“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas” Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.

Definitely one to read. The manufactured momentum and language of inevitability around AI very much seems to me a deliberate strategy aimed at eroding and undermining library agency - so it's critically important we don't let it!

hiddenbooks.nationalbooktokens.com It's that time of year again!

Thank you all for choosing a fantastic list for me to read this winter!

There is a lego based crisis going on in my friendship group right now because we all want the Lego USS Enterprise but none of us can justify spending £350 on it. But we all *really* want it.

Ahah. Whoops

Yale researchers didn't stop there. They also identified what people most need to know to catalyze action and support climate policy; and it's not about global temps, ice sheets, or ocean currents. What people most need to know about climate change is that (1) others care, and (2) there is hope.

In honor of National Poetry Day, the greatest parody rewrite of all time:

You know those weeks where it was Monday and you blinked and it's the end of Friday and you *still* haven't finished that report because you were busy teaching/answering student queries/running library tours/fixing reading lists/writing sessions etc. Anyway apparently it's only the end of *week 1*

We agree but add this: the #GreatSchoolLibraries campaign highlights that all children need a school library because adequately funded, staffed school libraries deliver enhanced & independent learning as well as reading & curriculum support & contribute to building lifelong readers. #Staffed

Rachel Reeves pledges a library in every primary school in England. Here at CILIP we hope that means trained library staff too #GreatSchoolLibraries www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

This is a very welcome development indeed IF the recurrent costs of funding school librarians is fully budgeted. ‘A pile of books is no more a library than a crowd of soldiers is an army’ to quote Gabriel Naudé who figured this out … 400 years ago… www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

www.theguardian.com/politics/202... it is, at least, a start, but don't forget to put the Librarians in them too, please!

ChatGPT Fails to Flag Retracted and Problematic Articles www.the-scientist.com/chatgpt-fail...

Our friends @englishassociation.bsky.social are collecting stories of how teachers are planning to support the National Year of Reading. Let them know here: bit.ly/4-11YearOfRe... #nationalyearofreading

We don't need any of this book-banning crap being imported from Trump's America. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Between 13 and 19m adults in the UK experience some kind of digital poverty - more than a million don't have a smartphone or a laptop. There are promises for consultation with digitally excluded groups, but from a build perspective this means backwards compatibility - needs to work on old phones

🎵🎶It's the final countdown 🎶🎵 Don't forget to pop your nominations in before midnight tonight! I'm so looking forward to seeing what my reading list is going to look like for the next few months as a Judge!

“You can either get sad and have a pity party, or you can get defiant. So, I chose to do something about it.” - film participant and hero @librarianjones.com on @channel4news.bsky.social. THE LIBRARIANS opens TOMORROW in the UK! A rallying cry for freedom to read- see the film in cinemas!

🥳 This week, we will pay 31,487 members their share of £11,588,572! Find out more: www.alcs.co.uk/news/your-di...

Incoming 18 year old undergraduates have never known Pluto as a planet (ousted in 2006!) and that makes me sad all over again for Pluto - and the students with an impoverished solar system - and me as I’m so old.

We want the media and politicians to recognise that there is a large number of women who are supportive of the trans+ community. We call on them to report truthfully about the sources of violence against women and to address the systems that perpetuate harm. notinourname.org.uk/petition/not...

Out now! #BfK274 articles, interviews, news, comment, reviews. Authorgraph interview James Mayhew, Windows into Illustration Emma Farrarons, 10 of the Best books to turn children into poets, Simon Mole interview, Beyond the Secret Garden,new Picture This #KidLitUK booksforkeeps.co.uk/issue/bfk-27...

There are hundreds of examples of practice on the @openuni-rfp.bsky.social site. I've just uploaded a couple more. Secondary school pupils supporting the class recommendations shelf: ourfp.org/eop/recommen... Talking about how we choose books: ourfp.org/eop/choices-...

Out today! The longlists for the @uklitassociation.bsky.social UKLA Book Awards. Chosen by teachers and covering a range of genres, topics and themes, fiction and non-fiction. Check them out! #KidLitUK #UKLA26 #teachersbookawards booksforkeeps.co.uk/longlists-fo...

