‘Although the [British Library] has been making heroic efforts to bring its services back, without additional funding to speed up the recovery, our national research capacity will continue to suffer.’ @richove.bsky.social on why libraries should be on the policy agenda www.ft.com/content/fea2...

I am once again begging, praying, weeping for lists of written instructions rather than videos. I do not want to watch your two minute video in the hope of catching the two seconds where you whizz past what goddamn menu the thing is under. Write. It. Down.

Never feel guilty for borrowing books from a library. Authors LOVE libraries. And libraries pay authors a small sum every time one of their books is borrowed (which in many cases comes to more than the percentage earned from the sale of a book in a discount outlet)...

Chinese newspaper cartoon (Today... 😂 )

Just a shame that we don’t see this message from our government.

Well done Sadiq Khan. This is what the national Labour Party SHOULD have been doing, instead of pandering to Farage’s malign & hateful rhetoric. Amping up all the amazing diversity & benefits this country has gained from immigration. Far more than we’ve ever benefited from the likes of Farage!

A reminder that is more than one successful Labour mayor of a large city.

Nobody here needs me to tell them not to do this but Jesus Christ in a Cadillac do not do this.

Something I learned this morning: in 1931, someone tried to introduce the term "booksneak" to denote the person who came up with the idea of libraries being able to lend books rather than them just being sold. Obviously, it didn't stick!

I tried gluten-free cake in Runcorn – here’s what I thought https://www.europesays.com/uk/963153/ It is believed that up to one in 100 people in the UK are coeliac, but only 36%…

I am finding the level of entitlement from Andy Burnham a bit much to take. And I remember Heseltine, who was considered the inevitable successor to Thatcher. Brought her down, but lost to John Major. So who is the current Labour equivalent of Major? Might they be our next PM?

There is a statue of author Alex Haley in East Knoxville, TN. Knox County just removed Roots from all school libraries.

Short version: yes, buttons are getting worse. Long version: by and large, apps and programs and websites these days are effectively dumb terminals -- when you click a button they do no processing on their own, and instead send the data to a central server, which sends a response back. (1/4)

I had my appointment yesterday. It was perfectly routine, punctual and helpful. This morning another message pops up on the NHS app. I login and get this: Thinking about your recent appointment at the practice, we would be grateful if you can fill out this questionnaire. No, please, no.

Just hearing on Radio 3 that their listener numbers are up. I’m not surprised. Much better for the soul at this time in the morning than the alternatives, with just enough news to cover the basics.

Nothing about universities or higher education at all. The managed decline continues. www.gov.uk/government/s...

I used to get a text to remind me of a GP appointment. Now I get a notification from the NHS app to say I have a message. I open the app, login, and there is a message to say I have an appointment. 3 stages instead of one. Enshittification.

News organizations block the Wayback Machine even as their reporters depend on it 📰 In PRESERVING THE WEB IN THE AGE OF AI, Mark Graham, Director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, addresses the issue. 🎧 Listen on Future Knowledge ⤵️ futureknowledge.transistor.fm/episodes/pre... 🧵⬇️

I was a local councillor for a while back in the 1990s. This ⬇️ is true and right. It's unglamorous and hard work. All newly elected councillors need to learn this fast.

Many Russian archival finding aids were handwritten on cards in the 1920s and that's still the only way to find stuff.

Just caught up with the first episode of Speechless, the Storyville documentary on campus culture wars. The more I watched the less objective it seemed. Some of those seemingly reasonable interviewees have more to their stories than we saw. Just look up Bret Weinstein. Anyone for ivermectin?

Why does it look like Rachel Reeves is officiating a wedding between Keir Starmer and Gordon Brown

🏷️ Honeybuns discount code: GLUTENFREEDOM Honeybuns 10% off Gluten Free Cakes with Promo Code ⏰ Expires Wednesday https://codeland.uk/brands/honeybuns #Honeybuns #codeland #discountcode #UKdeals #budgeting

Going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Malcolm Grimston has been a Councillor for a very long time. He knows how things work. And his book ‘West Hill and Wimbledon Park Side: The Story of a Council Ward’ is very good.

Turns out the future of Wandsworth is in the hands of one independent Councillor, who has been a councillor for years with a high vote. Malcolm Grimston is an ex Tory who is now strictly independent. Could be interesting.

