Ethical & accessible design in libraries
Librarians & designers agree: With great power comes great responsibility.
10 Digital Humanities Tools that Librarians Should Know About
Though the field of the digital humanities has been steadily growing in popularity in the past decade or so, it still has a bit of an ambiguous definition—the intersection between […]
How to Get Over Technophobia
Last semester, I heard of a concept called “performative technophobia,” in which someone might proclaim a fear or aversion to technology in hopes of either getting people do complete some […]
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 […]
Archives for the People: Notes from a Visit to Archives+
My library experience so far has been a battle of two passions – I love archives, and I could see myself spending the rest of my life holed up in […]
Learning from Technology Mishaps
Where is your phone located right now? How often do you boot up your computer? What are you using to read this? Technology has firmly planted itself in our lives; […]
Claim Your Name: Get Your ORCID iD
Chances are there is at least one other person in the world that shares your exact same name. You might have used multiple names during your lifetime, and you may […]
Coding in Librarianship – Tips, Tricks, and and Troublesome Foibles
2020 will define the next several years, perhaps the next decade or two, of librarianship in the United States. A cascade of statewide quarantines from March and onward wreaked havoc […]
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 […]
Libraries and the Newest Privacy Issue
Libraries no longer act solely as repositories of books. They now act as living rooms, offering anything from craft programs and makerspaces to computer classes and technology assistance. But what […]
Making a Makerspace
Before starting at the University of Washington, a former coworker once asked if I was going to be taking classes on how to sew and thread a needle in my […]
Surviving Tech Courses
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.
A People’s History of (Humanities) Computing in the United States
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 […]
Facilitation & Data Operations in Academic Libraries
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 […]
The Best Interface Is No Interface: Perspectives Beyond Library World
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 […]
According to the Internet
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 […]
The Five Stages of Discussion Posts
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 […]
Two Databases in the Rough
As you work through your time in library school you are going to become intimately familiar with many different databases. You will know the ins and out of those hosted […]
Digital Humanities, Service to Graduate Students and Why Future Academic Librarians Should Care
This article presents a brief overview of the digital humanities and the reasons why future academic librarians ought to pay attention to it, and focuses on a somewhat neglected area of service–service to humanities graduate students
Get Ready! The 2020 Census is Coming!
2020 will be a very interesting year. The United States will have another presidential election. The James Webb telescope, Hubble’s replacement, is scheduled to launch into space. And the United […]
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 […]
Living and Learning with Information Literacy
As a librarian-in-the-making, I have had some experience with setting up different educational websites and training aids—I run the site for my small educational business, for example, but until my […]
Visualize It: Ann K. Emery
Have you ever needed to make a chart or graph for a presentation or project? Creating a simple visual tool may appear to be an easy task, but with seemingly […]
Visualize It: Uncertainty
As I explored the work of data visualization experts and practitioners in an Introduction to Information Visualization class in the fall of 2017, the website and work of Alberto Cairo […]
Creativity, Communities, and Your Local Library
My neighborhood library, the Main Library in San Francisco, is continually active with classes, events, speakers, and makerspace. Although there are many programs for adults, they are mostly focused around […]
Visualize It: Indexed by Jessica Hagy
One of my favorite components of library school is the opportunity to take an elective that dives into an interesting topic and learning more about a world or community that […]
Library Adventures
Prior to library school, I never saw librarianship as a particularly adventurous career. So I was pleased to discover that librarianship can take one to exciting places.
Visualize It: Hurricane Harvey
The late summer and fall of 2017 had more than its fair share of disastrous weather, particularly when it came to hurricanes making landfall. In the midst of these storms […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Professional Development for your Earbuds
One of the hazards of library school is a distinct lack of spare time. While I find myself doing plenty of reading for classes, it’s tough to squeeze in extra […]
Add STEAM to Your Next Program
One benefit to working at a library while being in library school is having the practical, on-the-ground experience to complement what is being taught in the classroom. However, when you […]
Your EAD Primer: Part 2
Author’s Note: This post is Part 2 of the EAD Primer written by Carissa Hansen in December 2016. The author will also present a poster on the topic of EAD […]
ASpace: The Archival Frontier
ASpace: The Archival Frontier. These are the voyages of the Star Ship UIowa. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new information management systems, to seek out new tricks and new […]
Hack Your Job Search: Keep It Organized!
