TikTok Tips and Trends for Libraries
Last month, I wrote an introduction to how TikTok can be leveraged by libraries to connect with younger audiences. I’ve spent a couple of months making videos on the app […]
TikTok for Libraries
It is shocking how few libraries are on TikTok. It’s not exactly new, but it’s definitely *the* up-and-coming social media platform. I’ve written about social media for libraries on HLS […]
Trans and Gender Diverse LIS Network
This is a guest post from Stephen Krueger. The Trans and Gender Diverse LIS Network is a closed online community of trans and gender diverse people who work in libraries. […]
The Future of Algorithms and Collaborative Tagging in Our Libraries
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Jessica Luna. Searching has become a common thread in my daily life as an MLIS student. Learning basic and advanced methods of […]
Programming Ideas for Libraries
I love programming. It’s my favorite part of my job. It is enormously satisfying to see patrons enjoying themselves in the library. In the best situations, they learn something too. […]
Owning Your Professional Engagement
Editor’s Note: this post was originally published on August 11, 2016. Until this summer, I never struggled with feeling disconnected as a student or a professional. I chose an in-person […]
Just 15 Funny Library Tweets
Hi all. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting to the point in the semester where I’m rapidly running out of gas. I’m swamped with work and only have […]
8 Tips and Tricks for Managing a Library’s Social Media Accounts [Part 2]
Hello, everyone! Last month I wrote about the first four tips and tricks for managing your library’s social media account which included 1.) know your audiences, 2.) know your platforms, […]
8 Tips and Tricks for Managing a Library’s Social Media Accounts [Part 1]
When I was interviewing for my current position, my future supervisor asked me, “Would you be interested in helping us run our social media accounts?” Like a good interviewee I […]
First Library Job: Historic Maryland Newspapers Project
Coming into my first semester of library school last fall, I had almost no work experience in a library. Outside of my time interning in a government archive during undergrad, […]
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 […]
Hack Social Media
Social media can be an excellent way to promote and market library services and resources. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook open up opportunities to engage in conversation with patrons, increase library […]
SESTA/FOSTA and LIS [Farewell]
My semester is coming to its end, though my grad school career is not (I still have one more semester!). Still, this will be my last post on Hack Library […]
Thinking about “Post-Truth”, #ThisIsNotUs, & Charlottesville
Following up on yesterday’s great post about handling anxiety in our current social climate, I wanted to talk a bit more on situating ourselves as information professionals in light of […]
Three Things I am Not Neutral About
On April 13, Ivanka Trump sent out a tweet in honor of National Library Week. “…we honor our libraries and librarians for opening our eyes to the world of knowledge.” […]
Creating Community: Five Simple Steps to Help You Become Involved On and Off Campus
Getting involved as a student is an important part of the MLIS experience but it’s easier said than done (especially for those of us who are introverts!) Here are five short and simple ways to get involved on and off campus as an MLIS student:
#dearHLS: Announcing HLS’s Very First Twitter Chat!
Mark your calendars! Hack Library School will host its very first Twitter chat on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 8pm CST.
Making Connections: Your SLIS-mates and You
As I’m sure many of you know the last month or so of the semester is a real time crunch. (We do have some posts on managing it all here, here, […]
Let’s Talk Listservs
You’re a savvy library student. You read HLS, you may be active on Twitter, you’re learning to network with other library students and librarians—you’re doing it all right. There are […]
#critlib: Chatty Critical Librarianship on Twitter
No matter how exhausted I am, every other Tuesday night I do something that helps reinforce and nuance what I’m learning in library school: I spend an hour or so […]
A Multitude of You 2.0’s
Way back in 2011, this blog featured a pair of posts about personal branding, the idea of designing and manging your professional, digital self. In Online Presence, a.k.a. You 2.0, Annie reminded us of the importance of being ‘Googleable’ and of our abilities to control the information that employers can […]
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 […]
Social Media and #LIS
In library and information science schools we are coming to terms with, well, terms. Lexicons, vocabularies, common jargon sets and search terms are the tools of our trade. So I ask: Have you noticed though how many verbs have been web-born? Or, in the spirit of web 2.0, social web-re-born? […]
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 […]
The Library Will Be Crowdfunded
Crowdfunding is when individuals come together as a crowd to fund projects by other individuals and organizations. Often funders get perks or rewards for their contribution, ranging from small benefits like a thank you post card or a tote bag to original artwork or a private concert. The two most popular crowdfunding […]
Librarianship and Freedom of Expression in the Era of the Global Internet
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by David Winger. When I looked at the New York Times website a few weeks ago and saw that Twitter had agreed to a formal request from the German government to block access by users in Germany to the Twitter account of a […]
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Social Media
I’d like to start my tenure here at Hack Library School with a dose of brutal honesty: I’m not a huge fan of people. Ok, to be fair, it’s not that I don’t LIKE people. It’s just that, as an introvert, I find them exhausting, and the prospect of seemingly […]
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 […]
Is LinkedIn worth the effort?
A classmate from my Transformative Learning and Technology Literacies class at San Jose State University sent me a LinkedIn connection request about a month ago prompting a total revamp of my oft-neglected and unfinished LinkedIn profile. I realized that my profile needed to be presentable if my classmates were going […]
Marketing in the library
One concern that has been mentioned in many of my classes is the lack of marketing about the library. Librarians and libraries perform vital services but many people are unaware of what these services are. This affects all kinds of libraries. One professor, who also worked at a public library, […]
To Read Tues: Recommended Reading Twitter Question
We got a question on Twitter over the weekend about reading material for LIS: RT @brandontlocke: Any recommended reads for aspiring/future MLIS students? It is difficult to respond to such a question in 140 characters or less. I made the attempt by suggesting reputable blogs and e-news sources for LIS […]
Walking a fine line: You 2.0 vs. well, You
Last winter my colleague Annie wrote about the importance of online self-branding for information professionals. I couldn’t agree more that personal branding is important for both budding and seasoned professionals. Not only does it demonstrate a level of competency with social media technologies, but it also demonstrates that you’re connected […]
[Series] Hack ALA: Get Your Network On!
ALA is the largest library conference in the nation. It brings together different librarians from across the country, all in one place. It gives everyone the opportunity to meet new people and network. This is pretty fantastic if you think about it, but for a newbie student or librarian who […]
You’re Invited to #libchat
This guest post comes to us from Natalie Binder. It was originally posted on her blog, The Binder Blog. Natalie is a master’s degree student at Florida State University’s School of Information and Communication (FSU-SLIS), with concentrations in technology and special collections. She currently works at a public library as a cataloger […]
Online Presence, a.k.a. You 2.0
First Post by Annie Pho, a new member of the HLS editorial team! Stuff about me: I’m in my second semester of SLIS at Indiana University-Indianapolis. I currently work on the digital library team at IUPUI (my university library). My interests are the digital preservation of culture, art librarianship and […]
Twitter in Library School
Last semester I took the class, User Instruction, as an elective. For our final assignment we had to create a 15 minute tutorial on anything library-related for any type of audience. Since over the last 6 months or so I have had a love affair with Twitter, especially since it […]
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