Lessons from SLA 2015
It’s conference season! Kara wrote about her experience at ALA for us all already (sounds like a fantastic conference!) so I thought I’d talk about my time at SLA 2015 in […]
Hack Your Summer: Part Two
Welcome to part two of Hack Your Summer! This is our mini series in which Hack Library School writers share with you some of our tips and tricks for having summer fun and preparing […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Liz Sadly I was #alaleftbehind this […]
4 Things That Will Never Happen When You Become a Librarian
So here it is my final blog post for Hack Library School. As I type these words on the keyboard, my eyes are flooded with tears…of joy! It means that […]
Hack Your Summer: Part One
Welcome to part one of Hack Your Summer! This is our mini series in which Hack Library School writers share with you some of our tips and tricks for having summer fun […]
YAY ALA! The Student Takes San Francisco
OMG GUYS I GOT TO GO TO ALA IN SAN FRANCISCO!!! I’m sorry, that was undignified. But seriously, this is really awesome. By the time you read this I will […]
Laptop Requirements & Access in LIS Education
This past semester my institution decided to spread the news that beginning in the fall semester it would institute a mandatory (for enrolled students) laptop requirement for our program. My […]
Farewell, HLS!
On May 29th, I successfully defended my dissertation (yay!) and now can make all those around me call me Dr. Skinner (seriously, with that name, how could I not?) Soon […]
ALA Annual Meetup!
Hey there Hackers! Are you attending ALA this year? If so, join HLS writers and alumni for a drink! Where? Tempest, 431 Natoma St., San Francisco. When? Saturday, June 27 from […]
Presentation Alternatives: Reveal.js
This is a new series offering alternatives to Microsoft’s Powerpoint by highlighting various presentation software. As we tend do in library school and librarianship, I’ve given a few presentations lately. […]
How to Read for Grad School
Before I attended boot camp for my library school program, we were assigned to read a colossal amount of material. We’re talking hundreds of pages of (mostly) interesting, yet dense […]
“When Will I Ever Use This?” A Survival Guide for Required Courses
There are few certainties in life, but one thing you can count on for sure is that if you attend library school, you’re going to have to take at least […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Courtney Bravo to Jasmine for her […]
Call for New Writers!
Hey there readers! Here at Hack Library School, we pride ourselves on providing engaging, thoughtful, and useful resources for Library and Information Science students. The best part of this experience, in […]
Hack your conference award application
Here at Hack Library School we’re a big fan of conferences, and they are fantastic, fantastic things. They introduce you to new ideas, best practice; you meet your colleagues from […]
Managing Expectations: A Farewell
Sometimes life doesn’t quite work out the way we want. You might have been passed over for that great internship, your dream job might have been posted a full semester […]
So you want to be a Data Visualization Librarian?
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 […]
The More Things Change
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 1849 I began my comprehensive exam with this quotation. Forgive me as I plagiarize myself, but it seemed fitting, as […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Kara I’m enjoying the between semester […]
Things I Miss about Library School–and What I’m Doing About It!
Since I graduated from North Carolina Central University with a Masters in Library Science last December, I’ve had about five months (where does the time go?) to catch up some […]
Interview with Alison Macrina (@flexlibris)
As we enter the “information sciences,” LIS students cannot help but be on the front lines of recent important debates in digital privacy. While digital privacy issues have simmered below […]
Avoiding Common Internship Problems (Tip, don’t be a go-fer)
If you’re in the second year of your MLS, you’re probably just finishing or just starting an internship. Congratulations and/or good luck! While internships can be a challenge you really […]
How to Prepare for the Job Hunt
As a fresh graduate, I’m embarking on the search for a professional position. I already hold a full-time job in the field, so I can afford to be somewhat selective […]
Moving On
For some, library school is a learning experience. It’s a chance to wrap your head around information ethics and Python and RDA, a chance to geek out with other residents […]
Pre-Library School Summer Reading List
When summer hits, I get reading fever. I credit my childhood public libraries with developing my Pavlovian association. I feel like I want to ask every person on Earth, “So, […]
How to Build a Conference
This past spring I spent countless hours working on a little gathering called the Symposium on LIS Education. For those who aren’t familiar with it, the symposium was a small, if enthusiastic […]
Presentation Alternatives: Prezi
This is a new series offering alternatives to Microsoft’s Powerpoint by highlighting various presentation software. As librarians, it is our responsibility to learn about new technologies and software that could […]
Revolting Librarians revisited
On finally reading Revolting Librarians and Revolting Librarians Redux. What would Revolting Librarians 2015 look like?
