Ah yes, it’s back-to-school season, friends. Time to get ourselves refamiliarized with the sensations of lectures, discussions, and homework. If you were lucky, you had the summer off and had […]
Editor’s note: this article was originally published on June 5, 2019. For the sake of context, I’m going to talk about myself for a moment. In addition to being a […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published January 14, 2015. I mostly read HLS posts from my fellow contributors and nod along – I learn new things all the time […]
I haven’t given up on summer yet. School doesn’t start for another two weeks, so I’m going to wring every last drop of relaxation out of my remaining school-free days. […]
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 […]
I started my current job right before the pandemic started, so I have a faint, yet glittering, memory of what library life was like pre-pandemic. Strange as it is to […]
This is a guest post from Charly Stoehr. In 2009, being at a crossroads with my current career ending, I decided to take some classes that I had always wanted […]
Wrapping up my second year of library school, I have finally had a little time to pause and reflect, which led me to wonder, did I actually learn anything? This […]
Like many previous bloggers, my time has come to say farewell to Hack Library School and reflect on the last three years. I graduate on June 4 and will be […]
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 […]
Disclaimer: This post is particular to the author’s perspectives and opinions. It is not intended to be representative or indicative of any other member of the MLIS Admissions Committee and […]
Editor’s note: this article was originally published on February 29, 2016. As I get started with my second semester, I thought it would be a good time to re-visit the […]
Editor’s note: this article was originally published on September 6, 2011. Alyssa Vincent is entering her second (and final) year with Emporia State University’s School of Library and Infromation Management Program in Portland, Oregon. She is a library assistant at the University of Oregon-Portland Library and Learning Commons and a […]
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 […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on April 2, 2014. Do you remember what it was like to be an undergraduate? I took a few years off between college […]
Many of us pursuing graduate studies are at the stage of planning growing families as well. Ifyou’ve considered adding a child to the mix while doing your MLIS, and are […]
Student groups. Their importance has been noted in previous posts for networking and building community and connection in your program. Last summer I decided that becoming involved in a student […]
This topic may not relate directly per se to library school, but it applies to anyone who has a job, will have a job (whether in the LIS field or […]
I don’t know about anyone else, but I got sick A LOT this semester. I haven’t really gotten sick the last two years, and it’s like my body decided it […]
It’s December! We did it! If you’re on the quarter system like me, then vacation has already started, and if you’re on semesters, then break is right around the corner. […]
Over the last 20 or so months, I’ve seen an uptick in conversations regarding mental health in academia. Current and former Hackers have written some excellent posts about navigating mental […]
The topic of group work has been a frequent one at HLS and since I am embroiled in a lengthy and complicated group project during this fall quarter at the […]
“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 […]
Learning how to give effective feedback to colleagues, classmates, and even professors as well as receive feedback yourself is a skill that takes practice, nurturing, an open mind, and a […]
I’m in my final semester of my dual degree program at Simmons University. As I’m writing this post, the semester is about 1/3 of the way through. It’s the point […]
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. […]
Jessica Fletcher, the goddess herself, portrayed by Angela Lansbury, has kept me company during long IM chat shifts with no users, during marathons of library data analysis, while I was […]
I come from a family that doesn’t have work email, retirement stocks, or salaries. My parents and siblings, my “people,” are name tag and hairnet people. Clock-out for your lunch break people. With four older […]
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 […]
It’s crazy to think that I’m finally writing my farewell post. It’s even crazier to think that I’ve written over two dozen posts for Hack Library School because I applied […]
Dear readers, when you may be reading this, I am currently two weeks away from graduating from my Master of Library and Information Science graduate program at San Jose State […]
I have high expectations for myself when in comes to school. I always have, sometimes to the point of unnecessary angst. Case in point, I have a vivid third-grade memory […]
During my short time in the LIS field, I’ve had the pleasure of being interviewed for various positions and interviewing others for positions within my own library. While related, they […]
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 […]
I don’t know about you all, but I am in the midst of one of the busiest semesters I’ve ever had. Between taking classes, writing a thesis, contributing to this […]
As I mentioned last month, it is important for you as a library school student to begin researching not only potential job and internship openings, but employers as well, as […]
Last week, in a fit of oddly misplaced energy, I found myself making cheese tortellini by hand. It was not an easy process. I have very little upper body strength […]
One of the new responsibilities that I’ve undertook this semester is monitoring our library’s online chat reference service as an on-call librarian once a week. When talking with some friends, […]
I remember thinking at some point around the age of 17 or 18 that my days of having summer and winter vacations were over forever. My aunts, uncles and cousins […]
Out of everything I know I will have to manage this semester in addition to my culminating project and my internship, job hunting is one task that, at times, has […]
On January 6, 2021, I was getting some work done when I heard that the U.S. Capitol was being breached. For the rest of the night, I settled in to […]
Sometimes, I leave work feeling like a million bucks. Other times, I almost run out the door to get home as soon as possible. Those instances are usually caused by […]
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 […]
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 […]
So, I’m done?! I finished my last class in Children’s and Youth Programming a few weeks ago after presenting my final group project; which was a summer reading program designed […]
In a little more than a week’s time, I will don my deliciously lemon yellow hood, (virtually) cross a stage, and know, with a heart full in equal measure of […]
This past summer, I took part in an oral history project designed to collect stories of the University of Iowa (UI) community’s reactions to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic in textual […]
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 […]
One of the things that drew me to librarianship in the first place was the helpful and non-judgemental environment that many librarians throughout my life have created for me. While […]
