It Doesn’t Matter What Classes We Take: An Experiment in Life Choices
After my first semester of library school I decided that taking useful classes wasn’t for me. Employers don’t appear to care about coursework or grades, there’s a big chunk of […]
Farewell Post: Answering My Own Grad School Questions
When I first started preparing to enter my Master’s program, there were two questions I regularly asked professional librarians: What tricks did you develop that helped you to be successful […]
Emergency Remote Teaching ≠ Online Learning
For many MLIS students, looking ahead to a fall semester consisting of all-online courses will not be new, given the availability of online-only MLIS programs in the pre-COVID world. However, […]
Hacking Your Course Schedule
As this crazy Spring 2020 semester begins winding down for many students, course registration has started falling upon us. One component that I enjoy about the University of Maryland’s MLIS […]
Research: It’s Not That Scary
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 […]
Should I take that Class?
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 […]
A Week in the Life
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
A Quick Guide to Choosing Classes
Hello Hackers! My name is Chloe and I’m a new writer at Hack Library School. I have two bachelor’s degrees in English and Theater with a focus in creative writing. […]
Adieu 2016…Bring It 2017
A year ago I was finishing up my last days of being a speech therapist. A year ago I was leaving Chicago, my home of 10 years, only 25 miles […]
Giving Yourself Credit(s)!
As my previous HLS posts have urged, it is important to take it easy on yourself, stay grounded, speak up, and trust the process. Well, in this post, I am […]
Metadata and Cataloging, Past and Present
This past summer, I took a Digital Collections Institute course. It was a one week, all day intensive course that delved into all aspects of the digital collections lifecycle, and […]
A Farewell Post: Crafting (and Completing!) a Class Checklist
Library school can seem very short. My personal experience was four semesters and a summer internship. Such a short time span doesn’t leave much room for all the classes, conferences, […]
Grounding Academic Librarianship and Elitism
Less than four months into my MLIS, I have already become immersed in the library world within academia. Not only do I wish to be an academic librarian after I […]
Structuring My Time
This is part of the ongoing ACRLog/HLS collaboration. Check out ACRLog for Madison Sullivan on “Librarianship Doesn’t Need Professionals” Read more about the project here! Heidi Johnson is the Social Sciences […]
When (Online) Group Projects Go Wrong
We all know “that guy” (or girl). The one who doesn’t respond to emails, doesn’t offer to contribute any work, and has a generally nasty attitude. In a traditional classroom […]
UX and Entrepreneurship in Library School
Things I never thought I’d do in library school: 1. Fall in love with a field that’s not LIS (Human-Computer Interaction and User Experience Design) 2. Co-found a tech start-up with a […]
LIS Advice: the Greatest Hits
I’ve been thinking a lot about this post – how to sum up my time in library school, how to sum up my time with HLS, and what kind of […]
What’s Your Lib School Like? Part One
Welcome to What’s Your Lib School Like? Part One! In this series, we’ll be asking our contributing writers questions about their library school. Question 1: What has been your favorite […]
Hack Your Program: Florida State University
Editor’s note: this is a guest post by Camille Thomas and Grace Kaletski. Camille and Grace are currently graduate assistants at FSU Libraries. Both are in their final semesters and transitioning […]
“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 […]
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 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 […]
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, […]
Adventures in Rare Book School: The Value of Supplemental Coursework Opportunities
Many of us have spent countless hours drooling over the Rare Book School course descriptions, and dreaming of the day when we find a job that will fund us in our […]
Finding Ways to Learn On The Cheap
With another fall semester looming, I wanted to take some time to advocate for a few easy-access, low-cost ways to do some self-directed learning. As exciting as our LIS classes, practicums, and internships can be it is easy to forget that our grad student status grants us access to a variety […]
Memorable LIS Class Assignments
Over the course of our library school careers, we complete dozens of assignments, from reading articles for class discussion to completing research papers and group projects. Many assignments blend together as our library school experience prepares us to begin a variety of careers in library and information science. Some assignments […]
Why Not to Take Traditional Library Courses
Looking at the coursework titles from my four semesters at GSLIS it would be hard to guess what specific LIS profession I am most passionate about. I am graduating this May (*reminder to breathe*) with a Community Informatics certificate and have taken courses in project management, community engagement, web design […]
Library Buildings
This semester I’m taking a class on library buildings. “Library buildings? Is that a class?” you ask? Indeed it is! Taught by Fred Schlipf, an LIS professor, library buildings consultant, and former public library director, the course is an introduction to the physical spaces that LIS institutions occupy. One of the […]
Service Learning: Friend or Foe?
One of my courses this semester (Community Informatics) required a sizable amount of “service learning” (for those who don’t know, service learning is basically community service/volunteering activities that are incorporated into a course). When I mentioned the extensive, unpaid time commitment that the service learning represented to a friend of […]
When Library School Hands You Lemons
My library school experience has, I’m sad to say, handed me a bunch of lemons. There are the professors who aren’t as inspiring as I would prefer (sorry), the journal articles that look like they weren’t proofread, the classes that are scheduled at times that are inconvenient for everyone. Including […]
Being Thankful… For Failing
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 […]
Too Much Structure or Not Enough?