Show me the Money: Salary Negotiation
Dear [Hack Lib School Reader] We would like to offer you the position of Fancy Pants Librarian at AwesomeTown Library. We are willing to offer you an annual salary of […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Hack Library School would like to […]
So you want to be a Latin American/Area Studies librarian?
So you know that you want to be a librarian, but have you thought about specializing in a certain field? If you have an interest in foreign languages and cultures or […]
“So what do you study exactly?” Part 2: Library and Information Science
This post is the second of a two-part series on how, why, and when I explain this degree to others. Check out last month’s Part 1: Online Education. Imagine the […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Brenna Some inspirational news from […]
This Is How I Study: Part 4
Inspired by the popular Lifehacker series, This Is How I Work, and the companion post from Letters to a Young Librarian, we here at Hack Library School would like to share with […]
Acing Your Interview Presentation
As I apply for jobs and am eventually invited for on-campus interviews (thank goodness), I have the added task of preparing for the interview presentation. Often, in higher education positions, the […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Jasmine I got really excited this […]
Student-led innovation: Parts 3 and 4
(See parts one and two.) As a reminder, this mini-series (nowhere near as any by Ken Burns!) arose out of conversations suggesting that if social justice were to be incorporated in […]
This Is How I Study: Part 3
Inspired by the popular Lifehacker series, This Is How I Work, and the companion post from Letters to a Young Librarian, we here at Hack Library School would like to share with […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Zack I’ve been really excited about […]
This Is How I Study: Part 2
Inspired by the popular Lifehacker series, This Is How I Work, and the companion post from Letters to a Young Librarian, we here at Hack Library School would like to share with […]
Hack National Poetry Month
Every April in the United States, we celebrate National Poetry Month (NPM), a time for honoring the poets and poems that have influenced our culture and our personal lives. Libraries […]
Hack Your Job Search: Become an Interview STAR
The job search can be rough for even the most experienced job seekers, but it tends to be especially brutal for those of us just entering the job market. As a final-semester […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Amanda This week, I watched a […]
The Anatomy of a Book-Part 2: Or How to Recognize Different Parts of a Book
Authors Note: This is part two in a multiple part series on the anatomy of the book. This part will talk about the parts of a book while the last […]
This Is How I Study: Part 1
Inspired by the popular Lifehacker series, This Is How I Work, and the companion post from Letters to a Young Librarian, we here at Hack Library School would like to share with […]
User experience in action
You’ve probably heard of user experience (UX) research in the context of usability testing for websites, apps, and library technology. However, UX also has roots in ethnography and design research, […]
Hack Quirk Your Demonstrations
Many library positions will involve some element of instruction or demonstrating tools or resources. It’s likely that most will, when you think beyond formal instruction sessions and start to consider […]
Weekly Round-Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Courtney Next week we have an […]
Hack your job search: residency programs
Freaking out about finding a job after graduation? Consider applying for a residency, a temporary job appointment for recent library school graduates. Residencies are usually an academic library thing, but […]
Some Exciting Introductions
As we gear up for graduation season, that means we’re also gearing up for some turnover here at HLS. This year, that includes two of our senior hackers who are […]
Reaching out to politicians about LIS issues
I’m sure many of you saw the distressing news last week: the budget resolution for 2016 released by the U.S. House Budget Committee and then passed by the House of […]
Slaying the dissertation dragon, part 2 – just keep swimming
In part 1 of this two part series I talked about reasons why you might pick an extended research project like a dissertation or thesis, and how to go about […]
HLS Weekly Round-up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Courtney Heading to ACRL in Portland? […]
“So what do you study exactly?” Part 1: Online Education
This post is the first in a two-part series on how, why, and when MLIS students explain this degree to others. Stay tuned for “Part 2: Library & Information Science” next […]
Becoming Your Own Personal Advocate
How many of you have had family members, friends, acquaintances, strangers, etc. ask you why you are in library school or give you a quizzical look and say something along […]
Landing your first library internship
