Groan ... @ebsco.bsky.social 's new interface for #journal and #research databases is horrible. I hate clicking on "show more results" to see the next items in the list. And when I click on a title, then try to go back, I don't get returned to where I was in that list. What a pain!

In the past 20 years, 1/3 of the local #newspapers in the U.S. have disappeared. Here in #Pennsylvania, there are some entire counties that only have 1 paper. Here's a helpful site for exploring the data: localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/sta...

49!

My reads for September. #books

This article provides helpful backstory on why #Pennsylvania is so far behind in terms of producing #renewable #energy. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/09...

A helpful report showing how #immigration has been helpful to #Philadelphia and southeastern #Pennsylvania . whyy.org/articles/imm...

Fall photo!

Hat tip to @JohnsHopkins University Press for keeping its e-books affordable. Many of its #ebooks with multiuser licenses are still under $100, which is super for #libraries like mine that serve multicampus #universities. So many other UP's are now charging $200, $300, even $500, which is crushing.

Just learned that #McGrawHill is pressuring textbook #authors to remove references to #gender equity and #DEI. For *college* books, on *social science* subjects where gender, race, etc. are central. I'd love to see every #college prof use and develop #OER instead of overpriced corporate #textbooks.

#SHARP just published a new #bibliography of #LGBTQIA #BookHistory. Hundreds of books and articles about #queer authors, readers, and publishing, as wells as some material about #libraries and allied fields. I am proud to be one of the contributors. #LGBTQ sharpweb.org/sharpnews/20...

More proof that stricter #voting ID is a solution in search of a problem: in #Pennsylvania, it would have prevented only 2 fraudulent votes among 62 million cast in the past 10 years. #politics www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/08...

#Children's #Literature on postage stamps! Squeeeee! #childlit #kids #books #goodnightmoon

#Trump has ordered review of #Smithsonian #museums toward "replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions across ... public-facing materials." In other words, WHITEWASH. #history #politics www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st...

Just learned about #Homosaurus (homosaurus.org/v4) and #Gender #Sexuality and #Sexual Orientation Ontology (www.ebi.ac.uk/ols4/ontolog...), 2 resources for #librarians cataloging/describing #LGBTQ #books and other materials. Since I purchase these topics, these lists are very helpful!

Proud of myself. I started the summer with a goal of submitting 2 #scholarly articles (both original #research) before the start of Fall semester, and I did it! It feels good to move forward on work that I'd put aside when Dad died. Life, love, and #libraryhistory go on.

For #college #professors and others in #academia who are updating their #syllabi, here is a scale that may help you devise language about use of #AI for assessments/assignments. Just learned about it today! leonfurze.com/2024/08/28/u...

Feeling energized by a 3-hour lunch I had with a #libraryhistory colleague. Lots of thoughts about how our field can acculturate scholars to be generous and supportive, instead of cut-throat and competitive, all while continuing to generate high-quality and insightful #research.

YouTube just served me this 1976 instructional video on #computers. What a hoot! Amazing how much #technology has evolved in my lifetime. I love that a woman is teaching a man about it. #data #information #programming #history youtu.be/q-gpM-KfVng?...

Posted without comment www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwWj...

Stevie Wonder is a renowned musician and vocal advocate for those with disabilities. He raises funds and awareness for children with disabilities, pushing for greater accessibility for people who are blind and visually impaired. This Disability Pride Month, we celebrate Stevie’s art and impact.

OK, I'll play. 10 #authors whom I have read at least 5 of their #books: Louise Erdrich Joy Harjo David McCullough James Michener Edward Burtt Packer Donald J. Sobol Steve Sheinkin Carol Boston Weatherford Wayne Wiegand Laura Ingalls Wilder

What I look like these days: Summer 2025

Proud of myself: it's been tough to get back on my academic feet since my Dad passed away last year. But today, I finished an article manuscript and sent it to an editor. Doesn't mean it'll get published, but it's an important step. Yay me! :)

I noticed a post of yours at the No Kings Harrisburg Protest. A good friend of mine is an organizer and leads the 50501 Movement in Harrisburg. She asked me to help spread the word. Would you be willing to share this post, especially if you have local friends? I'm 50501 lead in Mercersburg, PA.💙 TY

Curious what @fwdparty.bsky.social thinks about #Musk 's new party. Threat? Opportunity? Honestly, I hope the answer is "neither."

June reads: 20 Answers: Mary by Tim Staples; Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge; The Book at War by Andrew Pettegree; In Silence or Indifference by Wayne Wiegand; and Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry.

