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By LISSA West, January 26, 2010 2:37 pm

If you’re making the trip to Boston this semester for the first time and are considering driving in the whole way, you might want to:

• Get a Simmons photo ID. (This is different than the one you received from Mount Holyoke.) To obtain an ID, go to the Campus Card Services Office, located in the basement of the Main College Building, E-007. There, trade in your photo-less ID (if you have one; previous semesters haven’t always handed them out) and obtain a new ID card. Someone there will snap your picture and, seconds later, print out the card for you.
  
• Put ParkingCash on your card. You can put any amount you want on it, all usable in the underground parking garage on campus.
  

Read more about on-campus parking (and other ways of getting to Simmons East).

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By LISSA West, January 25, 2010 9:50 am

Our trusty Simmons College Library liaison Brooke Bergantzel (Dean’s Fellow for GSLIS West) will be hosting several workshops in February to guide new students through the GSLIS Toolkit, several super-helpful tools you might use in your coming semesters. Additionally, she’ll offer assistance with the Technology Orientation Requirement (TOR). Mark your calendars for February 7 and 28: Learn more here.

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By LISSA West, January 14, 2010 7:21 pm

If, in the holiday rush, you weren’t able to complete your fall course evaluations, please do fill out the PDF from the link below and either email to lissawest@simmons.edu or put in the appropriate class folder in the GSLIS West office. (There’s a stack right outside the front computer room.)

Your feedback on courses and professors is, of course, incredibly valuable; we’ll be digitizing all evaluations in the coming weeks and will have them available on the LISSA West eLearning site.

**GSLIS_Course_Evaluation***

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By LISSA West Co-President Alex Lent, October 5, 2009 1:27 pm

Here’s a list of the courses that will be offered at GSLIS West this Spring semester. Course schedules will be out in a few days. For more information, including links to course descriptions, see the Official Simmons College course schedule website.

LIS 407 – Reference and Information Services
LIS 414 – Organization and Management of Corporate Libraries
LIS 415 – Information Organization
LIS 422 – Literacy Services to Underserved Populations: Issues and Responses
LIS 440 – Archival Access and Use
LIS 458 – Database Management
LIS 469 – XML – eXtensible Markup Language
LIS 471 – Photographic Archives and Visual Information
LIS 483 – Young Adult Literature
LIS 488 – Technology for Information Professionals
LIS 495 – Apprenticeship (preK – 12)
LIS 498 – Practicum (preK – 8 )
LIS 499 – Practicum (7 – 12)
LIS 500 – Independent Study

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By LISSA West Co-Vice President Graham Christian, September 28, 2009 4:19 pm

Please read the following GSLIS_Info list announcement from Richard Gates.

The GSLIS Business cards are a great deal and VERY useful over your time in the program – for handing out to your new friends and potential future employers!

Hi, Everyone!

I am writing to inform GSLIS MS Candidates of the opportunity to order
business cards. The cost is $16.50 for 250 cards. The deadline to submit
your order form is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2009. Printing of the cards takes 3-6
weeks. Many students in the past have found having business cards to be
helpful in their job search and professional networking as they transition
to a life beyond GSLIS!

Since the date of your (expected) graduation will be printed on your card
(example: “MS Candidate ’10″) you will want to be fairly certain of your
date of graduation. I would say a rule of thumb might be if you’ve
submitted a Petition to Graduate, you’re probably good-to-go to have “MS
CANDIDATE ’10″printed on your business cards.

Students who are planning to graduate at the end of the Fall 2009 semester
will want to print of their cards
“MS CANDIDATE ’10″ since your degree will be conferred in January 2010,
although you will have completed your course work in December 2009.

NOTE: at this time, this offer is NOT available to GSLIS
*graduates*…those students who have already completed their GSLIS degree.

Attached is an order form to order your business cards. Blank forms are
also available at the Student Services Center, P-212 Please be advised that
your check for $16.50 MUST BE SUBMITTED at the time you turn in your order
form.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Richard Gates
Student Services Manager
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Simmons College
300 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 521-2797 (phone)
(617) 521-3192 (fax)
richard.gates@simmons.edu

Get the form on the LISSA West Wiki here. You may need to log in.

