Letter from the Editor

Congratulations! The school year is officially half-way over. I know this is of little comfort for those of you who are feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork and are feeling depressed by the gloomy Seattle weather. To keep the blues away this winter, I have embraced a new favorite pastime that I must share with you: exercise. Yes, folks, I admit it. I LOVE TO SWIM!

Now, I must admit that I'm not really the excercisy type. I've always felt rather uncomfortable about the idea of going to the gym and parading my sadly out-of-shape body in front of a bunch of other sweaty and stinky people. Despite these reservations, last year I timidly visited the IMA with a friend to go swimming. In the beginning I spent most of my time in the slow lane, dog paddling and feeling like a fool because my bikini (the only swimwear I owned at the time) wasn't really suited for-shall I say-athletic water sports. A year later, I have my own locker in the IMA, I have moved up to the intermediate lane and I go swimming three times a week. Swimming keeps me feeling healthy, energized and relaxed - well, as relaxed as is possible for a graduate student. 

During my first quarter at the iSchool, my advisor Joe Janes reminded me to include exercise as a part of my total experience as a graduate student. I think that is some of the best advice that I have ever gotten while at the iSchool. While we are preparing ourselves emotionally and mentally to be information architects, librarians, database administrators and catalogers, we can’t forget to take care of our bodies. So, I’m making swimming a priority, even though I’m usually the only one down there with a nose piercing and tattoos.

Speaking of tattoos, in this issue of the Silverfish Karen Estlund has put together a gallery iSchool tattoos which features the body art of your colleagues in the various iSchool programs. Also be sure to check out the new Silverfish advice column featuring Marion the Librarian and Information Professional. If you have any questions for Marion about life at the iSchool, simply fill out this confidential form. 

Our iSchool program spotlight section for this issue is the Master of Science and Information Management program. We’ve expanded our program feature to include interviews with students and faculty as well as paper submissions by MSIM students. I’d like to thank all of the MSIM students, faculty and staff (not to mention the Silverfish staff) who have made this special section a resounding success!

In our next issue of the Silverfish, we will continue the spotlight on different programs offered in the Information School by focusing on the Law Librarianship program. Law Library students and graduates are encouraged to submit articles sharing their experiences in the program or to submit papers from their classes. To submit an article or to share story ideas, please send me an e-mail at: katyshaw@u.washington.edu.

Katy Shaw
Silverfish Senior Editor

Spotlight on the MSIM Program:

So You Say You Want to be an MSIM Student?
by Carmine Rau

"I" in MSIM with a silent “D” (Design)
by Deepak Kumar

MSIM Papers
Abstracts of three papers by current and former MSIM students with links to full text. See what students write about and read their papers.

Student Profiles

Information Professional Interview

Information Is to be Partied With: A Profile of Bob Boiko
by Carmine Rau

NEW! Silverfish Advice Column

*Featuring* Marion the Librarian and Information Professional
edited by Cheri Streby

For Book Lovers:

The History of the Computer
Part II: The World Wars
by Phoebe Ayers

Judging A Book By Its Cover SPECIAL ISSUE!
by Jenine Lillian

For Fun:

Sushi-go-round: Kaiten Sushi in Seattle
by Kaijsa Calkins

iSchool Tattoos: a Photo Gallery
by Karen Estlund

Help keep the iSchool connected

Silverfish is an ALISS newsletter, but we welcome submissions from all members of the iSchool community. We want to hear from Informatics students, PhD students and MSIM students as well as MLIS students. Are you working on a research project that would be of interest to other folks in the iSchool? Do you want to share your reflections on life at the iSchool? Please send your story ideas or articles to katyshaw@u.washington.edu.

Web design and maintenance by Beverly Slabosky. If you encounter any problems or have suggestions, please email her at: beverlys@u.washington.edu.