I refuse to pay you with my despair I refuse to pay you with my thoughts and hands I will turn toward my fellow people I will turn toward the things we can do without you — art and philosophy and feeding one another and care for the living and the dead

Just wasted 15 minutes searching for a non-existent article that a researcher found within an #AI-generated report. This type of question is important to the asker, but is boring, rewardless, and a waste of a librarian's skill and time. AI tool #developers need to FIX THIS $H!T. Groan.

My next #LEGO build: 31215, #VanGogh 's #Sunflowers. More than 30 bags of parts! 🤓 🌻

And, can someone explain what today's #SCOTUS decision means for the #equalprotection clause? Seems like if your state didn't sue #Trump then Trump can deport you, while folks living in suing states are "safe"? Is it problematic to have #federal policies enforced in some states but not others?

Can someone with expertise explain what today's #SCOTUS decision about #birthright #citizenship means? By refusing to rule on whether #Trump 's policy is #constitutional , does it mean that the Trump administration can redefine citizenship however it wants -- even strip current citizens of status?

Just finished reading M.M.Dodge's #HansBrinker. It was fun to read a #19thcentury view of #Holland, which I have visited. But I need to read more #bookhistory and #childrenslit to understand it. It doesn't feel like it's about Hans. Was Dodge trying to teach geography through fictional #travelogue?

Today Mike and I mashed together Rev War (for him) and #bookhistory (for me) around #Concord #Massachusetts. So, besides sites on Battle Road, we toured Louisa May #Alcott 's Orchard House, saw a repro of H. D. #Thoreau 's house.on #Walden Pond, and the 1870s interior of Concord Free Library.

A fun #bookhistory takeaway from today's visit to #Salem: Nathaniel #Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables was once so popular that it appeared in a #WonderWoman #comics issue. 7 Gables #Museum curators show WW the secret staircase so she can get a jump on some Nazis!

More fun from the Connecticut State #Library -- vintage card catalogs and vertical files!

Visited the #Connecticut State #Library today. A great place for a #libraryhistory nerd. Cool 1910s design!

Proud of #Harrisburg #Pennsylvania 's turnout for #NoKings. So cool to see thousands streaming across the City Island Bridge to Riverfront Park!

🌟May 8, 2025 at 7pm Eastern🌟 Let's celebrate "Ways of Knowing: The Worlds Words Create" with editors Amanda Belantara ( @abelantara.bsky.social ) and Emily Drabinski ( @edrabinski.bsky.social ) and series editor Violet Fox ( @violetbfox.bsky.social )! More info: litwinbooks.com/book-launch-...

Our first #blueberries of 2025. About 2 cups. If we can keep the birds away, we will have our best harvest ever! I am so #grateful for our #garden and all the rain we've had.

Starting to work on signage for the #NoKings rally in #Harrisburg. " #Congress : I found your backbone. Message me!"

Maybe I'm a little loony, maybe it makes me a crazy #cat lady. But I got tickets and I'm going to #CatVideoFest! www.catvideofest.com

I'm not a #cataloger , so the details of this #library #lawsuit are out of my bailiwick. But it looks like #Baker&Taylor did #OCLC dirty. Another case of #corporate America screwing the #nonprofit sector? Surprise, surprise. www.wosu.org/2025-04-18/d...

Wow -- #ALSC and #YALSA re-merging? I wonder what my #childrenslit and #YA #librarian and #ALA colleagues think of that. Sounds like a good move financially, because YALSA's been in the red for years. I hope, though, that programs and conversations about #teens don't get lost.

So, the court is basically saying, yeah, you can continue to dismantle #federal support for #libraries while we decide if it's actually legal or not. Pfffft. www.ala.org/news/2025/06...

OK, kids. First, message your #senators about the bull$h!t in the #BigBeautifulBill. Then you can check #Twitter for the latest #Trump / #Musk tea. Keep your eyes on the ball. #politics #government

It's so quiet on campus that the #deer from the nearby woods are getting bold.

Nearly a year ago, we began taking care of a #feral #cat who showed up in our backyard. We call him Daniel Ranger Pine. Got a nice shot of him today.

So happy that my colleague and friend Eric Novotny won #ALA #LHRT 's Innovation and Advocacy in #LibraryHistory award! Richly deserved! www.ala.org/news/2025/05...

My hot take? If #Musk is allowed to access all kinds of #government #data, and he's allowed to $h!tpost all kinds of thing on #federal websites, then we should be allowed to scrutinize #DOGE data and hold Musk accountable for his DOGE-doo. Fair is fair. abcnews.go.com/US/trump-adm...

Half-truths are being said on both sides about the #budget reconciliation bill. In case you want to fact check, it's called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (groan) and you can find it here: www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c... . #Congress #politics #Trump