I feel lucky to have grown up in Miami, a primarily Hispanic city, where I am not very different from any other Hispanic American. However, as I have grown and […]
Getting stuck in a funk is a common occurrence. Feeling off your game and disconnected from the world can impact your life, work, and school. So, how do you get […]
While attending the University of Iowa’s School of Information Science, I have also served as a student cataloger in the UI Main Library’s cataloging department. Like most metadata and cataloging […]
So, I am writing this roughly a week after the initial Election Day here in the United States, two days after our president-elect and vice president-elect have been announced […]
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, […]
Back in August, I discussed the importance of student groups to your future career; and briefly discussed how, if your schedule allows it, you should consider pursuing student leadership […]
I recently finished Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and just let me say, “Woah!”. If you haven’t heard of The Midnight Library or haven’t been lucky enough to get your […]
At this point, the fall semester is in full swing for many of us. For me, I’ve just wrapped up the third week of the semester and I’m gearing up […]
Whether you are starting your library school journey or nearing the end, many of us are juggling working while going to school. If you are like me, I was apprehensive […]
Writer’s block is a funny thing. It can completely derail your writing process, or be an odd source of inspiration. This is what my experience was while writing this article: […]
I was browsing through the blog recently as I was trying to decide what to write about this month, and noticed a common theme in Mary, Sarah, and Nick’s posts: […]
Earlier this month, I came across a tweet from a high school teacher: I think many students can agree that this past spring semester was not what we envisioned: between […]
As I observed in my previous articles from last June and October, as well as this past April, finding, cultivating, and sustaining community is a big part of graduate school. […]
This article marks the end of my MLIS program, and it will be the final article that I will write for Hack Library School as an MLIS candidate. If you […]
There is no class on it, it isn’t one of the ALA’s core values, and there aren’t many professional development opportunities focused on it solely. But, flexibility is a key […]
In one of my first posts, I wrote about why I decided to go to library school immediately after I graduated with my bachelor’s degree. In that article, I focused […]
As this July closes, I will be finishing up my third semester of library school. During this time, I’ve managed to juggle a part-time library specialist position, a part-time graduate assistantship, […]
I think it is safe to say that it is no surprise that our current job market is incredibly precarious, and has been for a while, our current pandemic […]
Choosing to be civilly engaged has never been easier. As citizens, we are bombarded with 24-hour news through every means of device: our phones, computers, televisions, and, if you are […]
Like many of you, I have been experiencing a lot of emotional fatigue lately. Between our ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the events that have unfolded over the last few weeks […]
Libraries have a diversity problem and a neutrality problem. We all know this; and a lot of us even actually acknowledge it. But, we’re still fighting to shift the tide […]
Last month, I posted about how working from home and being in school made for a terrible experience as worlds collide. I wish I could say there’s been some improvement, […]
While preparing for the end of my MLIS program and trying to figure out my next steps recently, I have to admit that I observed something interesting. As I […]
Fourandsixty. (2015). [International Labour Day Edit-a-Thon, University of Maryland Hornbake Library] [Photograph]. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/DC/UMDLabor Next week will be the first time I will not be working, in school, or both […]
Valentine’s Day – a day set aside to celebrate the ones you love, a day devoted to one of the highest expressions of the human spirit. This past Valentine’s Day […]
So I’m gonna level with y’all: my mental health has been on a rollercoaster these past few weeks and I’m not sure I have anything super significant to contribute to […]
As an online student at the University of Washington, I take just two courses each quarter over the course of three years. At the beginning of this quarter, I was […]
So, last October, I wrote about how finding community during your time as a MLIS student is important, especially if you are an online student. This has become especially […]
Before my area went under shelter in place orders back on March 17th, I had a library paraprofessional position and went to school full time, with plans for a summer […]
Are you tired of the way that your library has always shelved its books? Are you eager to shake things up as the new librarian fresh out of school? Is […]
Coronavirus has caused us to make plenty of changes, from library closures to cancelled events and a shift from residential courses to an online environment. Here are some ways to […]
So, originally, I had planned to talk about how I have observed an observable lack of agency among some of my peers from my days as an undergraduate student to […]
If you have ever engaged with a piece of entertainment set during any historical period involving severe social events such as war or sickness, complete with emotionally charged scenes of tragedy […]
This week, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about all of the many things I do as a library supervisor that are not written into my job […]
As I am sure any graduate student can attest to, planning for your career after graduation can be a little daunting. This especially is true for how to dress […]
During the second to last semester of my MLIS program, I can say with some amount of certainty that, however many courses one takes, there is no guarantee that any […]
There’s a sign in the cafe attached to the library I work at. It reads, “The UC is making us sick.” I work at the University of California, Santa Cruz […]
In a supportive group of professionals that brainstorm together, a potential student recently asked what subject is best to major in prior to pursuing an MLIS. I’m not an expert […]
The new year is here, and with that, a new semester has begun. However, many of us have jobs, relationships, hobbies, and various other obligations in addition to our academic […]
Roughly six and a half years ago, I was introduced to the concept of media and information literacy through a Mass Media and Society course I took as an undergraduate […]
This week marks the beginning of my final year of graduate school. If all goes well, I will graduate in December and walk the following May. So far, it has […]
Those who are interested in this career path, have started on this career path, or are far into this career path already are familiar with some of the top responses to […]
The end of the year is almost always a time for reflection, to look at the past and apply lessons learned to the future. For some reason, one past experience […]
Around this time of year, I always find myself reflecting on the events of the past year and preparing for the new year ahead. This has especially been the […]
Did everyone hear that? That was the sound of one giant sigh of relief. If your school runs on semesters, you are very likely finished or close to finished with […]
(Content warning: Gun violence)
HLS 