Like many hackers before me, I embarked on my post-MLIS job search over the winter break. As I have only been doing this for about a month, I don’t have […]
Your EAD Primer: Part 1
Author’s Note: Over the last few months, I’ve heard from several archives students that they’ve had trouble gaining experience with Encoded Archival Description (EAD) in their classes. Luckily, EAD is […]
The Glamorous World of Data Modelling
This semester, I am enrolled in a Digital Humanities seminar. I wanted to get a theoretical foundation for how evolving technology is shaping […]
Technology & Coalition Building: A Critical Review of Online Platforms
Last September, Hack Library School outlined three initiatives to work on over the next year. Since then, we’ve made some changes according to these initiatives–some expected, some not. What has come out of those […]
The Library Bubble: Why It’s Important and Why We Need to Burst It
In the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the bubbles I create for myself – the bubble that made the recent election results so utterly unimaginable to […]
Confronting the Myths of Coding and Librarianship
This semester I enrolled in LIS452, “Foundations of Information Processing.” I am learning Python. I’m learning how to code!
Digital Literacy, Small Children, & Lots of Hugs [Farewell Post]
During graduate school, lots of things changed in my life. I gained new perspectives, read challenging articles and theories, traveled to Italy to present research I worked on, faced the […]
Watchdogs Guarding Watchdogs: Library Loss Prevention
Theft is a concern in all libraries. The best practices employ a combination techniques to create environments in which all stakeholders are empowered to protect the collection.
Modern Lud: How I Cope with the Rise of Technology
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 […]
The Growing Importance of User Experience In Libraries
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 […]
Wikipedia had a birthday and invited librarians to the party
Happy birthday – 15 January 2016 marked fifteen years of Wikipedia. To mark it they asked “each librarian on earth” to take part in #1Lib1Ref – adding a citation to […]
Learning LIS Tech as a Novice
As I’m sure our readers know…I’m a rare book person…oh you didn’t know that? You mean me talking about it constantly didn’t give it away? Starting last summer, though, my […]
Cloud Storage: Dropbox
All Hail Cloud Storage Summer’s an excellent time to reenergize, as well as a fine period for preparing for upcoming classwork or for reevaluating old methods & making new tactics. […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Open Access (or, why I love the internet)
The internet is pretty awesome guys. Privacy attacks and trolls aside, no other tool humans have ever created can match its potential for information transfer. Sure, I often use it […]
Rock that discussion board
Learning to love online classes has to be one of the biggest surprises I’ve had in my first year of library school. I’d still go for in-person classes if time and money permitted it, because being physically isolated from library people can suck, but I’ve genuinely enjoyed the online atmosphere […]
Librarianship Unplugged
A few months ago at work, at approximately 10:30 a.m., the Internet went down and service was not restored until about 4 o’clock that afternoon. Considering that I work at a public library where many of the patrons are there specifically for using the Internet and that the Internet is […]
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 […]
Top Twitter Hashtags for Librarians
Are you ready to become a tweetbrarian? Twitter is a fantastic tool for engaging with other librarians, monitoring LIS trends and debates in real time, and gathering unfiltered insights and inspiration from peers and seasoned professionals. The challenge for new tweeters is to know where to start among the 5,000 librarylanders on Twitter! So […]
Editing Wikipedia While In Library School
Are you a Wikibrarian? I recently became one—a librarian who edits Wikipedia (“the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit”)—and I have found the experience rewarding in the extreme. I have even stumbled into a role as an embedded consultant, helping faculty teach undergrads how to write Wikipedia articles on gender history, on which improvements are […]
Cheap Skate or Pioneering Information Professional?
