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 is […]
How to navigate bureaucracy at your school
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 […]
Dusting Off Genealogy Collections in Library School
Last semester, I took a course on Archives & Media which required one semester-long group project, focusing on creating a digital map of the route taken by the Brinton Entertainment […]
Job Experience Outside of Libraries is Valuable
When I received my acceptance for my MLIS, I did not have any practical library experience, nor did I have a library job lined up. While I was eventually able […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
Providing Library Services to Incarcerated Populations: Centinela State Prison [Series]
This is an interview series that will highlight the ways in which libraries and organizations serve incarcerated populations. You can read the first installment in the series, an interview with […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
Hack Library Conferences
There are countless of library conferences in and outside of the United States. Interested in attending? Don’t wait until after you graduate. Take advantage of your time as a student […]
Intellectual Freedom in the News: Net Neutrality Rollbacks & Banned Words
“Diversity. Entitlement. Evidence-Based. Fetus. Science-Based. Transgender. Vulnerable.” Over the weekend, reports have been rolling in about a list of words that the Trump administration wanted removed and banned from official […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
So You Feel Like Your Class Was a Waste of Time
You did it. You’ve typed the final sentence of your grueling final essay. You’ve breathed a sigh of relief as your applauding classmates signal the end of your last presentation. […]
Take a Break: Ideas for Relaxing over Winter Vacation
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. […]
The Final Stretch
As of right now, I have one more paper to turn in this semester, and then I’m on to my final semester in library school. It seems like I only […]
Book Club: Leisure Reading in Graduate School
As I entered my information on my Goodreads account, I hesitated. Should I even be setting a reading goal for this year? Back in January, I was determined to read […]
Building people skills at the reference desk
I’ve been working shifts at the central reference desk at the University of Illinois Main Library for nearly a year and half now, and it’s occurred to me recently that […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
Words of Wisdom: The Advantages of Having a Peer Mentor
I would not be exactly where I am today if it were not for the people who make up my support system. In particular, I have greatly benefitted from the […]
Visualize It: German Elections
This fall semester I have been taking an elective course for my MLIS called Introduction to Information Visualization. In this course, we have explored data and information and the ways […]
Providing Library Services to Incarcerated Populations: New York Public Library Correctional Services [Series]
This is an interview series that will highlight the ways in which libraries and organizations serve incarcerated populations. You can read the first installment in the series, an interview with […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
5 Library Things to be Grateful for this Thanksgiving
As we roll into the Thanksgiving holiday week in the U.S., most library students are also rolling into the last assignments for the fall semester. Since this time of year […]
Information Science and Beyond: Remembering the Value of Information Science in Non-LIS Contexts
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 […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
Pass the 650, Please*
I am a mageirocophile. To those unaware, mageirocophilia is the love of cooking. With cooking, I get a little carried away. I devote my Mondays to food prep. I probably […]
Presenting at a Library Conference as a Student
Last month, I had the opportunity to present for the first time at a library conference. I’ve presented at conferences before, slowly working my way into it by starting with […]
“Professionalism” and Other Barriers to Entry
At this time of year, many of us are wading into the murky waters of the job hunt . This can be a daunting prospect, especially for those of us vying […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 Wonderful World of Non-Traditional Collections: Spotlight on Art-To-Go [Series]
This is the second installment in a series which aims to explore unusual or non-traditional collections in libraries. You can read Chezlani’s first installment, highlighting the non-traditional seed collection at Honoka’a […]
Preparing for the Job Search
It’s that time of the year. The weather is cooler, the nights are shorter, and that thing I’ve been most nervous about is looming just around the corner: the job […]
Hack Your Program: Clarion University of Pennsylvania
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, […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
Stressed About School? Stick Your Head in a Good Book [Series]
This is the fourth installment in a series about using Neuroscience Hacks for Library School. Here’s the first one on reasons to get more sleep ,the second on breathing to regulate the […]
Providing Library Services to Incarcerated Populations: Rare Books Outreach [Series]
This is an interview series that will highlight the ways in which libraries and organizations serve incarcerated populations. You can read the first installment in the series, an interview with […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 […]
Option B: Perspectives Beyond Library World
What is your Option B? For Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, her Option B was living life with her two children after the sudden and unexpected death of her husband. While […]
Check Yourself: A Career in Compassion
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 […]
The Home Services Librarian: An Interview Christy Shannon Smirl
Interested in alternative MLIS careers? HLS interviews home services librarian, Christy Shannon Smirl.
