and finally, if you are seeking something that affirms there are still new things under the sun AND you are neither squeamish nor prudish, I wish for you to read Spread Me by @sarahgailey.bsky.social and revel in the feeling of "yes, that’s certainly a new feeling to have while reading"

I read [redacted] books this year! Here are my earnest recommendations for a fraction of them:

It’s got it about right, details and stakes .

Very happy to introduce a new tool, BookReconciler! You can take spreadsheets with book data and add subject headings, descriptions, ISBNs, HathiTrust IDs, & more. You can also cluster editions & variations of the same "Work." Led by @thisismattmiller.com and supported by @post45data.bsky.social.

Stay tuned next week for #LIBR509 memes! The students came through for me yet again and I am rich with incredibly specific jokes about information organization and my course.

Not to bury the lead, but it worked, for now. Last Thursday the premier announced that the project would not go ahead. Notably however, he chose his words carefully. It’s not a no. It’s just a no for now. And he spoke like it was no big deal, a proposal that barely existed www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

NEW: US airlines (Delta, United, American, etc) will shut down a program in which it sold hundreds of millions of your flight records to government agencies, including ICE, FBI, ATF, more. Comes after intense lawmaker-pressure and 404 Media's months-long reporting www.404media.co/airlines-wil...

The CFP for the @cais-acsi.bsky.social 2026 conference (free and online!) is now up at cais2026.ca. Join us to talk about repair, maintenance, and all things information science!

Librarians told 404 Media they're being inundated with new pitches for AI library tech and catalogs are being flooded with AI slop books. But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.

You know what's urgently needed? Basic software. Reliable database systems, accessible interfaces, privacy oriented design. It's super mundane stuff like asking, "how can software make your life better", not telling people "this is how software is going to solve all your problems." Because it won't.

Any Canadian from any province while in BC can get vaccinated for FREE! Call 1-833-838-2323 a couple weeks in advance to make an appointment. Because we are good neighbors, we believe in science & medicine, and we love you ❤️🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦❤️ www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Here is what I said. I am proud to be a Cape Bretoner, a Nova Scotian, a Canadian. And I am with the Mi’kmaw land defenders on Hunters Mountain. (1)

“The deaf community had a lot of excitement because it would have changed things that previously were causing harm… “To now see them say, ‘Oh, we’re going to rework this,’ is devastating.” #bcpoli

Here's my story on how the conversation on bringing a SkyTrain to UBC is almost old enough to be a student on a B-Line trying to get to UBC

BCIT interviewed me. I’m proud to work here. www.bcit.ca/news/stories... “Some people say AI is inevitable and we should give up,” Ian reflected. “But we can’t. This is exactly the moment to fight for an ethical future.”

The last federally run residential school closed in 1997, but traces of the system are everywhere on the land. How to commemorate the dark, painful history of these places? Across Canada, survivors are taking the lead: thenarwhal.ca/truth-reconc...

I've received many messages from concerned constituents over the past 24 hours, asking me about the standing ovation connected to Charlie Kirk in yesterday's session in the House of Commons. Please see my statement on the matter.

Got the notice that Spread Me is ready for me to pick up at @crossandcrowsbooks.bsky.social and that's my weekend plans all set

Publishers and librarians do sometimes disagree -- but not on this. "Book bans do not protect children. They restrict opportunities for learning, stigmatize marginalized communities, and undermine the professional judgment of educators and teacher-librarians." 📚

What happened after Canadian journalist @rachelgilmore.bsky.social posted about the potential repercussions of Kirk’s murder: doxxing and violent threats thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025...

This week, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced their lates project, Freedom Trucks. It is a tremendous work of propaganda. A deep dive into the project, what it really aims to do, and the curious timing and appearance of the press release. bookriot.com/imls-freedom...

The focus of this story has (rightly) been on the firing of a colleague at TAMU for doing her job, but also I can’t help but think of all the LGBTQ+, and particularly trans students faculty and staff in College Station and how this abandonment of basic decency must be impacting them.