I confused some people when I said that I was going to library school, but that I wanted to be an archivist. I developed my passion for archives when I was an undergrad, and that was the specialization I was going to the pursue in library school. I’ll just come […]
Library School Mergers
I recently received an email via my library school’s student listserv explaining that our university Provost has asked the library school and the College of Media to explore “integrating their two units.” It is very early in the exploratory process, and certainly not a sure thing yet, but it got me […]
When Do We Need a Translator?
When evaluating which courses to take, students often start with the list of undeniably library-specific courses: reference, cataloging, archives, etc. But as the profession continues to evolve it has become more and more interdisciplinary. Library students today take end up taking everything from web programming to marketing, from database design […]
Start reading job ads now
One piece of advice that multiple people gave me around the time I started library school is: it is never too early to start reading library job ads (especially if you’ve already started library school). Of course the library hiring process is not so lengthy that you need to start actually […]
Are We Learning Enough About Users?
Well into my second semester of library school, I find myself still recovering from a bit of metaphorical whiplash I picked up in the fall. You see, I’m not sure how to feel about users. I know it sounds like a no-brainer. Without users, after all, our workplaces would be […]
The Undercover Library Student
Your task is to develop a persona, and make up a research question that persona might ask. It can be anything you want. Once you have a question, take it to a reference desk at a library/archive/historical society of your choosing. Then write a paper about the experience. Sound familiar? […]
Tips for New Students Looking for Library School Jobs [Starter Kit]
As a second-year SLIS student, I’ve talked to quite a few new students in my program who are anxious about securing library jobs. I can understand how they feel; after all, one year ago I was a freshly minted SLIS student. I had never gotten paid to work in a […]
Lessons in Ethnography
This semester at the University of North Texas I am taking SLIS 5445, History and Culture of Youth Services. A good portion of the class has focused on ethnography and its application in youth services. I won’t pretend to be an expert on this type of study and fieldwork. However, […]
{Series} Declassified: Digital Humanities
This is the third post of our Declassified Series, in which we focus on exploring the similarities and differences between courses on the same topic that are offered at different schools. Previous posts include Reference and Information Architecture. Below, Brianna and Barbarajean discuss their experiences in Digital Humanities classes.
Should Online Coursework Be a Library School Requirement?
This semester I’m taking ‘Distributed Learning Librarianship’ online at the University of North Texas. Needless to say online learning is on my mind. In August of last year Rose L. Chou contributed a great HLS post In Defense of Online LIS Education, and Laura Sanders’ recent post on Teaching Methods […]
Hack Your Program: Indiana University-Bloomington School of Library & Information Science
Disclaimer: This post is a product of my experiences as an IU-B SLIS student. Please know that my opinions are not intended to be representative of the opinions of any other student, faculty/staff member, or librarian. All criticism is meant to be constructive. So, first things first: My name is […]
Some Thoughts On Course Evaluations
It’s nearing the end of the term—and that means course evaluations are looming. To be honest, I start thinking about course evaluations on the first day of class. I like to keep mental notes on my classes throughout the semester so that I have coherent comments to offer up at […]
Advice on Advising
I have an awesome academic advisor. You may be thinking “Is that a typo? Did she say awesome?” I’ve had conversations with my advisor that drastically changed the look of my coursework and could ultimately change my career. My advisor provides honest, inspiring, challenging feedback that every student should be […]
Hack Library School: Fall 2011 Kickoff!
I don’t know about you, but for me New Year’s is just one more night of food and fun in the season. The real new year starts in the fall, when classes begin. If you’re starting or continuing your library school journey this autumn, you’ve had many years to perfect […]
[Series] Library School Starter Kit – a class checklist
If you didn’t read Zack’s post on Monday, (Library School Starter Kit) check it out here. Otherwise, read on for some suggestions about classes as you start library school! You are probably “stuck” taking required (core) courses this term, and that’s good! If you took what you WANTED to take, […]
[Series] Declassified: Reference
We’re proud to present our next installment in the Declassified Series! In case you need a reminder, we take two schools, the same class and compare them to see how they’re similar or different. Our first post was written by Annie and Micah and covered Information Architecture. This time around […]
What is there to argue about in library science? Well, how about everything…
Jeremy Bold is currently a full-time graduate student pursuing degrees in European Studies at New York University and Library and Information Science at Long Island University and residing in Brooklyn, NY. After graduating in May, he expects to be at least a part time-employed librarian and a full time-obsessed writer […]
But what classes should I take?
As I’m sure many readers can attest to, it can be difficult to figure out the “right” path to take in library school in terms of courses. Since I was fairly undecided as to what type of library I wanted to work in I was hoping to take a little […]