Weekly Spotlight!
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 Reflection on the Design for Diversity Forum
A Reflection on the Design for Diversity Forum When a friend of mine invited me to the Design for Diversity (D4D) Forum at Northeastern University earlier this week, it was […]
A week in the life
There have been several posts over the years about typical library school student schedules, but there hasn’t been one in a while, so I figured it’s time for a new […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 Defense of Museums: How Working at a Museum Shaped my LIS Education
For almost a year and half, I’ve been working at the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, scanning glass plate slides of scientific expeditions and entering in metadata regarding […]
#dearHLS: Save the Date for our Next Twitter Chat
Save the date! Hack Library School will host our second Twitter chat on Wednesday, 10/25, at 9PM EST. The questions we’ll be discussing are: Q1: What are your interests within the library profession? Q2: What fears do you have about entering the profession? Q3: What has frustrated you most about […]
Weekly Spotlight!
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 library’s role in scholarly communication
Over the last several months I’ve become increasingly interested in the role that libraries and librarians play in scholarly communications. Scholarly communication is, according to Wikipedia, “the process by which […]
Providing Library Services to Incarcerated Populations: Liberation Library [Series]
This is an interview series that will highlight the ways in which libraries and organizations serve incarcerated populations. The American Library Association’s Prisoners Right to Read asserts that When free […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Dead Mountain: Perspectives Beyond Library World
It was a classic story of serendipitous discovery as a public library worker: I spotted Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident on a cart of […]
What can a lens of newness afford us?
Today we welcome a post by Jennifer Jarson as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Jennifer Jarson is the Head […]
Hacking Parenthood in Library School: When You’re New to Parenting
New or expectant parent in library school? Here’s some tips on adjusting to school as a parent.
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Accidental Special Librarian – advice for when you decide to pursue the “alternate” path
Like many LIS students, I went into the program with the goal of someday working at a library as a professional librarian. I set off on my MLIS journey through […]
I Am Not “Just the Diversity Hire”: Racial Difference, Authenticity, and Tokenism in Academic Libraries
Today we welcome a post by Veronica Arellano Douglas as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Veronica Arellano Douglas is a Reference […]
Learning Styles Debunked [Series]
This is the third installment in a series about using Neuroscience Hacks for Library School. Here’s the first one on reasons to get more sleep and the second on breathing to […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Spaces
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 […]
Does This Candidate Meet the Requirements for Tenure? Preparing as a Student for Questions About Tenure
Today we welcome a post by Dylan Burns as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Dylan Burns is the Digital Scholarship Librarian […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Previous Positions or Relevant Skills? Both!