Today on our blog, author @catwrote.bsky.social discusses what first interested her about the past, offers top recommendations for discovering significant historical figures and explains why understanding and celebrating Black History is more important than ever. bit.ly/4ppvPSM #BlackHistoryMonth

It was great to hear to Dr Konstantina Martzoukou talking about the GenAIsis project in schools yesterday - thankyou to @cilipscotland.bsky.social and @cilipslg.bsky.social for such an interesting session! (take a look at the co-created toolkit here: online.visual-paradigm.com/share/book/f...)

Being a Carnegie judge continues to be one of the BEST experiences of my professional life, it's honestly an absolute joy. I cannot recommend applying enough!

R.I.P. Allan Ahlberg. I have loved every single one of the books...a cherished legacy. 💔

Months since I re-posted the UK School Librarians Starter Pack (see my pinned post/skeet) If you are any of those listed in the description of the starter pack 👇 please come and join us. Just let me know. go.bsky.app/5zhmETr

My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books.

The right-wing press is going mad over votes at 16 ("a naked attempt to twist democracy in Labour’s favour", an "election-rigging move"...) Oddly, they said the same 100 years ago when the voting age for women fell from 30 to 21. Let's revisit the Mail's campaign to"Stop the Flapper Vote Folly"...

Returned today after a week of holiday in Sweden to find my cat sat in my window very clearly shouting at me for going away, and a pile of to-reads neatly stacked up by the catsitter. Did i read as much as I should have on holiday? Nope! But I did have a lovely break!

You are cordially invited to our Anti-Prime Sale, where every purchase will financially support bookstores, NOT billionaires 🥳

Children’s reading is to become a “shared national mission” says Jonathan Douglas, CEO of @literacy-trust.bsky.social at the launch of a new National Year of Reading starting in January 2026. #readingforpleasure booksforkeeps.co.uk/new-national...

Why yes, I'm very deliberately reading childrens books set in the depths of winter whilst sitting in front of a fan to try and cool myself down, thank you for asking (no it isn't really working).

The more library books per capita, the fewer residents require nursing care: Japan study 📚 mainichi.jp/english/arti...

#kidlituk www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

In news that will surprise absolutely no-one who understands the importance of access to a well-stocked library: Proposals to remove librarians from every Glasgow secondary school would be "deeply damaging" to the sector, a body for the profession has warned. 📚📜

Elon saying he’s going to reprogram his chatbot’s view of history is a perfect example of why these kinds of AI products aren’t the neutral “tools” people always defend them as. They’re little political projects reflecting the ideologies of their creators

Today was open day at the University, and it was lovely to chat to so many prospective students. I also spent a lot of time evicting the friendly cat from up the road from the Learning Hub. Apparently they wanted to curl up in the tent/among the coloured tissue paper/on my chair.

#Teachers, #SchoolLibrarians, #EdTech folks... Please don't allow / encourage students to ask AI to answer factual questions. It's not a replacement for curated, vetted library resources. @astrokatie.com provides this great, simple explanation you can share #MediaLiteracy #InformationLiteracy 🍎📚

In a classic example of the delayed processing that comes with my neurotype I've just remembered (about 36 hours after the fact) all the things I wanted to say to the amazing authors and illustrators i met yesterday. In my defence, it was very warm, very loud, and I was a bit starstruck!

It’s fantastic to see the winners of the Carnegie Medals announced today at the #Carnegies2025 awards ceremony. Huge congratulations to the winners, shortlistees and the judges from CILIP Youth Libraries Group!

Homebody has won the 2025 Shadowers' Choice Medal for Illustration! Congratulations to Theo Parish and @panmacmillan.bsky.social‬! ‏#Carnegies2025

And the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing goes to Glasgow Boys! Congratulations to @margaretmcdonald.bsky.social and @faberchildrens.bsky.social @faberbooks.bsky.social! #Carnegies2025

A huge thank you to the Awards Team, to @youthlibrarygroup.bsky.social and to all our judges, led by Ros Harding! Their dedication makes the Carnegie Awards possible 👏

Clever Crow has won the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Illustration! Congratulations to Olivia Lomenech Gill and @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social‬! #Carnegies2025

King of Nothing has won the 2025 Carnegie Shadowers' Choice Medal for Writing! Congratulations to Nathanael Lessore and Bonnier Books UK! #Carnegies2025