I'm so grateful when new scholarship is this accessible. Thanks & many congratulations to the authors 🙌 🙌 🙌 "The consequences of not working across boundaries – of all kinds – to identify and safeguard digital cultural heritage are serious and the pressures on time and resources are growing."

Nobody seems to get this. It's from the 1970s Andre Previn: You're playing all the wrong notes! Eric( hoisting Previn up by the lapels): No. I am playing all the right notes. But not necessarily in the right order!

At last! The archived British Library blogs are viewable online. Check the index of blogs at blogs-archive.bl.uk and the hundreds of posts on the Digital Scholarship blog going back to 2013 blogs-archive.bl.uk#digital-scho...

Is there an election in your neck of the woods today? If so, have you voted yet? If not, please make a plan for when you're going to do it and how you're going to get to the polling place. Reform UK supporters are voting right now. Your vote is needed to outweigh theirs. Please vote.

Voted. Whatever I think of the Labour Party nationally, our local Labour councillors do a great job, and I hope Wandsworth stays Labour.

Under rubble and rain, Gaza women try to save rare books in centuries-old library - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/under-rubble-and-rain-gaza-women-try-save-rare-books-centuries-old-library

Eric Morecambe would approve. Wordle 1,783 4/6 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I don't think people fully understand yet just how fragile university-hosted digital resources are after external funding ends (especially if the lead academic retires or moves or is made redundant).

This one is so bad that her X account has been suspended.

Another one. Reform’s candidate for Tooting Broadway in the Wandsworth Council local elections on May 7 Stephanie Dearden has a history of vile social media posts. Almost like there’s a pattern.

Tooting rejects racism. The Reform candidate for Tooting Broadway published multiple racist posts on social media. I've written to Nigel Farage demanding answers on why she hasn't been expelled. Vote Labour to stop a Reform/Tory coalition of hatred and division in Wandsworth.

could we maybe get a GoFundMe going to buy Karen Pierce one Really Big Drink

🧵 The web is disappearing 🕳️ From Pew: 26% of pages from 2013-2023 are ☠️ A new study in VANISHING CULTURE gives hope: 16% have been restored through the Wayback Machine. 56% are preserved before they disappear. 📚 Read VANISHING CULTURE free from Internet Archive: archive.org/details/vani... ⬇️

Sometimes I despair at myself. For reasons, not much housework has been done recently. What do I do? Buy a book on cleaning methods. Do I actually do any cleaning? Of course not. Books are my answer to everything, it seems.

40 years ago one of the reactors of the nuclear station of Chornobyl went into meltdown and exploded. The consequences of this event still reverberate today, not least in the ongoing struggle for independence by Ukraine and Belarus. The accident ripped off the plaster covering past Soviet wounds.

Language information is usually very incomplete in library catalogues, so this is a real achievement.

Last year we finally got language information in the catalogue for everything in the @rcpmuseum.bsky.social library (hurrah!), and I've done some stats and stuff on how the breakdown changes over time. #libraryhistory #GLAMS 📚

Cambridge University Libraries & @bodleian.ox.ac.uk, with support from CILIP & @librariesconnected.org.uk, have published a review showcasing the value of public libraries across the UK: https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006261431330

The man who rescues books from rubble: Omar Hamad opens Phoenix library in Gaza www.channel4.com/news/the-man...

Me online to BT: our broadband keeps dropping out. I have followed your online instructions but it’s no better. BT: which service do you need help with? Me: Broadband! BT: Go online and follow the instructions. It’s going to be a long morning.

💥New | Reading for me, but not for thee – The long history of limiting access to books ✍️Don Herzog #FreeSpeech #Censorship #BookBans (@lsepress.bsky.social @lseevents.bsky.social)

The Matthew Doyle story shows that jobs for the boys are just as much a thing as they ever were. For any ordinary person the appointment process would have strict rules applied. Good on Ollie Robbins that this one didn’t happen, but very depressing all the same.

Post just arrived. At 7:15 in the evening. We only get it about once a week, so maybe evening deliveries are a sign of progress?

Blogging is painful but essential for preserving my work beyond my lifetime. I discuss the steps I take, from metadata to digital preservation, and why it's worth it. https://eve.gd/2026/04/19/the-necessary-pain-involved-in-blogging-if-you-want-your-work-to-be-preserved-beyond-your-lifespan/