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)
Confession: While I’ve been working in libraries since around 2011, I did not think I wanted to be a librarian until about 8 months ago when I started to look […]
As my previous posts have illustrated, starting graduate school isn’t always easy. During your journey in graduate school, you’ll likely experience a lot of different feelings, emotions, and life […]
I am a researcher and an over-preparer, and I am generally pretty quick on my intellectual feet. But a question at an interview this week (for my dream job, eek!) […]
I expected my graduate classes to be like my undergraduate classes – writing papers, revising papers, readings, discussions – just more in-depth and with higher standards. This expectation comes from […]
In my previous posts, I have regularly exalted the importance of finding and establishing a sense of community while attending graduate school. This is especially true when you are attending […]
Service. Equity. Commitment to communities. These are themes found in both the American Library Association Code of Ethics and the National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics. Indeed, librarians […]
Allison Jennings-Roche recently wrote about attending conferences outside of library land and I couldn’t agree more. In fact, just a few months ago, I was at a cross-disciplinary workshop facilitated […]
I was recently invited to attend a presentation by the Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden along with library directors from across Wyoming. She gave a lot of information on […]
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; […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
At 16, I landed my first library “job” — a semester-long gig spending 90 minutes a day helping out at my high school media center for course credit. I loved […]
This summer, we participated in the Atkins Fellows program at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. We were the fifth cohort of the […]
Speaking as someone who is relatively new to the library and information science field, the past six months have been a huge learning curve for me as I have continued […]
In our lifetimes, experiencing natural disasters is an inevitable reality. For example, being a native Southern Californian, earthquakes have been a consistent source of stress in my region; especially within […]
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 […]
As most of us reading Hack Library School know, or at least have heard, the MLIS is a “minimum qualification” for actual employment as a big L academic librarian. Some […]
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 […]
Over recent months, a pattern has emerged in much of the networking that has shaped my professional life and the professional lives of those around me. In life and in […]
For the sake of context, I’m going to talk about myself for a moment. In addition to being a new contributing writer here at Hack Library School, I am an […]
If there is one thing that the average Master in Information and Library Science candidate is familiar with, it is the constant need for balance: school, work, internships, volunteering, and that is just a baseline that does not take into account added complications such as marriage, or kids.
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, […]
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 […]
Like so many others before me, I too have now come full circle from aggressively reading this site’s entire archive while deciding whether to send out my library school applications […]
It’s that time of the semester, when students finishing their degree in the spring are frantically applying for jobs, and it’s all they seem to talk about. Or at least, […]
I saw myself through to the end of my seventh year, and with reluctance and eagerness I retired my uniform, my rank, and my identity. I had aspirations to learn […]
Many HLS readers and several of our regular writers, myself included, are preparing to graduate from library school and to head into the real world. As Megan wrote last week, […]
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 […]
It seems like I always say the same thing around this time of the year — how is it the end of the year already?! I still remember exactly what […]
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 […]
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.
For my first post with HLS, I want to talk about everyone’s favorite topic: failure. A few HLS writers have written about this topic, but for me failure in library […]
A few times a week, I take a bus across campus to the university pool, where I swim for about thirty minutes before my job at Special Collections. Usually these […]
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 […]
In 2016, Christina did a round up of all of the resources brought on by the first LIS Mental Health Week. This year marks the third annual #LISMentalHealth week and […]
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that, on the whole, libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) tend to occupy a precarious position. Those of us who work for these […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I have a friend who, throughout a busy grad school semester, juggled four classes, worked a 20-hour-per-week internship, ran a business, and still somehow managed to feed her dogs and […]
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 […]
