So far this blog has focused mainly on the international initiatives being pursued by Simmons. Stay tuned for more of that ? expect additional posts from the group currently working in Kosovo, and several of us will be traveling to Nicaragua starting next week. But we?re also expanding the focus of the blog to address other happenings related to libraries, information science, archives, and other related disciplines.

So to start this off, for the next few days I?ll be blogging from the Society of American Archivists conference currently underway in steamy, sticky 100-degree heat in Washington, DC. There may also be some other surprise guest bloggers — stay tuned!

A bit about me: I?m currently a student in the Archives/History dual degree program at Simmons, and I also work as part of the GSLIS Technology Group at Simmons as the Dean?s Fellow for Technology Support. I started at Simmons in January ? prior to that I was Systems Editor and Library Manager at the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville, Tenn. That?s where I first picked up the library and archives bug, which I later nurtured by attending the Modern Archives Institute at NARA?s College Park facility. Coming to Simmons in January was the next logical step ? I?m enjoying the chance to study something I?m truly interested in.

I arrived in DC late last night after a mad dash for the Manchester airport involving bikes, cas and buses. After spending the night at my parents? house in nearby Maryland, I hopped on the subway this morning and headed down to DuPont Circle, the closest Metro stop to the Hilton. (It?s supposedly only four blocks away, but it felt a lot further in the heat!)

Now I’m getting ready for the first sessions — stay tuned for details. (Note that I’ll be posting on a time delay, since there’s a lack of Internet at the conference hotel.)