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By LISSA West, September 14, 2009 5:21 pm

At the top of my Super-Helpful-During-My-First-Semester-of-Library-School list is having set up a personal wiki. There, I organized my sources for Reference (and referred back to them there during the final), stored in-process papers, jotted things I was panicky about between classes, took notes when doing readings I knew I wanted to reference in papers later, and so forth. I still use it, and like that it’s sort of a sandbox / memoir of previous semesters’ endeavors.

Linnea and her awesome crew of Boston GSLIS tech lab folks can set you up with one within a couple hours: Check it out here. Then, note all the other new tech links at right.

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By LISSA West, September 11, 2009 4:50 pm

The ever-helpful Beatley Library staff is hosting their GSLIS Tool Kit Foundations workshop this Sunday, September 13. If you’re new to the program or feel like you need a refresher on some of these topics, pop in for all or some of the sessions:

9:30 am – 10:00 am    Meet and Greet over coffee in the GSLIS office
10:00 am – 10:45 am   OPAC and Beyond
11:00 am – 12:30 pm   Who is LISA, Anyway?
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm   Break for lunch
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm   RefWorks: Make it work for you
2:45 pm – 3:30 pm   E-Z Ebooks
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm   Wrap-up and evaluation

The crew will meet you in the GSLIS West office; bring a laptop. (And a snack. It can help.)

Please RSVP to Brooke at brooke.bergantzel@simmons.edu

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By LISSA West Co-President Alex Lent, September 11, 2009 10:39 am

1. Attend a Conference
The professional development reimbursement fund can be used to offset registration, travel, and lodging expenses for conferences in library and information science and related fields. In that past semester students have funded their attendance at conferences like the Association of College and Research Libraries National Conference in Seattle, the Art Libraries Society of North America Conference in Indianapolis, the Digital Commonwealth Conference in Worcester, and the Massachusetts Computer-Using Educators Conference.

2. Join a Professional Organization
The benefits of professional memberships often include subscriptions to scholarly journals, discounted conference admission, and networking opportunities like listservs and job boards. Over the past few semesters students have used reimbursement funds to join all of the major national and regional library and information science organizations (including ALA, SLA, ACRL, SAA, ASIS&T, MLA…) as well as scholarly associations in other fields that tie into their individualized career plans like the American Historical Association, Guild of Book Workers, and L’Alliance Française.

3. Take a Course or Workshop
LIS and related workshops and courses offered outside the Simmons GSLIS curriculum are eligible for professional development reimbursement. Simmons offers an ongoing series of GSLIS Continuing Education (GSLIS CE) workshops and offer a major discount on registration fees for current students. Upcoming workshops include “Isn’t Otaku a Type of Sushi? Graphic Novels, Manga and Anime,” “Digital Copyright,” and “Creating Website Indexes.” Students can also be reimbursed for courses and workshops taken elsewhere, for instance, a paper conservation workshop at the North Bennet Street School, a DACS workshop offered by the Society of American Archivists, and a seven-week Law Librarians of New England Legal Research Class at Boston College.

Further Reading and Necessary Paperwork
The official policy, reimbursement forms, and FAQs are all located on the LISSA page in eLearning (note, they’re on the main LISSA page, not the LISSA West page, sorry for the confusion!).

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By LISSA West, September 9, 2009 12:35 pm

As kindly provided by Student Services Manager Richard Gates, here are some new-student FAQs. Truly stumped on something? Call 617-521-2814 or email gslisHELP@simmons.edu

Q: What is an Advising Statement, and what do I do with it?

A: Every new student is required to meet with his/her faculty advisor to complete an Advising Statement. The Advising Statement is an academic planning tool created jointly by the student and his/her faculty advisor to ensure the student will take all program and degree requirements classes required for graduation. The Advising Statement is NOT a contract, and can be changed at any time. After the Advising Statement has been filled out and signed by both the student and the faculty advisor, it should be turned in to the Student Services Center.

Q: What is an Honor Code, and where do I sign it?

A:  Each student must sign an Honor Code, saying that he or she has read the GSLIS Honor Code and agrees to abide by it. To view the Honor Code in its entirety, please go to: http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/resources/honor.php.  If you do not sign this Honor Code during your advising appointment with your faculty advisor, you may come to Student Services Center to sign your Honor Code.

