Latest count: 4800 National Guard troops (more than DC's Metropolitan Police Dept, which has 3400 officers). You can't walk out your door without coming across them. They have no arrest powers, uncertain oversight, and seem to go off duty at 11:00PM??

A report that discusses "the problem of vanishing culture, the goals of which are to offer a critical framework for understanding the fragility of today’s media environment, to identify recent forays into quantifying digital loss, & provide resources to ... explore the problems...

Here in DC, talk about the reflecting pool is our "how often do you think about the Roman empire?" meme.

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"...the future of the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature is under threat. ... we only have funding, we estimate, until the end of 2027,” .... “It would be just horrendous – devastating, really – to lose it after coming so far and unlocking so much.”

We are seconds away from a few Pontiacs sitting on cinder blocks out there...

“Smithsonian Solstice – this weekend! Smithsonian museums on the National Mall will stay open late until 11PM on Friday and Saturday, and the celebration will continue into Sunday with daytime family-friendly programming.” www.popville.com/2026/06/smit...

Two weeks to apply for the tenth and final Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize! $1000 for an outstanding book collection built by a woman, aged 30 or younger. The Knicks did it – now it’s your year! #honeyandwaxprize #honeyandwaxbookcollectingprize

A joint initiative by the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress using advanced AI to reconnect long-separated Revolutionary-era records. Website accessible below Open-Source Datasets on Hugging Face at lnkd.in/eFUrCa6K

I took a photo of them boarded up in March of 2021, in response to the January 6th attack.

BHL is featured in @theguardian.com's Age of Extinction series. The article highlights the extraordinary value of BHL and the urgent need to ensure it remains free and open into the future. Please read and share: www.theguardian.com/environment/... 🧪 🌎 📖 🔗 🐟 💚

If you had an NEH Grant terminated, see the newly posted "Restarting Your Project: Planning Tips and Best Practices" and check for messages from eGMS. www.neh.gov/grants/manag...

NEH grant recipients who received notification that a terminated award is eligible for reinstatement can find more information about initiating the restatement process here: shorturl.at/0GwBc

It's always fun to learn the hidden stories behind art and other cultural works. It's science + detective work + connoisseurship + (sometimes) serendipity.

K-12 educators: free, professional development opportunity @ Smithsonian National Education Summit (online & onsite). Theme: cross‑disciplinary approaches for engaging students in civic inquiry. Side note: the keynotes, often given by the National "Teachers of the Year," are inspirational.

Jobs like this one don't appear every day. We're searching for our next Executive Secretary 🔍 This senior leadership role will guide the world’s largest biodiversity information network into its next phase.💚 📅 Applications close 24 July 2026 🔗gbif.link/Executive-...

Free events offered this weekend at the Smithsonian's Summer Solstice celebration (jazz, tours, nature hikes, workshops (quillwork, bookbinding), dance parties, marketplace.) The museums are open until 11:00PM on Fri (19th)/Sat (20th) As always, Smithsonian museums are free....

RIP Mark Rothko. You would have loved how the hydrogen peroxide bleach is only turning the Reflecting Pool blue around the perimeter

Head to our website to download and read now ✅

“Downtown D.C. celebrations will temporarily close DCA runways” Several Days over the Summer - THESE PRETZELS ARE MAKING ME THIRSTY: www.popville.com/2026/06/dear...

Check out our new guide to digital #archives that deal with sensitive material, written by archivists Virginia Dressler & @amaliasl.bsky.social. They explore 9 archives and their attempts to navigate ethical issues, such as representation of marginalized communities. 🗃️

Data & Research Innovation at Yale Library is hiring 3 positions in response to increasing need for data-intensive and social science research support: Economics and Management Librarian: lnkd.in/gAKh_3ts Computational Social Scientist: lnkd.in/geSVtWbn Research Technologist: lnkd.in/guDp7byC

𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 available for those wanting to expand their imaging skills in the GLAM sector. Courses in imaging quality assessment, workflow management, IIIF, 3D imaging, technical imaging, AI, & more. Info at link below. 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.

Should you be so inclined to participate.... global survey on use of AI in museums....

