Staying Sharp During the Summer
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on July 28, 2016 One of the most important aspects of library school and, in the future as we pursue work in the […]
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on July 28, 2016 One of the most important aspects of library school and, in the future as we pursue work in the […]
Since I’m graduating this May, I wanted to use my final HLS blog post to reflect a bit on the things I wish I knew before I started grad school. […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on July 7, 2016. Recently a panel of Catholic University of America faculty and department affiliates interviewed me as a part of a […]
Like many previous bloggers, my time has come to say farewell to Hack Library School and reflect on the last three years. I graduate on June 4 and will be […]
Hey there readers! Have you recently been accepted to a library or information science program? Are you partway through your schooling and feel like you have news and insights to […]
Disclaimer: This post is particular to the author’s perspectives and opinions. It is not intended to be representative or indicative of any other member of the MLIS Admissions Committee and […]
Editor’s note: this article was originally published on February 29, 2016. As I get started with my second semester, I thought it would be a good time to re-visit the […]
Dear LIS Professors, Your jobs are extremely demanding, especially now. You have to deal with the pressures of publication, teaching, serving on committees, and hopefully retaining a semblance of work-life […]
Winter quarter has to be one of the toughest quarters to survive in library school (assuming you are on the quarter system). This is my third winter quarter, and it […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 5, 2016. This semester I decided to do something that terrifies me: I enrolled in a storytelling course. As an anxious […]
Twitter is my social media of choice lately as I try to avoid going down the Insta/Meta rabbit holes that are out there and frankly I do not have time […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 25, 2015. As a fresh graduate, I’m embarking on the search for a professional position. I already hold a full-time job […]
Over the last 20 or so months, I’ve seen an uptick in conversations regarding mental health in academia. Current and former Hackers have written some excellent posts about navigating mental […]
Last month I wrote about surviving group work as it had been a frequent topic on the HLS blog. This month I wanted to briefly cover another important HLS topic […]
The topic of group work has been a frequent one at HLS and since I am embroiled in a lengthy and complicated group project during this fall quarter at the […]
The capstone course of my dual degree in Children’s Literature and Library and Information Sciences is on “positionality.” Half the the students in the class been in the dual degree […]
I’m in my final semester of my dual degree program at Simmons University. As I’m writing this post, the semester is about 1/3 of the way through. It’s the point […]
In the past, I had been hesitant to declare a strong career interest in metadata and cataloging (I even wrote about my desire for an interdisciplinary library school curriculum for […]
Thinking about library school? Wondering what it’s really like? Think that online school might be the best/easiest option for your increasingly complicated life? Let me tell you about it, since […]
I come from a family that doesn’t have work email, retirement stocks, or salaries. My parents and siblings, my “people,” are name tag and hairnet people. Clock-out for your lunch break people. With four older […]
The home stretch towards my MLIS degree is in sight as I wrap up my final few days of my summer directed fieldwork (DFW) and look forward to my third […]
Summer classes, particularly online summer classes, have always been difficult for me. I took quite a few in undergrad to get through my degrees faster, and other than one memorable […]
Most of us will work our way through library school. Whether it’s a graduate assistantship, a part-time gig at a public library, or an internship at an archive, we’re all […]
I have been thinking about the incoming cohort at the University of Washington’s Information School and wondering how they are coping with the unknown and uncertainty of graduate school life […]
The last fifteen months have been rough on all of us. Starting grad school during a pandemic was not easy, and a mix of personal problems and school-related issues made […]
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 […]
When I started my MLIS program at Simmons University last fall, I regularly heard my classmates introduce themselves with exactly what type of librarian they wanted to be. There were […]
Although it’s falling out of fashion, how many times were we given the advice, “pursue your passion”? As a young person, I took this for granted as a blaringly obvious […]
I vividly remember in March 2020 when I learned my daughter was going to be home for two weeks solid as schools were closing and thinking there was no way […]
It is required that students in the MLS program at Indiana University fulfill one internship. Since I am specializing in Art Librarianship, I am required to complete two internships. This […]
Hey there readers! Here at Hack Library School, we pride ourselves on providing engaging, thoughtful, and useful resources for Library and Information Science students. Because we’re a blog by and for […]
My undergraduate degrees are in History and Political Science. I’ve written countless amounts of midterm and final papers (plus a thesis that hit triple-digit page length) and considered myself a […]
I started writing my post for the month of November before I got the HLS schedule and realized that my post would fall on Thanksgiving. So, I decided to set […]
Midway through my first quarter in library school, I sat in class with twenty or so of my classmates and potential future colleagues as they conducted a lively conversation about […]
When I tell people that I’m going to school to become a librarian, they often look puzzled and ask why I need a graduate degree to work in a library. […]
Do you want to go to library school, but don’t know how to find the best one for you? This list of factors to consider will guide you through the […]
Recently, LIS scholars have started exploring the potential connection between working in graduate school and burnout in librarianship. In the recently published article, “When Does Burnout Begin? The Relationship Between […]
As more MLIS programs integrate tech courses and requirements into their curriculum, many MLIS students who are not tech-savvy nor have a tech background struggle in these courses. At the University of Washington, there are numerous tech courses available for students and a requirement that every student takes at least one of these courses. I’ve heard stories and also personally experienced the struggles of these courses and even some of the mental breakdowns. Many students dread these courses and the long hours they often require.
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.
