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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 11, 2010 1:06 pm

Feeling like you need more library in your ‘tween-semesters life? Here’s what’s happening in the coming weeks:

• Tuesday, January 12, online: The Alliance Library System (ALS) of Illinois and TAP Information Systems are teaming up to bring you a full day of information about starting, changing or improving your library career, beginning with a keynote speech from Rachel Singer Gordon, the webmaster of LISjobs.com (http://lisjobs.com).  The student associations at Simmons College GSLIS have purchased a group free.  To find out more and RSVP, please visit http://liscareerfair.eventbrite.com.

• Friday, January 15, Boston: Opening evening of ALA Midwinter. You can still register here, and pore over the numerous workshops and presentations: http://ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/midwinter/2010/index.cfm

• Saturday, January 16, Boston: From 5:30-6:30 pm, GSLIS alum Molly Raphael will host a kick-off for her ALA President candidacy. All Simmons students and alums are invited to attend: Westin Waterfront, Lewis Room. If you’re interested in meeting up afterward for dinner downtown somewhere, perhaps even with our GSLIS Boston comrades, please drop a note to lissawest@simmons.edu.

• Tuesday, January 19, South Hadley: Mount Holyoke College will host a Library, Information, and Technology Services (LITS) Open House, a celebratory showcase of the wide range of work done at LITS, including collaborations with partners among the faculty, staff, and students on campus and across the Five Colleges. Come see what awesome projects and services are being devised on the same campus we attend class at year-round: Topics range from cutting-edge digitization practices and the implications of web 2.0 tools when teaching todayÂ’s digital natives, to unique resources (web and physical services) for students and faculty across the Five Colleges. Williston Library Reading Room, 1-2:30 pm. (For more info, see http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/openhouse/index.html.)

• Friday, January 22, Ipswich: Field trip to EBSCO. A crew will be escorting up to 10 of us around their Integrated Search and Discovery Service division and providing a tour of the servers and explanation of EBSCOhost technology. The trip will also include tours of the museum, library, and historical scanning operation. Lunch will be provided. WeÂ’ll be on the EBSCO campus from 9:30-1:30, so itÂ’ll be an early morning but a super trip all around. If interested, please RSVP to lissawest@simmons.edu. (Carpools will be arranged.)

• Tuesday, January 26, Northampton: Librarian Libations. Come have a drink or two with fellow GSLIS Westers at the Northampton Brewery, 7-9pm.

• Saturday, January 30, South Hadley: First day of class breakfast in the GSLIS West office. New semester, new breakfast sweets.

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By LISSA West Co-President Alex Lent, September 15, 2009 9:32 am

The Garage Annex School (GAS) offers workshops in traditional and non-traditional book arts, printmaking, and the conservation of books—all taught by expert instructors. Workshops are held in the GAS studio in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Use your LISSA Professional Development Reimbursement Funds to offset the cost of tuition!

Upcoming Workshops:

9/19-20: Book Repair and Restoration for Beginners
This class is a two-day book repair intensive for those who want hands-on experience and instruction in evaluating and correcting book problems and damage. You will practice basic techniques, and through the use of “reveals” (examples of partially repaired/exposed books and paper) will experience a wide range of age, injury, structural and material defects in books. Operation and function of different book structures will be examined as they relate to repair, restoration, and conservation of paper, cloth, leather, and other binding materials. Source lists of materials, tools, and supplies will be provided, and each participant will leave with an understanding of their various applications. Emphasis will be on practicing the skills necessary to complete basic repair techniques. You can expect to complete at least ten sample repairs during the two days of class. You will also learn about other resources for your continued study and practice of book repair and restoration. Students are encouraged to bring a cloth bound book and/or papers that are in need of repair. These are for practice and should have no value. No previous experience is required.

9/26-27: Creating Decorative Papers on the Etching Press
What is the difference between craft and art? This course will explore the boundaries of these concepts, and redefine them. We will use oil base printing inks in conjunction with monoprint, collagraph, and relief printmaking techniques in order to make patterns, textures, and images suitable for end papers and journal covers that emulate the art side of craft. We will print from wall papers, found objects, cutouts, and natural materials. The scientific method will be used, abused, and then reused—all in two full days in the studio. This will be a printing marathon! Expect to come out of the class with up to 30 papers. No previous experience is necessary, just an enthusiasm for and enjoyment of the unexpected. The following techniques will be covered: relief rolling, multiple plate printing, intaglio and collagraph printing, stencils and cutouts. A brief but important part of the course will emphasize color mixing using luminous, sturdy, and highly-pigmented inks. We will be printing on thin Japanese papers suitable for collage work and book arts.

10/3-4: Two Days, Two Boxes
11/7-8: A Book of One’s Own: Versatile Journal and Sketchbook Designs
11/21-22: Asian Albums
12/5-6: Wooden-Leaf Books

For More Information:
Email the Garage School Annex at contact@garageannexschool.com

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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