Today we welcome a post by Maura Smale as part of our collaboration with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries). Maura Smale is Chief Librarian and […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
On internships and trying new things
As I mentioned earlier, this summer I’ve been interning at the Library of Congress office in Jakarta. This internship was great because it allowed me to get a taste of […]
Announcing the Hack Library School/ACRLog Collaboration
As the academic year ramps up, we at Hack Library School are teaming up with ACRLog (the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries) to bring you a […]
My Complicated Feelings About Being an “Unconventional” Library School Student
I’ve been writing for Hack Library School for about 6 months now, and in some ways, I’ve felt like a fraud the entire time. You see, I’m only taking one […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Let’s Talk about Checks, Baby: Paying for Library School
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 […]
The Knockoff: Perspectives Beyond Library World
Summer breaks from library school are made for trying to recharge from a busy school year and enjoy non-library-related fiction. But a library-minded student cannot help but find the connections […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Helpful Hacks from the Halfway Mark
“Once you’re halfway home, you know that you can probably get the rest of the way there.” – Janis Ian Last August, I quit my full-time nonprofit tech job and […]
Incoming Student Checklist
Welcome, incoming library students! These first few weeks before school starts can be a mixture of excitement and nerves. If you want to get acquainted with the profession before school […]
Thinking about “Post-Truth”, #ThisIsNotUs, & Charlottesville
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 […]
Feeling Some Anxiety About Recent Events? Take A Deep Breath. No, Really. [Series]
This is the second installment in a series about using Neuroscience Hacks for Library School. Here’s the first one on reasons to get more sleep. One evening, in the last […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Information for Our Survival: LIS and Climate Change
Here at Hack Library School, we consistently highlight the ways in which the LIS field innovates. We declare over and over again: libraries are not simply warehouses of books, and […]
Connecting with the Incoming Class
It’s officially August, which means summer is coming to an end, and the first day of classes is right around the corner. This time last year marked a move to […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Not Merely Service Providers
It’s no secret that librarianship is a service-oriented profession, and that librarians are proud of this fact (as they should be). But as I’ve reflected
Meet the New Leaders of Hack Library School!
Things are changing here at HLS! We’re excited to welcome a new Managing Editor, Consulting Editor and Community Manager this fall. Here’s what our Managing Editor has to say about […]
Variety is the Spice of Life: The Multiple Dimensions of Academic Librarianship
This summer I had the opportunity to slightly switch gears and work at the International Area Studies Library at my university.
Notes on Acquisitions Trips
As you may or may not know, I’m ultimately interested in becoming a subject librarian. More on this (hopefully) in a later blog post, but for now what you need […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Hack Your Conference Budget
When I first started library school, my professors told me that conferences are great… if you had a couple thousand dollars to spend. While there’s no dodging the fact that […]
Meeting the Women in the Boxes: Reflections on Events in the Archives
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 […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Freedom and Uncertainty: The Summer After Graduation
You head to library school. You’ve got a plan. There’s a schedule of courses laid out before you, and within each course is the syllabus telling you what to do […]
Trace: Perspectives Beyond Library World
“One journey seeded all that followed” (Savoy 2015, 5). This opening sentence to Trace: Memory, History, Race and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy sets the tone for the entire […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Reflections and Gratitude: Farewell HLS!
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 […]
Advanced Storytime: Beyond the Basics of Discipline [Series]
This series will explore the lessons that I learned about storytime through my own self-education process–through many hours of research, attending conferences, and my favorite method of learning, hands-on experience.
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Need an Excuse to Sleep More? Read This.
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 […]
Signing Off: Onward and Upward
I found Hack Library School when I was in the throes of deciding where I wanted to go to graduate school for library studies. I had applied and been accepted […]
A Tale of Two Outlooks
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 […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Feeling the Burn(out)
In the summer of 2016, I quit my full-time, salaried job with benefits, packed up my belongings, and moved to Denver to begin my Master’s in Library and Information Science […]
Hack Your Program: University of Iowa (Update)
Disclaimer: This post, co-written by Annie Tunnicliff and Chloe Waryan, is an update to Julia Skinner’s fantastic 2011 post about the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). […]
One way or another: deciding which librarianship path is for you
You know you want to be a librarian, but do you know which kind of librarian you would like to be? There are many fascinating areas of specialties in librarianship, but the ultimate divide is most often between academic librarianship and public librarianship. Why do some people choose one route […]
Weekly Spotlight!
Check out what our writers have spotted this week in library news. Enjoy!
Self-Care at ALA Annual Conference
I’ll be attending the American Library Association’s Annual Conference for the first time ever this month and I’m both nervous and excited. Pouring over the schedule of events, there are […]
