Keeping Active at the Office
Let’s face it: with some exceptions, library work consists of a lot of sitting and staring at a computer screen. Sure, you might be doing roving reference, or taking a […]
Library Work Won’t Love You Back
This summer, I have been fortunate to have an internship that I love. I loved the work of cataloging, enjoyed the company of my coworkers, learned a lot, and actually […]
Creating Boundaries in Work, School, and Life
I’ve been fortunate enough to stay employed (at a library) during the pandemic, but even a quick glance through the posts at #protectlibraryworkers will reveal libraries who furloughed their staff […]
What is Flexibility? Building Ease Into My Grad School Life
We’ve been talking a lot on the blog lately about how the past year has impacted our lives, our education, our job searches, and everything in between. One of the […]
What Even is Fun?
At the University of Washington, all MLIS students are required to complete a capstone project – some sort of large-scale, cumulative work that demonstrates information science skills relevant to our […]
Practicing Compassion
One of the things that drew me to librarianship in the first place was the helpful and non-judgemental environment that many librarians throughout my life have created for me. While […]
Taking It Slow
Hello! My name is Lauren Bauer, this is my first article for Hack Library School, and I have something I’d like to get off my chest: it’s going to take […]
In my own little corner, in my own little chair (is where I’ve been for the past few months)
At this point, the fall semester is in full swing for many of us. For me, I’ve just wrapped up the third week of the semester and I’m gearing up […]
A New Sense of Normal: Libraries and Virtual Internships
My plan for this summer was set to go: I was to continue working as a graduate assistant on campus, take two classes, and complete the field study requirement as […]
Thoughts on Going Remote
It’s official: my Spring 2020 semester has come to an end – and I am halfway through my MLIS! Along with navigating the murky middle that comes with the mid-point […]
Musings on the Pandemic
Last month, I posted about how working from home and being in school made for a terrible experience as worlds collide. I wish I could say there’s been some improvement, […]
Tackling Concentration Issues
As an online student at the University of Washington, I take just two courses each quarter over the course of three years. At the beginning of this quarter, I was […]
On Productivity
The month of March has felt exhausting. With the shift to telework and remote classes to constant concerns about COVID-19 to practicing social distancing, everyone is working to adjust to […]
Work/Life Balance, Mental Health, and Rest for LIS Professionals and Students
These topics of mental health, burnout, work/life balance, and otherwise surviving library school and the profession have been frequent discussions this year. They keep coming up on the blog; Jane […]
Staying Busy During Coronavirus
Coronavirus has caused us to make plenty of changes, from library closures to cancelled events and a shift from residential courses to an online environment. Here are some ways to […]
Avoid the Discussion Board Trap
What I’m about to say may not work for every program, professor, or class, but it’s a piece of advice I wish I had heard before I started my online […]
New Semester Goals
I don’t know about anyone else, but creating New Year’s Resolutions has always been nerve-wracking for me. Personally, it’s daunting to plan something regularly over the course of 366 days […]
The Anatomy of Compromise – Late Stage MLIS Musings
This week marks the beginning of my new library assistant position at an academic library and, in essence, my first legitimate librarian job. On the plus side, this will not […]
Mindfulness
Whether you’re at the very beginning, middle, or nearing the end of your career as a graduate student, library school can be overwhelming. In this often liminal space, the lines […]
Embracing Good Enough
There have been several posts on self-care in the past two months, as Kerri wrote about the separation of work and school and recognizing secondary traumatic stress; Katelyn started a […]
Burnout and Library School
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 […]
All Dressed Up and Nowhere To Go – MLIS vs The Real World
Photo courtesy of Aubrey Young I am at a number of halfway points in my library career: halfway through my internship, halfway through this semester, halfway through the trajectory of […]
MLIS Internship – Taking the Plunge
Photo Courtesy of dsleeter_2000 (CC BY-NC 2.0) In a few days, I embark on my fourth semester of library school. It will have been a full year since I started […]
Friends, Waffles, Work [Farewell]
If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you may have noticed that I disappeared (pretty suddenly) a few months ago. I’ve discussed my unconventional path on the blog before, […]
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 […]
Lessons from outside the classroom : managing information overload
If I had to choose one phrase to describe my first year of library school, “information overload” would be a strong contender.