I’m a month away from the end of the semester, with only one thing on my mind: the summer internship. Internships are a big deal among students in my program. […]
HLS Weekly Round-up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Ryan Having just found the links […]
Surviving the Mid-Semester Burnout
It’s that time again. Midterms are well underway, and it’s becoming apparent that we should all start seriously thinking about those final papers and projects that are due […]
Trials and Tribulations: Survey Research as an MLS Student
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Erica Hayes, Siobhain Rivera, Ariadne Rehbein, MLS Candidates at the Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing. We started with the best of intentions. […]
Student-led innovation: Part 2
Last month, I wrote about introducing social justice into the LIS curriculum, and offered specific ideas for incorporating social justice in a required “Organization of Information” class. Today I’ll offer […]
Weekly Round-up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Ryan I’m undoubtedly a music fan, […]
Reflections on the ARL Leadership Symposium
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to go to Chicago to attend the Association of Research Libraries Leadership Symposium. It has taken me a while to process all the […]
Administrative Transparency – Obstacles & Opportunities
Since my post in December 2014 on administrative transparency, I’ve been trying to actively step up my participation and engagement with my school. My post led to conversations with several peers […]
The Anatomy of a Book- Part 1
Authors Note: This is part one in a multiple part series on the anatomy of the book. This part will talk about the basics of books including materials and formats, […]
Paper Knowledge and LIS research
Review of Paper Knowledge: A Media History of Documents by Lisa Gitelman (Duke University Press, 2014). A dense and fascinating book offering numerous access points for LIS student scholarship.
Top Mistakes I Made at my First Conference
Last month I had the opportunity to attend ALA Midwinter, my first multi-day conference. I was stoked, but totally unprepared. Here are some of the things I did wrong and […]
Instruction Instruction Part 2: Become a Better Instructor
Author’s note: This is part two of a two-part series on the state of library instruction training in LIS programs. Part one discussed why such training matters. In part two, we will […]
Things You Can Do as a Library Student to Prepare for a Career as a Data Librarian
Editor’s Note: Celia Emmelhainz worked as an international librarian for three years while studying for her MLS, and now works as a Social Science Data Librarian in Maine. She blogs […]
Slaying the dissertation dragon, part 1 – why a research project, and your first steps
I’m a tad early for St George’s Day but over here in the UK final year Master’s students are gearing up to take on one of the biggest challenges of […]
Grad School 2.0
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Nancy Albers Shore, a master’s candidate at the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science. She was homeschooled from […]
Student-led innovation: Bringing social justice to LIS education
Introduction. The idea I’m going to propose at the end of this introduction came to me during the ALISE Academy at the ALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education) conference in […]
Instruction Instruction Part 1: Why Library Teaching Training Matters
Author’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on the state of library instruction training in LIS programs. In part one, we will discuss why such training matters. Part two […]
Cuts to Higher Education: Consequences for Libraries and Future Librarians
Today I’m going to scale back a little bit to talk about graduate school more generally, and some events that have been affecting my own university in particular. These last few weeks have been tough for my school, UW-Milwaukee, as the governor of Wisconsin has announced that his proposed budget […]
HLS Weekly Round Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Becky Chris Bourg gave a talk […]
Productivity and Time Management for LIS Students
I love January because it signals a fresh start. The possibilities of a new year motivate me to work hard so I can achieve my goals. I’m in my last […]
On Addressing Weaknesses
What are your least favorite parts of library school? Your answer will depend on a lot of things, but one of the biggest factors in my personal likes and dislikes […]
On Responsibility
Every year for Black History Month, I make a special reading list—Harlem Renaissance poetry, African American children’s books, etc. But last year, I spent the whole month on one book: In […]
Digital Housekeeping
One of my new year/new semester resolutions is to really get my digital housekeeping in line. Over break I read a Washington Post piece shared by Brianna, a wonderful HLS alum, […]
Designing Library Spaces
A review of The New Downtown Library: Designing With Communities. The book covers a lot of ground and leaves many loose ends, making it an excellent candidate for a teaching text in a studio course on library architecture.
