“There is a time for departure…”
In a little more than a week’s time, I will don my deliciously lemon yellow hood, (virtually) cross a stage, and know, with a heart full in equal measure of […]
Author Archives
Nick Dean
Election Day in America
It’s Election Day in America. Libraries and those who work in them have always played a leading role in American democracy. From librarians helping first-time voters register, to resources (both […]
The Path Forward
I recently finished Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and just let me say, “Woah!”. If you haven’t heard of The Midnight Library or haven’t been lucky enough to get your […]
Building Your Professional Library
As I approach the end of my MLS program, I find myself already starting to miss the library science academic environment and (as hard as it is to believe) the […]
Flexibility, or What Happens When Your Best Laid Plans Fall Apart
There is no class on it, it isn’t one of the ALA’s core values, and there aren’t many professional development opportunities focused on it solely. But, flexibility is a key […]
Concentrating on Concentrations
When I entered library school in early 2019, I was slightly obsessed with planning out my degree. Part of this comes with the terrain of being an academic advisor, but […]
What Adopting a Puppy Has Taught Me About Being a Librarian
Valentine’s Day – a day set aside to celebrate the ones you love, a day devoted to one of the highest expressions of the human spirit. This past Valentine’s Day […]
What Comes Next for Libraries?
Right now, information science professionals, along with most of the rest of the world are rightly concerned about and focused on COVID-19. Homemade masks have entered our daily wardrobes (when […]
What’s the Matter with Missouri?
I am angry. Quite angry. It is unusual for me to feel strong emotions, especially anger. But, apparently, politicians in my adopted home state of Missouri can get my blood […]
The Murky Middle
Much digital ink has been spilled, both on this site and others, about the process of selecting a graduate program in library & information science and starting such a graduate […]
What You Need to Know about Readers’ Advisory
It’s more than a little fitting that this post is being published today. Today marks the last class day of my third semester in library school. As hard as it […]
The Tyranny of Group Projects
Sometimes, I feel like a library school unicorn. At this, the (almost) halfway point of my journey to my MLS, I seem to be the only one who hasn’t fallen […]
Thoughts on An “Ideal” MLS
As a hacker for HLS, I am challenged to consider some of the biggest ideas in the field of library and information science. Furthermore, one of the primary questions for […]
Taking Your Knowledge on the Road
I am not exactly a novice when it comes to academic conferences. Not only have I presented and won statewide awards (twice!) before, but I also have experience from the […]
A Librarian Without Their Library
What is a librarian without their library? This isn’t some ancient riddle that you only learn the answer to once you’ve earned that hallowed MLS (or MLIS, or MIS, or […]
Library School, Your Partner, and You!
Library school (heck, graduate school in general) can be an all-consuming time-suck, if you let it become that. Even in my 1.5 semesters of library school (plus all of the […]
Having PRIDE in Your MLS
It’s June, faithful HLS readers, and, for many of us, that means one thing – Pride Month! Beyond colorful parades and fabulous parties, there is a serious meaning behind this […]
Meeting Marion
I am one semester into my Master of Library Science program and while my area of major interest (currently health librarianship!) has shifted and morphed over the past five months, […]
On Being Perfect (97% of the Time) in Library School
By day, I am an academic advisor for medical students. I enroll students, counsel student, and generally make sure at least one small slice of the next generation of doctors […]
HLS 