Disclaimer: This post represents my own perspectives and experiences. My opinions are not intended to be the opinions of any other student, faculty, or staff. Quick Overview I may be […]
At 21 years old and about to graduate, I was afraid to move. Not only had I lived and attended university in the same area I grew up in, but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to support myself financially. So, I found myself again at the University of Washington (UW), this time in a library program that did not have an archives focus. Yet I wanted to become an archivist and the two or three archives-focused classes offered was off-putting. I was afraid I wouldn’t gain the skills that would make me a competitive applicant once I graduate.
A month ago, I attended a webcast seminar, ‘Transgender Inclusion in Libraries’, hosted by San Jose State University’s iSchool. This was the first webcast seminar, or webinar, I was attending under my own power since entering SJSU’s MLIS program, and this likely contributed to my wild underestimation of the number of audience members and, thus, overestimation of my ability to personally engage with the webinar speakers. Last semester saw the composition of my first academic paper written as an MLIS candidate, and with a sixteen-page paper on the queer information community in hand, I was eager to supplement the narrow spread of academic work that I had found that covers transgender issues in the library.
The MSIS program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is comprised of on-campus and distance learners. Housed in the College of Communication and Information UTK’s SIS program has much to […]
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 […]
Email alerts are disruptive, by design. Today, though, that disruption was exactly the encouragement I needed to reflect on library school, and life.
Almost one year ago, when my first year of library school was starting and I was preparing myself to go into my grad school orientation, I remember addressing the same […]
Tips for how to hack library school while being a parent from parents who’ve been there.
The ink has only just dried on my first semester grades for my MLIS program. As proud as I am of the five months’ hard work that went into them, […]
Hello everyone! This is my first post as a new writer for HLS, and I am very excited to be writing for y’all! I wanted this first post to act […]
If you are a library school student, what is one substance you never have enough of? Time. Whether you work full-time, part-time, or not at all while you pursue your […]
Yet another post regarding the job search process! They say looking for a full-time job is a full-time job itself. Knowing this beforehand helps, but you might not fully understand […]
An ongoing series about the juggling the challenges of library school as a parent.
Today we welcome a guest post by Symphony Bruce. Symphony Bruce is a recent graduate of the iSchool of the University of Missouri and completed her MLIS in December of 2017. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
New or expectant parent in library school? Here’s some tips on adjusting to school as a parent.
This summer I had the opportunity to slightly switch gears and work at the International Area Studies Library at my university.
The end of a semester is always a whirlwind. I am especially trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have just completed my first year of graduate […]
While studying History in undergrad, I was assailed all too frequently with “So, what are you going to do with that degree?” And now, when I tell folks that I […]
Many of us have written about a typical day in the life of a MLIS student and in an earlier post I described how all my days went in my […]
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 […]
It’s that time of the year again. For those of us that took a summer off from our LIS studies to have, well, a summer away from school, welcome back! […]
“I still do not know myself. Perhaps I never will.” — Sylvia Plath While indulging in dessert at Snow Meets Coffee, Kristina Williams, Hack Library School’s lovely and fabulous Managing […]
I recently had the chance to talk with Jessica Olin, an awesome librarian/blogger. You may have heard of her blog Letters to a Young Librarian (and if you haven’t, get on it!). […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Image retrieved from Instagram When I saw this meme the other day, I experienced a little bit of #mindblown and a little bit of #yep. It reads “things are not […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
With my second semester fast approaching, I thought this would be a good time to review my first semester of library school. I work full-time and was taking two classes […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
For many people, self-advocacy is tough. Period. But, it’s especially tough when you’re part of a profession in which budgets are often tight, roles are hierarchical, and barriers can feel […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
The thing about 2 years in graduate school is that there is an artificial ending built into the system, graduation. I graduated this May, passed the torch of Community Manager […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
As I approach graduation from my program, the “Oh God, I need a job” panic is starting to set in. As I work on applications, I’ve found that having a […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Let’s face it. Who doesn’t want a reason to justify their laziness and Game of Thrones binge watching? Well…hopefully not just me 🙂 But really, with classes, papers, projects, work, […]
In the past few months, I’ve been hustling to land a summer internship, endlessly trawling the internet for opportunities, incessantly bugging professors and mentors for recommendations, and rewriting my resume […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
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, […]
The conversation around the merits of distance LIS education is an ongoing process in the library profession. Popular discussion points include connecting with peers, job and life flexibility, financial pressures, […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
I am a Luddite, or at least on the Luddite spectrum. I drive a stick shift. I write in cursive. The only thing I dread more than a software update […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Whether you are a new or a returning student at your program, you should join at least one student group or organization. Similar to Kathy Kosinski’s post in August 2015, […]
When we talk about LIS education, we’re talking about providing education for a professional career in libraries, with all the traits the word ‘profession’ implies: professionalism, prolonged training, and formal education. This […]
Nearly everyone who has ever worked in a library or has experience in library work has encountered the following statement: “So, you work in a library. What exactly do you […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Summer 2015 I went on an interview for a position at a large, Midwestern university for work in the academic librarianship field. It started right before 8:00 a.m. and ended after […]
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 […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
During the course of my career as a library science graduate student, I learned that it is critical for librarians to have strong interpersonal skills, such as how to be a […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Have you ever felt like your colleagues know more about your field than you do? Or like your successes can be attributed to luck rather than hard work and persistence? […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!
Talking about time management is helpful. Tips and encouragement (as found here previously on HLS) are great ways to offer help about the time we have and how to best […]
Each week, we reflect on the top articles, blog posts, tweets, news, thoughts, and other tidbits we’ve found interesting or useful. Enjoy!