Syracuse Drops 84 Programs Including Classics, Ceramics and Italian. In all, 93 of the 460 academic programs at the university will be closed or paused. No students were majoring in 55 of the programs that are ending.

Interesting charactreization of collections "Develop and implement forward-looking collection strategies emphasizing what U-M distinctively contributes to long-term knowledge stewardship, open access, and interdependent networks of collections."

Interesting analysis > From Screen to Shelf: How Movies and TV Shows Drive Library Patron Interest buff.ly/A7gY9CV

From Screen to Shelf: How Movies and TV Shows Drive Library Patron Interest buff.ly/A7gY9CV

Considering AI in your collection policy: A practical framework [developed by one public library] buff.ly/OSFtOxx Recording of @webjunction event

On first impression I really liked the website of the University of East London. It stood out without being shouty. And I especially liked the slight retro quirk of the font. buff.ly/75LuOZY

Big news from #arXiv: jobs.chronicle.com/job/37961678... 1. It's becoming an independent #nonprofit organization. 2. It's leaving #CornellU and moving to NYC. 3. It's hiring a CEO, with a salary in the range of $300k. #OpenAccess #Preprints #ScholComm

"Hot take: AI coding tools don't replace developers. They make systems thinking portable across any language or framework."

"The BBC has said it is facing “permanent and irreversible” trends that mean it cannot survive without a major overhaul, as it revealed a stark divergence between the number of people consuming its content and those paying the licence fee." buff.ly/sBzlbkj

The brands that win [...] won't be the ones with the slickest images, photos, or videos. They'll be the ones that feel unmistakably human. And I think typography is one of the few places where humanity is still undeniable, where people can still [...] feel: a human made this. ilo.im/16azuj

Pleased to see collective collections, the facilitated collection and inside out discussed in this interesting piece >> The collections concept at the University of Sheffield: a varied approach to the role of research library collections | Semantic Scholar buff.ly/sbx9bb8

“Nearly 9 out of 10 Ohio voters believe they get their money’s worth in services from their local libraries for the taxes they pay, including 83% of Republicans, 85% of independents, and 93% of Democrats,” researchers stated buff.ly/4PXqygu

We’re delighted to share that A History of the British Museum Library, 1753–1973 by P. R. Harris is now digitised and freely available to all interested in the history of the Museum and librarianship. Find out more here: link.bl.uk/vvx

" [...] students at their institution used to throw drinking parties to fill out their mandatory course evaluations. At a different institution, a professor shared that his colleagues are known to crack open a bottle of wine before reading their student comments." buff.ly/uI2QTDu

Interesting ownership clash. Iconic windows are, in fact, windows, not removable art works > Clarke windows property of Bewley's owners, court rules buff.ly/1n97lpm

Interesting opportunity. Also interesting to see it advertised on ARL >> Executive Director, Book Industry Study Group buff.ly/PtGrCob

It was Game of Thrones that took Belfast to new TV heights. [...] the Emmy-winning fantasy was largely filmed at the newly renovated shipyard Titanic Studios [...], with proximity to the coast and countryside making it cheap and easy to film Westeros’s varied landscapes on location buff.ly/jC1LAfu

Rereading my general observations about libraries in the context of overall discussion of library career preparation and research >> Libraries and library studies buff.ly/jPThnYq

" [...] UT’s proposal, currently under consideration by the UT System Board of Regents, to connect the iSchool with the departments of computer science and data science in a new “center of excellence” housed in the College of Natural Sciences."  buff.ly/Z1iFru0

'European publishing and legal software companies have suffered sharp declines in their share prices after the US artificial intelligence firm Anthropic revealed a tool for use by companies’ legal departments.' buff.ly/YseaqJ5

Anthropic's Claude is now the, yes, ‘Official Thinking Partner’ of Formula 1 team, Williams. buff.ly/qsvHE1S

English professors double down on requiring printed copies of readings | Yale Daily News share.google/lfEW5Jpk1FVE...

The video from my Charleston presentation about libraries, education and career preparation > Opening Keynote: Lorcan Dempsey buff.ly/GKbIiS9

'Volvo Centum is a bespoke typeface "designed to make reading faster, attention sharper, and the driving experience calmer."' buff.ly/PGcFfiz

'There is an emergent "arms race" between those designing badly-behaved bots and those attempting to defend against them.' buff.ly/iiISc3I via CNI

"In that same century, we see the first appearance of the heart-shaped, or cordiform book (from Latin cor “heart” + form “shape”), the most famous example, dated to the 1470s, being The Chansonnier Cordiform, a beautifully decorated manuscript songbook."