I’m not going to say that my graduate student budget forced me into the world of open source software, but it certainly didn’t hurt. There was a time when “open source” was synonymous with “free of charge”, but with the proliferation of mobile technologies and free apps, the lines between […]
The Highs and Lows of Teen Tech Week
If you work in teen services you are probably already elbow deep in programming, but for the rest here is a reminder: it is almost Teen Tech Week! Next week, March 9-15, libraries across the country will be celebrating YALSA’s “DIY @ your library” theme by providing programs on coding, […]
The (Other) Digital Divide
When people discuss the digital divide, they are usually talking about how race and class differences contribute to one’s ability to access and use computers and the Internet. But in my opinion, there is another digital divide among professionals, one that separates those who make their living creating technologies and […]
12 New Reasons Not to Do Your Homework
You’re already reading Hack Library School, and you’ve undoubtedly heard about the magic being done at INALJ. Therefore, it can be deduced that you are indeed a savvy library student. But don’t you ever feel the need to branch out? Don’t you ever want to diversify your list of go-to […]
A Liberal Arts Major’s Guide to Coding
As programmer and tech journalist Ciara Byrne noted in her op-ed “No–You Don’t Need to Learn To Code”, learning to code is not always fun, easy, or even useful for every career path. Nonetheless, programming can develop several soft skills that translate across a broad range of professions. In addition […]
Hack Your Study Space
Although I’ve been working on an MLS for a little over two years, I’m still trying to improve my study space. While I plan to work IN a library when I graduate, my default study space is at home. One thing I’ve learned in talking to my library school classmates […]
Technology in Education: Too Much or Not Enough?
My first interaction with a computer was in my second grade public school classroom. Each day we had a set rotation where students either spent the afternoon reading a book, writing in a journal, or playing in the “computer lab.” The latter rotation section was a favorite because a handful […]
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 […]
Library School Resolutions
Happy New Year, hackers! I hope that everyone had a nice, relaxing holiday break, and that you’re all refreshed and ready for a new semester. With classes starting next week for me, I thought I would take some time to come up with a few resolutions to guide me through […]
[Series] So What Do You Do? Interning for Government Website Usability
This post is part of a new series called “So What Do You Do?” in which LIS students talk about their experiences as interns. We want to showcase the wide range of things people are doing in the world of library and information science. Tell us a bit about yourself. […]
Digitizing Our Stories: Why Narrative Matters Most in Libraries
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Kelly Minta. The concept of librarians creating content and using grassroots promotional techniques to present libraries to the public isn’t a new idea, but it is happening in more innovative ways today. The creation of content, whether on interactive user-generated sites or […]
Lauren Pressley Wants to Give You Her Book!
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two part series. An interview with Andromeda Yelton of Gluejar will be posted next week on Thursday, December 6. We drew you in, didn’t we? Well, it’s true: librarian and author Lauren Pressley is working with crowdfunding startup unglue.it to provide free access […]
Wikipedia, Libraries and the GLAM Project
How often do you use Wikipedia? If you’re anything like me, probably a lot! I’ve been interested in exploring the relationship between libraries and what I’m pretty sure it’s the only encyclopedia I’ve ever used for a long time (giant physical copies were already on their way out by the […]
Pinning for the Patrons
A few months ago a co-worker introduced me to Pinterest with the disclaimer that I would waste massive amounts of time on the platform once engaged. And they were right. I’ve spent a great deal of time collecting recipes I’ll never cook, outfits I’ll never buy and ideas to repurpose […]
Librarian By Name, Geek By Nature
My cohort, we talk. After our weekend intensive classes, we often go out roaming in search of a likely bar, and when we find one, we sit, we drink, and we talk. And since we’ve generally just spent 12 hours in class together, we usually end up talking about library […]
The Case for Non-Digital Technologies
so much dependsupon a red wheelbarrow glazed with rainwater beside the whitechickens. The literature fan in me can’t help but begin with William Carlos Williams’s well-known poem from his collection Spring and All (1923), if only with the flimsiest excuse of lifting the phrase “so much depends” for this post (and for the […]
Digital Makeover: Updating a Study Abroad Library
An interesting post from Justin De La Cruz, who has written for us before about doing an online MLIS. I’m in a unique position. In the second year of my MLIS program at Florida State University, I’ve been granted the opportunity to work and study abroad in Florence, Italy. I’m […]
The Little Big Red Bookstore That Couldn’t
I’ve written on my own blog about my feelings as a Borders employee and the company’s collapse. In this post I intend to dissect why Borders failed, and what it means for books, bookstores, and libraries. There are a lot of factors that led to Big Red Books’ down fall, […]
Ever Heard of a Librarian Who Doesn’t Read? – OR – What I’ve Learned in Library School So Far.
{This is one of the first posts I wrote about my experiences in Library School, and it spawned a great series of guest posts over at my blog. This was kind of the impetus that began the hacklibschool seedling in my mind. Enjoy!} I know. This is like the worst […]
HLS 