One of my last tasks in my library school career is my choice of end of program assessment, an online portfolio. As I roll the credits on my time in library school, I wanted to take a moment to talk about “the hard stuff.” My portfolio is essentially a highlight […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
As the 2018-2019 school year draws to a close, use these words of wisdom in the form of horoscopes as advice to inspire you as you continue toward the finish […]
Email alerts are disruptive, by design. Today, though, that disruption was exactly the encouragement I needed to reflect on library school, and life.
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, […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
It is hard to believe that, in a little less than two months’ time, I will be graduating. Each day is filled with the expansive feeling, not unlike that of […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
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 […]
I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death. They continue to participate in every act, thought and decision we make. Their love leaves […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
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 […]
Have you ever heard of the Hype Cycle? I hadn’t heard of it until listening to the third season of one of my favorite podcasts, ZigZag with Manoush Zomorodi and […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Many thanks to Karen Estlund for sharing her story!
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 […]
Breaking News: The University of California System (aka ALL of the “University of California” campuses across the state: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC […]
“Do you have any good books?” If you’ve worked at a reference desk in a public library, you are all too familiar with this frustrating question.
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
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 […]
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
I was so shocked the first time I learned that most libraries require a masters degree for librarians.
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
In library school, you learn about many important leaders, trailblazers, researchers, and more who have shaped the field of librarianship. Your area of specialization can often determine who you learn […]
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Today, I wanted to share a guest post that is a little off of our beaten path, but would be helpful for all of us. As graduate students who all […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Library hand may sound like something a doctor treats you for after you’ve written too many catalogue cards, but it was actually a handwriting style designed to make the cards […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
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, […]
Tumblr and Facebook’s decisions to censor and remove any adult or erotic material on their platforms has set the internet atwitter (pun intended). There were, of course, thinkpieces lauding or […]
I did it! I got my MLIS! Now what?
Nothing says self-confidence like a young girl wearing jean overall shorts and oversized glasses, playing the recorder, and dancing her way through her neighborhood in a music video. This is […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Or, how singing with two year olds prepares you for librarianship. It’s here— your first story time. You’ve taken the Children’s Services courses, you’ve watched your colleagues run a few […]
Well Hack Library School, this is it – my final post on these hallowed pages. I’m starting a job in February at a Science Library, which is basically my dream […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this 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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
It is with a heavy heart that I must tell y’all this is my last post for Hack Library School. When I agreed to write for the site I did […]
What did you think the last time you checked a book in and found notes in the margins, or passages underlined, or pages dogeared? Most of us, I’m sure, are […]
With the popularity of video games and more libraries circulating non-traditional materials, Burlingame Public Library experiments with offering a video game collection.
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the in glossy books of profiles of women in history, bringing alive stories that have been forgotten or ignored. […]
This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space that focus on Native American communities and culture, using best practices set forth by […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Networking. It’s a word that’s thrown around a lot and is an inevitable part of professional life. Some previous HLS writers have given their thoughts on the topic. One wrote […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
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 […]
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 […]
This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space that focus on Native American communities and culture, using best practices set forth by […]
I have three screens in front of me as I consider writing about The Best Interface Is No Interface by Golden Krishna, a book whose main thesis maintains that our […]
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.
When you’re in the thick of the semester with a mound of reading and assignments ahead of you, you sometimes need a little inspiration. Amidst a polarized political climate, school […]
Recently, I had the great privilege of helping coordinate Network Detroit 2018, a digital humanities conference at Wayne State University. The theme of this year’s conference was “Digital Humanities and […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
That’s right, it’s time to talk about the great debate of library school students (and all readers, for that matter). The topic that leads to the most personal of classroom […]
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 […]
When I started library school, I knew I wanted to be a STEM librarian. For those who aren’t familiar, STEM stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math”. I have an […]
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
A lifetime ago, in US Army Basic Training, there was a private in my platoon who took it upon himself at the completion of every long march, equipment inspection, or […]
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 […]
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
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 […]
As ubiquitous as the ALA was to me even before starting library school, the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) was something I only learned about through a […]
Job searching is nerve-wracking, and one of the most daunting parts is putting together a resume or CV. It’s easy to get stuck on the treadmill of questions like “do […]
(Image from the Indigenous Digital Archive: “The Pratt’s Quarters Carlisle Indian School housed 100,000 children between 1879 and 1918″) This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
The selections for my book club with friends can vary widely, but we often return to two major themes: books about books and World War II historical fiction. When we […]
A typical day for me might include going to class, meeting with a professor or two, scouring LinkedIn, staffing the reference desk, grocery shopping, and talking to my mom. I […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
The other day I saw a meme that made me pause. It read “The Dark Ages began with the closing of a Library”. It took me a bit by surprise […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Last month, I wrote a Hack Your Program post about McGill University’s School of Information Studies.
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 […]
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 […]
I still remember how scared and nervous I felt the first time stepping into a library in America. I didn’t really speak English. I looked different than most typical patrons. […]
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
(Photo courtesy of Ijeoma Oluo, 2018) Like all forms of oppression, racism is fraught with history, guilt, complexities, nuances, multiple perspectives, and it can be a contentious discussion topic. Having […]
In December 2017, after the conclusion of the University of Denver’s Fall quarter, I met with students from the first Privilege and Equity special topics course to discuss creating a […]
Reading about your profession in a work of fiction is an interesting experience. You’re on the alert about its portrayal and possibly sensitive about its accuracy. When you are a library school student and/or working in the library field, you can be hyper aware of your livelihood’s perception.
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.
Hello everyone! We’d like to a take a moment to quickly introduce the new editorial team for the blog.
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Way back in the day, when I was a future library school student, I was always interested in what the daily life of a MLIS student looked like. With that […]
As we say hello to another academic year, we say farewell to graduating members of the Hack Library School team. Our graduating writers have said their goodbyes already, but we […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
Lately, the Gutenberg Press has been on my mind a lot. It has been for the last couple of years. Evelyn (Evie), a main character from the 1999 movie The […]
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Check out what our writers have spotted this week […]
When I first started working as an aide in the library, I sometimes helped on the circulation desk. I remember one time when this nice lady came in to drop […]
Did you know that not only is the Smithsonian made up of 19 museums it also has 21 libraries? I, for one, will readily admit that I had no idea […]