In a little discussed aspect of Google's role, it dominates font distribution on the web. A small number of Google fonts are the most heavily used > Fonts | 2025 | The Web Almanac by HTTP Archive buff.ly/RK8RuJq

Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are paying up for ‘enterprise’ access to Wikipedia buff.ly/ap2Kj4A “It is in every AI company’s best interest to support the long-term sustainability of Wikipedia, because Wikipedia and all the other projects that we support are so core to their business,”

Microsoft is closing its employee library and cutting back on subscriptions - "part of Microsoft’s shift to a more modern, AI-powered learning experience through the Skilling Hub.” buff.ly/37ItgcT

"A new library at the University of Galway is to be named in honour of a student who was murdered soon after she completed her studies there in 2006." buff.ly/gTKq3Y5

To mark Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, we hosted Wild About Jane Austen: The Woman Behind the Novels, an event exploring Austen as an ambitious, politically aware writer. Watch the full event on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4_V... #BritishLibrary #Libraries #JaneAusten250

I wonder is it possible to gatecrash some sessions of this, coming to Columbus this year > 2026 Polar Libraries Colloquy | Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center

"This is what the traditional university becomes when it stops pretending to be for everyone: an elite finishing school for the wealthy and exceptionally talented poor who win full scholarships." buff.ly/dDjb36H

Overview of ongoing issues at the British Library by The Standard > The worst of times: Trouble at the British Library Cyber chaos, striking staff and a crisis of leadership. Claudia Cockerell investigates a national treasure’s year of reckoning

Some local news > A supermajority of Columbus Metropolitan Library workers on Friday submitted signed union cards to the State Employment Relations Board to begin the union election process. buff.ly/ZLHSBR7

Fonts are in the news! I am surprised that libraries have not taken more of an interest given the design, values, identity, cultural expressiveness and business issues they raise (albeit in small ways). An exploration of ecosystem and choices from a while ago buff.ly/sfBJVu8

Interested to come across this community based diamond access publication. I wonder how many regional library publications of this type there are? > Vol. 13 No. 2 (2025): Pennyslvania Libraries: Research & Practice buff.ly/tBVSJhb

Nice placard - "things are bad when a conservator loses their patience' > British Library staff 'feel huge disconnect' from leadership - Arts Professional buff.ly/dT9tRI8

'The winning content? Hyperlocal news, breaking news (as it happens), scoops, notable first-person narratives, and investigative journalism. AI can’t or won’t summarize this information because it’s too recent or too unique.' buff.ly/Q2CXrYg

'The acquisition would also complete the conquest of Hollywood by tech insurgents.' Netflix to buy Warner Bros. buff.ly/32trr8V

Zig quits GitHub, gripes about Microsoft's AI obsession buff.ly/MI6SKYP

A voice out of the dark of time; the once and future LIS discipline. New blog post by myself and @lynrobinson.bsky.social. theoccasionalinformationist.com/2025/11/25/a...

Extraordinary numbers about tax revenues and impact on irish national economy of one drug > How weight-loss drug Mounjaro is making Ireland the world’s fastest-growing economy www.irishtimes.com/podcasts/in-...

Nice overview. Thank you for generous comments.

I enjoyed speaking at Charleston recently. Here are my slides > Libraries, librarianship and cross-lamination: notes on education and career preparation for libraries buff.ly/NHtpkIq

'Arizona State University is creating ASU London, expanding its presence in the United Kingdom with a U.K.-accredited higher educational institution.' buff.ly/3hPgAr9

Facilitating our work is a great army of library staff, who are also cultural workers. Without them, the library does not function, the books do not get read, the culture does not come to pass. buff.ly/riUOc4I

A key component, the AI Fluency initiative, was announced in June and ensures that every student, beginning with the Class of 2029, graduates fluent in applying AI within their field of study.

AI with everything > "The Ohio State University has announced a major [AI] Faculty Hiring Initiative that will add 100 new tenure-track faculty with expertise in AI over the next five years. The initiative will expand AI research and education across disciplines ... "

The Columbus Metropolitan Library has pressed pause on plans to build the city's 24th library branch > uncertainty in library funding due to recent state funding policy changes and the move to reform Ohio’s property tax laws buff.ly/6qeucjQ