How do you take notes? (or Markdown and Bullet Journals)
Perhaps it’s related to being perennially both inquisitive & distractible, but I’ve always enjoyed taking notes and almost always have paper with me. Here’s a few of my old pocket […]
A Farewell to On-Campus Days
This March I will make the trek to Urbana-Champaign for the on-campus portion of my program for the last time. Up until recently, online students in the LEEP program were […]
HLS Weekly Round Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Ryan I’m thoroughly intrigued by Hybrid […]
Juggling
I mostly read HLS posts from my fellow contributors and nod along – I learn new things all the time but I can usually relate – not so the recent […]
Five Mistakes I Made in My First Quarter of Library School
New year’s resolutions and last year’s mistakes are two sides of the same coin. So, as we jump into the new year, the new quarter/semester, and the new stumbles it will […]
Advice from Someone Who’s Been on Quite a Few Search Committees
In working at an academic library over the past couple of years, I found myself on a few search committees for librarian positions. Serving on search committees provides valuable insight into the job application process. You really learn a lot about what works, and what doesn’t work, when applying and […]
HLS Weekly Round Up
Editor’s Note: Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy! Courtney Happy new year! This spring […]
Creating a Meteorology Maker Space
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Katherine Hickey, MS and Kyungwon Koh, PhD. Innovative learning spaces called Makerspaces and Learning Labs have become a ubiquitous presence in the world […]
What’s a Librarian Doing Here? Or Attending Conferences Out of Discipline.
On Hack Library School, there have been a lot of articles about conferences. These have mainly focused on the advantages of attending local library or archives conferences or the big ‘un, ALA, over the summer. My goal here isn’t to rehash what has already been written but to talk about […]
The End-of-Semester Update
About two weeks ago, I sat in a bar with a few friends and toasted to the end of our first semester of library school. Except it wasn’t really the […]
Academic and Scholarly Publishing: Why it Matters and Approaching the Process
I just recently published my first scholarly, peer-reviewed article in a library journal. It was a long and sometimes grueling process that was 9 months in the making, but it was worth it! I’d like to share a few points as to why publishing in grad school matters in the long […]
When Registration Day Goes Wrong
My registration for Spring 2015 was on the stressful side. Registration opened at 8:30AM on registration day, which meant I had to register from work. Not a big deal, I’m […]
A Librarian’s Approach to Self-Care
Being a graduate student is hard. We’re older and we have lives and families and jobs. Most of us have responsibilities that far exceed those we had when we were […]
Flip your perception of online learning
Let’s be real – online classes can get dull. No matter how intriguing the topic, it can be a challenge to keep your eyelids from drooping when your professor is […]
Administrative Transparency & LIS Education
Recently I’ve been dismayed with what I see as a lack of communication and transparency on the part of the administration at my library school: “Dear GSLIS Students, Starting next summer, […]
Cheating to learn?
Connected Play is a new book about how young people interact, explore and express themselves in online communities. Our review asks, “How can cheating and pushing boundaries play a role in library activities and pedagogy?”
#critlib: Chatty Critical Librarianship on Twitter
No matter how exhausted I am, every other Tuesday night I do something that helps reinforce and nuance what I’m learning in library school: I spend an hour or so […]
On Overcommitting
It’s the final stretch of my third semester of library school, and I. Am. Exhausted. Between taking on several special projects at work, serving as an officer of […]
Networking for Introverts
Networking. If you’re anything like me, the idea doesn’t exactly thrill you. I’m a friendly, chatty person (pity the people in my office, they cannot escape), and I genuinely love […]
From Informational Interview to Reference Interview
I recently started taking people out to coffee like it’s my job. About a month ago, in the middle of my first quarter of library school, I moved to a […]
