Hack Library School: Fall 2011 Kickoff!

Back to School. New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

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 the rituals of the new school year.  Be it ensuring you have the perfect pens and Post-it notes, setting up your study nook, researching professors, or mapping out your plan to keep it totally paperless this semester, welcome to the Fall semester!  Here at Hack Library School, we’re excited for the coming months.

[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, you might not be challenged. You might be missing out on some good foundational information about LIS. You might not meet your favorite group member. You might miss your favorite instructor! You might miss an opportunity for your cohort to make an inside joke that will last for years to come! You might not realize that even though you really WANT to be an academic librarian, you really SHOULD be a public librarian. Library School has a way of helping you find yourself.

So, while you’re taking those first couple of required courses, you’ve got to peruse the course catalog! You may think you have just started classes, but before you know it, an adviser will be contacting you and announcing class registration dates and times and instructions. Be prepared. Here’s how.

[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 Annie and Rebecca take on reference.

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 living somewhere in the United States.  He is an avid (albeit unpaid) reader, writer, photographer and, if it really means anything, philosopher as well. You can find him writing at The Socratic Librarian (an experiment in applying philosophical examination to the life of librarians, librarianship and a bit of the information professions more generally) and The Blank Rectangle (A blog about the most forgotten/ignored state in the US — North Dakota — where Jeremy is originally from).

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 bit of everything during my time in graduate school.  At Simmons, as part of the general course towards a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science, there are 5 required classes and then you can choose your other 7 electives.   You can see my final list of courses here.  As you may be able to tell, I was a little all over the board.  I think that’s because, often, this can be a bit of an organic process where you start seeing what you like and don’t like, based on classes, internships, other experiences, etc.

However, none of this probably helps, necessarily, to answer the question, ‘What Classes Should I Take?!’  And as you may have guessed, there is obviously not a clear answer to that.  I will, however, try to briefly describe my favorite classes and why they ended up on the short list.  I also cannot emphasize this enough.  I wish that I had spoken more with other students at the beginning of my program to find out more about certain professors and classes.  Your colleagues are your lifelines.  Use their expertise!!