows that my specialty in copyright has […]
I am a few weeks shy of completing my MSIS degree. This past month has been full of ups and downs and yet, no matter how tough it has been, […]
I like writing papers about as much as anyone who holds a B.A. in English can. However, there are times that writing a paper doesn’t always cut it and there […]
The School of Information at San José State University requires all incoming, first-semester students enrolled in the program to complete a month-long course that introduces them to the websites, software, […]
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