Q:  What is the TOR, and where do I go if I need help?

A: The Technology Orientation Requirement, (TOR), is a series of readings, short quizzes and hands-on activities that introduces new GSLIS students to the technology and resources at Simmons GSLIS. It ensures that new students are prepared to use the technology required for their LIS courses. The TOR consists of three (3) parts.  Parts 1, 2 are due Monday, September 28th; Part 3 is due Monday October 19th. For more information on the TOR, please go to: http://gslis.simmons.edu/tor/

If a student is having difficulties completing the TOR, he/she can go to the Tech Lab located at P-213 and ask Tech-Lab staff for assistance.

Q:  Where is my student folder, what is it and where can I expect to find in it?

A:  BOSTON CAMPUS: Each student has a folder with his/her name on it and can be found in the file cabinets in the Student Lounge, which is located in P-212-G.  Here professors will return to you graded coursework materials, i.e., papers, projects, notebooks, etc.  Professors will usually alert students that they are leaving items in the student folders; however, it is still a good idea to check your folder every week or so!

MT. HOLYOKE: We don’t have a specific spot for student folders at GSLIS West, though faculty tend to return papers in folders and leave those on the bookshelf to the left when you enter the office, and across the room on the bookshelf below the course reserves.

Q:  Where is the bookstore?

A:  BOSTON: The bookstore is located on the basement- level of the Main College Building. The bookstore offers more than books, so it is a great resource for many student needs.

MT. HOLYOKE: Most students get their books from the Odyssey bookshop, right in the South Hadley Commons.

Q:  Where do I get my Simmons ID made?

MT. HOLYOKE: You’ll have your ID created on Advising Day.

Q: What about parking?  and Where can I get my T- Pass ?

A: BOSTON: Information about student parking can be found on-line at: http://my.simmons.edu/services/business/parking/student-parking.shtml.

If you have purchased a T-Pass, you can pick it up at Student Financial Service in W-207, which is located in the West wing on the 2nd floor of the Main College Building (MCB).

MT. HOLYOKE: Parking is free and available behind the commons, 24/7. On Saturdays, you can park in faculty spots throughout the campus. (Remember, Saturday ONLY!)

Q:  Where should I go if I have questions about health insurance?

A: For on-line information, go to: http://www.simmons.edu/financialaid/accounts/insurance.php

For in-person assistance, you can go to the Student Financial Services in W-207, which is located in the West wing on the 2nd floor of the Main College Building (MCB).

Q:  How do I add or drop classes?

A: Students can add or drop classes on AARC by going to: http://aarc.simmons.edu

Information on SimmonsÂ’ refund policy can be found at: http://www.simmons.edu/financialaid/accounts/refunds.php

Q:  I was unable to attend Advising Day.  What did I miss?

A:  Students can listen to the podcast of the Spring’09 Advising Day, which is essentially the same information presented during the morning session of the Fall 2009 Advising Day held in July 2009.  The podcast is in three (3) parts and can be found at the following links:

Topic – Introduction

http://gslis.simmons.edu/podcasts/index.php?id=94

Topic – Registration & Student Organizations

http://gslis.simmons.edu/podcasts/index.php?id=95

Topic – Course Offerings

http://gslis.simmons.edu/podcasts/index.php?id=96

Q: IÂ’m still feeling lost and need help!

A: General “New Student” information can be found on-line by going to: http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/resources/index.php.

Also, the Boston Student Services Center is here to help you! WeÂ’re located on the 2nd floor of the Palace Road Building, P-212. Our hours are:

Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.;

Friday 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m

Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

And, of course, the LISSA West student body officers are glad to help you find an answer. Email us! lissawest@simmons.edu

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By LISSA West, September 8, 2009 1:35 pm

A quickie, as classes are unfurling this week: You now can post for rides needed/ offered here (or using the tab above). Use it, and watch gas prices plummet!

Also, please join the LISSA West crew for breakfast before the first Saturday classes at 8:15. We’ll have coffee, tea, cider donuts, fruits + juices. Please stop by to caffeinate and say hey.