Amid rising threats against Jews in the UK we were pleased to be able to contribute to the latest BBC Panorama. Lord Daniel Finkelstein spoke from our Reading Room, in the institution founded by his grandfather, about a torrent of antisemitic abuse he has faced recently from far right trolls.

So what do we know about GenAI? 1) It erodes cognitive functions, including problem-solving, criticality, and memory. There's an MIT study (summarised at time.com/7295195/ai-c...) among many articles documenting 'cognitive offloading'. (We'd lose fitness too, if we got a bot to exercise for us) 🧵

*chants* clean, bare hands!

Faculty are right that AI output is mediocre. They’re wrong about why, writes Nicholas Creel https://ow.ly/pxN350Yxu3I

We were honoured to gather to celebrate the life and work of Dr Paul Ayris, Pro-Vice Provost, @ucllccos.bsky.social, and UCL Press founder, and to mark the launch of his book Thomas Cranmer’s Register. Read more about the event and Paul’s extraordinary contributions: uclpress.co.uk/celebrating-...

Have you caught up on our latest Archivist in the Spotlight blog yet? Join Cassy Sacher, Senior Librarian @leobaeckcollege.bsky.social on the journey of creating their new reading room. Read it here: celebratingjewisharchives.org/blog/archivi... #ICYMI #Archives #JewishCulture #Libraries #Blog

On the heels of the Ephemera Society of America conference, it’s ✨a new episode of Bite Sized Book History✨ all about ephemera! youtu.be/vHHTP36GUzc?...

Bless the librarians of Aberystwyth University for sending this blog out to their students: "Wait a Minute…What If I Don’t Want to Use AI?" #LibrarySky

A lovely evening at UCL celebrating the life of Paul Ayris and the publication of his new book. Tinged with sadness as we know how much he would have loved the party uclpress.co.uk/book/thomas-...

A really interesting post on libraries and archives’ responses to AI.

The University of Cambridge unsealed the papers of Anglo-Jewish author Amy Levy, who was a trailblazer for writing about Jewish identity during the Victorian era. Who owns a woman’s story once she is gone? And who should be allowed to read her personal writings? Zia Saylor for JWA: buff.ly/kIj1bZi

Thread ⬇️

Our first #MetaFutures session is on "From Questions to Queries: Using AI to surface metadata in library search" with Lucy Campbell & Keven Jeffery​ of San Diego State University (SDSU) Library @sdsulibrary.bsky.social

I spent 4 months trying to answer a simple question: has this book been translated into my language? Turns out no one tracks this. Not ISBN registries. Not Amazon. Not Google. Not libraries. So I built a tool that crosses four databases to piece it together. zenodot.app

The Perils of Using Generative AI to Perform Research Tasks: Editors’ and Publishers’ Viewpoints, via @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/03/09/g... #AI #AI4researchers #IA

The British Library is seeking an exceptional individual to become the next Chief Executive. This is a rare opportunity to lead a national institution of global significance and shape its future #Libraries #LISjobs https://ow.ly/Htex50YrIL8

Looking forward to speaking on a Yiddish theatre panel (w/ Isaac Bashevis Singer’s granddaughter) hosted by Jewish Renaissance prior to the 15 March performance of ‘Yentl’ by the Kadimah Yiddish Theatre at the Marylebone Theatre. @artshumsucl.bsky.social www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/events/the-y...

Consider applying to the Conference Grant Programme of the European Association of Jewish Studies - details below. Deadline 26 March 2026

For the "everything is online" crowd in the back: Important to consider that "everything" cultural heritage related that is accessible online represents only 1% (one percent) of archives, libraries, and museum collections worldwide.

"As we have set out to publish our annual Purim issue, I've found it necessary to preface the issue with an apology for our frivolity in light of the state of the world..." (1/3) ingeveb.org/blog/templat...

Using AI responsibly means knowing when not to use it theconversation.com/using-ai-res...

Behind the Scenes of Sefaria’s First AI-Assisted Translation: Q&A with Editor Francis Nataf voices.sefaria.org/sheets/70843...

#DH | The EAJS Digital Forum promotes productive links between the dynamic field of Jewish Studies in Europe and the Digital Humanities #EAJS #DH #JewishStudies

NEW in Pedagogy: "How to Read Without Text: A Book History Perspective on Tkhines" by Nora Cornell ingeveb.org/pedagogy/how...

