Can We Talk? Community Conversation in Libraries
If there’s one skill I find equally challenging and exhilarating about my work as a Public Services Librarian is grant writing. Finding investment opportunities for small & rural libraries can […]
The Power of Zines
I’ve discovered a new obsession lately: the zine. In this post, I will get into a brief history and examination of what zines are and how they pertain to libraries. […]
Access, Accessibility, & Edgar Allan Poe
I recently celebrated the end of the summer with a somewhat impulsive trip to Providence, Rhode Island. As a native Coloradan, my landlocked background thoroughly equipped me to enjoy the […]
A List of Resources to Practice Critical Cataloging
In my Information Organization course at Simmons, we had two weeks dedicated to classification theory, which included some materials about critical cataloging. Critical cataloging is, essentially, being aware of and […]
The Two Towers: Vocational Awe and Neutrality
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from author and librarian Josh Chan. In May 2021, I had the great honour of being one of five presenters for the British […]
Review – The Disorientation Guide to Librarianship
My very first week of library school, my assigned reading for my intro class – LIS 601: Information Contexts and Perspectives – was “Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We […]
Parting Thoughts (and My Farewell)
It’s crazy to think that I’m finally writing my farewell post. It’s even crazier to think that I’ve written over two dozen posts for Hack Library School because I applied […]
Decentralizing Romance in YA Literature
This quarter, I am taking a class with the title “Resources for Digital Age Teens.” Among other things, this class has required me to read more young adult literature in […]
Facing my stereotypes
I am a Californian by birth. I was raised in a city that included one of the many missions that dot coastal California, in my case the Mission San Jose. […]
Structural Racism, Actions, and Libraries
On January 6, 2021, I was getting some work done when I heard that the U.S. Capitol was being breached. For the rest of the night, I settled in to […]
How Do We Talk About Structural Racism?
We talk a lot about equity, diversity, and inclusivity – or some other combination of those words – in our field a lot. It makes sense, given that librarianship is […]
Documenting the Chinese student experience at an American college during the pandemic
This past summer, I took part in an oral history project designed to collect stories of the University of Iowa (UI) community’s reactions to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic in textual […]
I’m Tired: A Perspective on BIPOC Student Labor
It has become nearly impossible for me to take a break, and I believe most of it is because I am a person of color. When EDI is the issue […]
Passivity in Library School
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 […]
Want People to Vote? Then We Have to Talk About Digital Literacy.
As one day melts into the next and the nightmare that is the year 2020 continues to churn on, we somehow find ourselves a mere 44 days out from Election […]
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 […]
D.I.Y. Until We Die: Support These Zines Made by BIPOC Artists
Zines are having a moment. With so many folks staying home and looking for new ways to keep themselves occupied, it’s no wonder that #quaranzine has been trending on social […]
When one of us screws up and we do nothing, that makes us all look bad. And no, backpedaling doesn’t help.
On July 4th, a story broke about UWM School of Information Studies Senior Lecturer Betsy Schoeller and the heinous comment she made about the murder of Specialist Vanessa Guillen on […]
Civil Engagement and Librarianship
Choosing to be civilly engaged has never been easier. As citizens, we are bombarded with 24-hour news through every means of device: our phones, computers, televisions, and, if you are […]
The Racist Problem with Library Subject Classifications
This month, I was inspired by my fellow HLS contributors, Lauren, Aubrey, Kerri, Alyssa, and Conrrado, to attempt to critically examine the ways in which anti-Black racism and other prejudices […]
It’s the Algorithm: How Your Favorite Search Engine Promotes Racism
In the fall of 2010, Safiya Umoja Noble was searching the internet; looking for things that may interest her stepdaughter and nieces. However, when she Googled the phrase “black girls,” […]
Thoughts on Racism in LIS
It’s been a tiring end to the academic year. The University of Washington’s quarter system means that final assignments were due last week. But, after a pandemic and protests concerning […]
Why We Need to Talk About Intersectionality in Library Settings
Like many of you, I have been experiencing a lot of emotional fatigue lately. Between our ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the events that have unfolded over the last few weeks […]
10 Things Librarian Allies Can Do
According to a 2010 ALA diversity study, 88% of librarians are white [1]. This is a huge problem in its own right, but guess what? 88% of us have an […]
On Pride, Plagues, and Black Lives Matter – The Life and Death of the Right to Information
scottmontreal. (2012, July 24). AIDS Activists protest private prison Wells Fargo [Digital image]. Retrieved June 07, 2020, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottmontreal/7654400724 If one does not learn from history, one is doomed to […]
We need to talk about diversity and neutrality in libraries
Libraries have a diversity problem and a neutrality problem. We all know this; and a lot of us even actually acknowledge it. But, we’re still fighting to shift the tide […]
Other Duties As Assigned
This week, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about all of the many things I do as a library supervisor that are not written into my job […]
Libraries Should Take Sides: Breaking Down the Neutrality Myth
This month, the Vanderbilt University Library began an advertising campaign which features a sign that reads, “Libraries don’t take sides.” It’s bright yellow with black block text floating on the […]
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 […]
I Don’t Love My Job: Millennial Burnout and the Devaluation of Library Labor
There’s a sign in the cafe attached to the library I work at. It reads, “The UC is making us sick.” I work at the University of California, Santa Cruz […]
Microaggressions in Library and Information Science
“You speak excellent English.” “I don’t consider you as Mexican/Black/any other racial minority.” “Where are you really from?” Microaggressions are a reality for many minorities as we go about our […]
OLA’s 2019 Copyright Symposium at the Intersection of Copyright Law and Indigenous Knowledge
During my day job, I handle copyright at an academic library, so I was supremely lucky this year that my manager was able and willing to send me to the […]
Libraries + Census = Successful Partnership
The 2020 Census is upon us. After many months of controversy around which questions could or could not be asked (note: citizenship is not a question); come April 1st, 2020, […]
To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [Series]: ALA Ethnic Caucuses (and more) Part 2
In this second part, I cover the American Indian Library Association (AILA) and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). At the end I touch on some other non-ALA groups that might be of interest to readers.
To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [Series]: ALA Ethnic Caucuses Part 1
Before even starting library school, students can join local and national associations, such as the American Library Association, often at a student rate. Within ALA are five ethnic caucuses: the American Indian Library Association (AILA), the Asian Pacific American Library Association (APALA), the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), the Chinese American Library Association (CALA) and REFORMA—the National Association to Promote Library Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.
Why Library Science and Social Work Need to Collaborate More
Service. Equity. Commitment to communities. These are themes found in both the American Library Association Code of Ethics and the National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics. Indeed, librarians […]
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 […]
To my fellow LIS Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [Series]: Introduction
When I applied to library school, I knew I was taking a risk. I was finishing up my undergraduate degree in American Ethnic Studies (AES) and my classes were always filled with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color). Sure, my English classes, my other major, were full of white people and I had grown up in a predominantly white suburb, but I felt lucky that I had so many positive experiences in AES. But looking around at my MLIS orientation I knew that this would be different. My program, and as an extension the field, looked nothing like me. How was I going to survive three years, especially as an online student?
HLS 