Now with the current job description! It's a permanent role, and no, the salary isn't amazing but the people are, and you can really make a difference to how people access digital collections at the British Library

Three Vietnam War veterans are suing to stop President Trump from building an arch just steps from Arlington National Cemetery, where 400,000 service members, veterans and their relatives are buried.

Job posting: Executive Director, New England Museum Association. Application Deadline: June 21 Lead an organization that supports and connects museum professionals across New England. (They were critical in helping me engage with local museum professionals in my early career.)

On the heels of the restoration of the Kennedy Center name comes this ruling that blocks the Administration's removal of signage from National Parks:

Schmidt Sciences is co-launching a funding call on the safety and security of multi-agent multi-principal systems with Google DeepMind, Cooperative AI Foundation, Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) and google.org. Grants up to $1M, deadline Aug 8. Apply here:

Job posting: Digital Asset Specialist @ National Gallery of Art. Closing date: 06/19. GS-11 (salary=$85,447 - $111,087 /year. Position helps ensure that the museum’s digital asset collections are organized, accessible, and ready to support a wide range of projects across the institution.

HARPP report “The Federal Assault on History: A Record of Executive Actions” documents the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape how the American past is recorded, preserved, & shared. HARPP =professional historians concerned about historical accuracy & preserving public access to vital records.

Important to note that among all the dross and schlock of 250th activities here in DC, there are some gems, like this free screening of John Waters' Hairspray at the National Museum of American History. It's part of the Smithsonian's Solstice celebration (www.si.edu/events/solst...)

WEATHER WITCHES: ASSEMBLE

Cast of Laocoön and his Sons (Roman version of a lost Greek original), 100BC-50AD

In our first blog post we present a model of how the far right appropriates archaeology and how we can fight it! We use the recent 'looksmaxxing' trend as a case study to explore this. Give it a read and feed back what you think! 🏺 #AntiExtremistResearch

Fascinating read about AI bias in this form, and how it has "escaped chatbot containment" to proliferate in traditional publications across different genres.

House votes to take over librarian of Congress appointment power 📚📜 rollcall.com/2026/06/08/h...

"This research conducted a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of research articles concerning GLAM institutions (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) within the SCOPUS database from 1940 to 2025... A total of 327 articles were identified." Key findings reported here;

Job opening: 3 Education Program Specialist positions @ Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Fossil Hall; Geology/Gems/Minerals Hall; Mammal Hall) (Trust positions; GS-9 pay equivalent) Close: 06/23 OR when 200 applications are rec'd, whichever occurs first. Apply NOW if interested)

📣 Do you run a web archiving program or use web archiving to preserve online content? The 2026 NDSA Web Archiving Survey wants to hear from you! This survey tracks the evolution of web archiving programs worldwide. 👉Take the ~15-minute survey by June 24:

"Military interventions in domestic policing rarely improve public safety. Instead, they often escalate unrest due to a higher risk of excessive force, jeopardizing the rights of citizens and risking bodily harm to civilians and troops alike." protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...

I know these "America 250 Time Capsule pavilions" going up on the National Mall are supposed to be "mini-museums" representing all US states and territories but I can't help but see this as a Potemkin village.

Last night they tested the UFC stage lighting at the White House. Check it out. The People’s House is looking more like a Six Flags amusement park after dark. It’s embarrassing.

'The most interesting question [is] whether the article itself is still the right unit of scientific communication, and whether the infrastructure we’ve built around it is actually serving science or just serving a publishing system .' scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/03/31/w...

"Reviving Effort with Innovation". A brief blog post by colleague Jamie Cope on how new technologies in the 3D digitization space are yielding some amazing results, even with older captures. dpo.si.edu/blog/revivin...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!! *deep breath* Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

This is such a gorgeous reflection on the Mall.

@denicewross.bsky.social and I are excited to announce the release of the Federal Data Field Guide - a new resource to help you navigate the wilds of federal data: www.ischool.berkeley.edu/news/2026/ne...

The National Science Foundation has proposed eliminating the directorate that includes most of the federal funding for fieldwork and research in human origins. It's a sudden acceleration of a decades-long trend. I comment on what this means. www.johnhawks.net/p/us-federal...