Can ChatGPT generate me a file with all the references from a bibliography I have in word? I tried this out because I'd heard from multiple sources that it could, and I teach and use software for managing references, and this would be a really useful thing to be able to do. #medlibs (thread)

Here's my new blog post about Jewish dance cards and a recent UCL bicentennial event where we learned Edwardian ballroom dances from a Jewish dance card in @uclhjslibrary.bsky.social to the same tunes that were performed in 1909. #UCL200 In partnership with @uclhjs.bsky.social and the UCL IJS.

Hey! Scholars! If you're using someone's work in your class, sometimes it's nice to email them and tell them, because then they might feel good about their research instead of entirely crushed by the academic humanities' ongoing descent into the grave

Letter by famed Jewish mystic sells for nearly $400,000 at auction https://www.timesofisrael.com/letter-by-famed-jewish-mystic-sells-for-nearly-400000-at-auction/

Getting a lot more people on this list for sharing antisemitic lies about the Talmud over the past couple of days. Reminders: 1. The entire Talmud is public and freely available online. This Anyone claiming to know about "secret" or "hidden" Jewish teachings from it is lying to you.

Happening this Sunday! Don't miss your chance for a behind the scenes tour of our latest exhibition, and to speak to members of our team about the vital work we do and how it can support your own research: wienerholocaustlibrary.org/event/interg...

And the new reading room here: lbc.ac.uk/reading-room... #Archives #JewishHistory #JewishCommunity

Congratulations and good luck to our friends @leobaeckcollege.bsky.social who are opening their new reading room this week. We'll have more about it in our next Archivist in the Spotlight but in the meantime, find out about their library collection here: celebratingjewisharchives.org/archives/leo...

Nice obituary of @ucllccos.bsky.social Pro-Vice Provost Paul Ayris by our former colleague Ben Meunier www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

Celebrate Hebrew International Language Day with us on 21 February! Experience Bialik, King of the Jews - a powerful film by Yair Qedar - followed by a Q&A and poetry readings in Hebrew and Yiddish. Secure your spot: buff.ly/leE7wk6 @uclhjs.bsky.social

Age verification? My first work computer had no hard disk and had to be booted up from floppies

The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions! This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...

I'm finding that searches on Google Books now don't even pick up metadata, including for books that I'd expect to be out of copyright. Searches return lots of periodical literature and little else.

Looking forward to tomorrow's 'Come Fill Your Dance Fill Your Dance Card'. Hosted by @uclhjslibrary.bsky.social, @uclhjs.bsky.social and the IJS. We're all booked up, but you can sign up for the waitlist (or let us know if you'd like a similar future event). www.tickettailor.com/events/uclin....

Colne and Ver

Do you have reading suggestions for articles that underline the importance of (academic) libraries for students/staff? There exist a lot of articles, but I wonder what colleagues suggest as useful articles for students on this topic. Extra: master students in the humanities, not in library science.

This year's theme for LGBT+ History Month is Science and Innovation, celebrating the contributions of LGBT+ people throughout history and raising awareness of their discoveries. Share your book recommendations here: https://ucl-global.libwizard.com/f/LGBTplus2026

Why Authors Aren’t Disclosing AI Use and What Publishers Should (Not) do About It – Part 2 scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/02/03/w...

@wikipedia.org recently celebrated its 25th birthday, so it felt fitting that we had the honour of speaking to Joanna Baines, joint UK Wikimedian of the Year 2025, for our Spotlight series! Read the highlights of this conversation on our blog now buff.ly/XZVMoE8 @uclspeccoll.bsky.social

Scary

Why Authors Aren’t Disclosing AI Use and What Publishers Should (Not) do About it scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/01/27/w...

Come learn Edwardian ballroom dances from a 1909 Jewish dance card in the Gaster Papers! With dance instructor Susan de Guardiola (USA), Subject Librarian @vrfreedman.bsky.social and myself (talking about Jewish balls). @uclhjs.bsky.social @artshumsucl.bsky.social @biajs.bsky.social

!!! 10 days left for submitting proposals !!! #BIAJS2026

Jewish material can present unique challenges to those working with it. This blog runs through some top tips for archivists and others working with Jewish material, including reading Hebrew and caring for sacred texts. Read more here: celebratingjewisharchives.org/blog/an-intr... #Blog #Archives