I remember someone saying that's how you know AI can never truly be a writer. If you tell AI to stop using em dashes, it'll stop. If you tell a writer to stop using em dashes they'll tell you to fuck yourself and that you can pry them from their cold, dead fingers.

I really feel for the Vancouver Parks & Rec staff who have been working hard for years to make facilities & programming more inclusive for 2SLGBTQIA+ community members, only to have the Parks Board sign a contract during an in camera meeting that will give $ to JK Rowling.

As Operation Midway Blitz kicks off in Chicago, it's so important to stay on top of both when and where videos are happening. This video below that features bystanders yelling 'Where you taking them?" and masked agents putting someone into a vehicle is NOT from this weekend.

Canadians! There is a petition to sign to protest Mastercard and Visa's control over the purchase of legal adult content. This is specifically about the Steam & itchio situation, but language protects adult creators. www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en... #nsfw #censorship #canpoli @acvalens.net

Oh it's this discussion again. Personally I think Science Fiction is not fundamentally different from Fantasy. They have some different conventions, but they've been interwoven for so long there's just no separating them. I also would not be confident assessing how many

Re-upping this again, please spread far and wide:

In the first big council meeting of Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver's reign at city hall, I noticed that the way amendments came up seemed fairly planned and partisan. Their chief of staff attacked me in pretty personal terms, and multiple ABC councillors liked it. Some news to come.

Hi, I am an expert on the website formally known as Twitter and support this thread

"Coletto’s polling data suggests the public support for the flight attendants grew as a result of the labour dispute, with a net +40% of respondents ... By contrast, impressions of Air Canada worsened, standing at net -34%, while Carney’s government came away from the strike at net -13%"

Something on my mind lately has been the tension in the public sphere between seeing sport as a wellbeing-promoting public good and seeing sport as a venue for greatness and competition. (There is some overlap in that Venn diagram). This tension is often unarticulated but matters. A thread...

An iSchool colleague who I don’t think is on Bsky shared this article about The Carpentries’ recent refusal of a $1.5 millon NSF grant after they were asked to strip DEI from their programming This feels like the only ethical way forward

Just read this incredible paper by @s0hw.bsky.social & @jeremydfoote.com: Why Do People Participate in Small Online Communities? The authors question the assumption that growth is always good, and instead show many benefits of small online communities. Highly recommended! dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

AI slop spotters--we have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it. Have you found AI slop in a library collection? Report it here! nyu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

They asked me about spark notes. I proceed to go off on learning theory and cognition.

Fun fact: even as UCLA is being extorted for $1B by a fascist government, its administration is requiring all faculty to install a “security” program that surveils everything we do and shares that information with the federal government.

Many of the AI-generated images firefighters are seeing this year exaggerate the size and intensity of the blazes burning around B.C., stoking fear as a result. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Might be obvious but that Microsoft AI-affected industries study is so clearly designed not to inform, since it is premised on a buffet of questionable assumptions, but to perform (to be reshared and reshared until it is embedded as a stylized fact in the world). 1/x

Mary is a gem; her study is timely and very fascinating. Highly recommend participating if the topic resonates with you!

In a stunning moment of erotic fervour, calculator demands BOOBS.

Extremely bad university governance changes coming in Texas www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

The new Murderbot short story is up at Reactor Magazine: reactormag.com/rapport-mart... Edited by Lee Harris, art by Jaime Jones.

Though much remains uncertain (e.g. outcomes of lawsuits re: canceled grants), it is clear that U.S. gov funding for science — especially science that intersects w/ concerns about human flourishing — is going to be significantly diminished in coming years. Here are a few things we can do to help:

“If they run, we go” -ICE ICE has shown no signs of slowing down its raids, which, according to our analysis, appear targeted. From car washes to Home Depots, to a display of force and intimidation, these masked agents have stretched across LA, rounding up people with brown skin.

Also talked about The Onion being inefficient on purpose. www.status.news/p/the-onion-...

Our statement in response to the Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v Taylor. Image thread with alt text. 1/4