Happy Thanks to the folks at #MARAC2026 who organized last night's reception. Multiple tables with craft supplies, paper, etc. Room with games (incl. document box jenga!). We made zines and origami. Great way to enable introvert networking.

Question about the costs of various digital preservation software tools. Answer was that the applications were largely open source so “the cost is your sanity [when] installing it”

#MARAC2026 crowd may be interested in new @omeka.org ArchivesSpace module, and other preservation plugins. Read more in their latest newsletter: omeka.org/news/2026/04...

Nicole Nikolich is a textile artist whose current focus is making crochet artworks that reference old school technology (old Windows apps, Photoshop tool palettes, flip phones, AIM icons, Game Boys, etc.) [kottke.org]

Today, I'm headed to MARAC 2026 in Richmond. Tomorrow (5/1), you can find me & Joan Fragaszy Troyano at the @digitalscholar.bsky.social table in the exhibit area. We will have stickers and project updates. Come by & say hello! marac.memberclicks.net/spring-2026-...

I'd like all politicians to know you'd mostly be defending antidepressant-taking middle class folks wearing the same button-downs they bought 10-20 years ago in grad school and whose fluorescent-lit offices have 2-3 plastic chairs and institutional off-white paint.

I saw a post from the writer on LinkedIn talking about noticing the letter while processing and I love it when processing archivists and assistants write. They have a unique opportunity to have their eyes on the collections. blogs.loc.gov/manuscripts/...

Kudos to the people at an upcoming conference who have created a spreadsheet of local food options, with columns for public transit (line and stop), dietary restriction options, hours, and a direct link to the menu (when possible).

I love this. Are there certain things some kinds of AI are good for? Sure! But is it creating great (or even passable) art? Not remotely. Basic business 101: 'what is the problem we're trying to solve?' not 'we must use x tool.'

Happy National Library Week to whoever did this.

Happy National Library Week! 💙📚

Today we launch Read More Books, a semi-regular Commonplace series featuring @kawulf.bsky.social asking authors five questions about their new book. We kick off with @johngmarks.com and his fascinating study of the long fight over Washington's legacy of slavery.🗄️ commonplace.online/article/read...

excited to be in conversation with my #HumanitiesDC and #HumanitiesTruck colleague Sojin Kim for the closing keynote...on commemoration and D.C., natch!

The coverage of the 1973 coup in Chile by 4 major US newspapers and the extent to which they aligned with the official US gov narrative. (Bc I wanted to work w/ a prof but have no Spanish 😅)

I don't think most of the Bible bits I like are "obscure" per se. (I mean, I like the vibes of the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel, but that doesn't feel obscure?)

Reposting for the comments

ACH 2026 registration is now open! ACH 2026 is virtual and welcomes all—faculty, students, alt-ac, community practitioners. This year's theme centers transnationalism and solidarity in the Americas, with bilingual participation in English and Spanish. June 24–26. Sign up: ach2026.ach.org

Do you have cat food in the apocalypse kit? If so what kind and what if I stop liking it

Reposting for the Friday crowd

BOOK! So excited to read this! The Infinite Loop: Archives and Time Travel in the Popular Imagination, a joint @saa-official.bsky.social and @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social publication!

Good morning. Birthright citizenship is very clearly the law and foundational (if insufficient) for equality in this country, but racists want it not to be so. That’s all.

Why do my roommate’s cats eat one bowl of dry food completely empty before moving on to the next?

When biased comic book writers try to make you believe that someone besides Batman is the best chef in the DC universe when he literally preps for everything 🙄

Seems like this may come in handy. Learn how to cite depositions posted on YouTube in MLA Style. #themoreyouknow #dogebros style.mla.org/cite-a-depos...

Heard at the ASpace virtual member forum: “Now I’m going to do a live demo… famous last words…” But it is actually working!

Once you know the formula for narrative non-fiction it’s hard to enjoy reading it tbh because it’s often just watching a story check off bullet points in a specific order. Some people are great at making it feel organic but many, many people are not.

it’s striking to me how many “return to the enlightenment” bros seem to have gotten their understanding of the enlightenment from the cliffs notes

Does anyone know of a chapter or article on the early history of the Humanist listserv? From Dad, I got the impression that there was a conference or meeting at Vassar College in 1986. Other than that, I don't have much info. 💾

Last night we interrupted my roommate’s rewatch of Madam Secretary (season 3) so that I could show her the first “big block of cheese day” episode from West Wing (which she has not watched). Holy late 90s fashion, Batman.

One of the entertaining things about (still) being on tumblr are the funny cultural practices. Like celebrating the Ides of March. To the point that it’s trending. 😆

Madam Secretary season 2. An earthquake plot making me think of when my best friend from childhood was in Nepal. During the earthquake. And all the good she did there with USAID. Sigh.

At my workplace, we do quick share-back presentations about conferences we attend. Every year, half my presentation is about what orgs and conferences could learn from #c4l26 by prioritizing accessibility. Also, it's volunteer run, supportive to new speakers, and not an association fundraiser.

a dedicated team of mostly volunteers created the Frances Perkins Center in 2009, to preserve her legacy. because of SO much of their work, Biden designated it a national monument in 2024. good morning from the archives at Columbia with their team working on a digital portal project (1/3)

Attending Code4Lib remotely & I am *impressed* by how accessible they have made this conference. They had a venue canceled by CMU for politics, moved cities, & are still putting many orgs to shame by how inclusive it is to people with disabilities. Librarians y'all 💪🏼📚🌈 code4lib.org/conference/2...

My roommate is still watching Madam Secretary. And now I just want to go re-watch the 1990s Superman cartoon. Because. Tim Daly.

I wish my granddad were alive (he’d be 102), I’d have some questions for him. I’m sure he would have a lot of thoughts but maybe some insights as well.

I spent hours looking through hundreds of files of materials that have been flagged for review by National Park Service sites around the country. Here is just a small sample of what I found. #NationalParks 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

Streaming Code4Lib talks. Lightning talk stats with a brief mention of Internet2 which hits me with a stab of grief. Haven’t thought much about I2 since dad died.

Historian Andrew M. Davenport of Monticello explores the future that Thomas Jefferson could see, and the future he could not, in the latest essay from @inpursuitusa.bsky.social inpursuit.substack.com/p/thomas-jef...

Thrilled to contribute to this series! My essay, "The Radical Potential of Traditional Femininity," drops March 19th! America's Founding Feminists: Rewriting America’s Origin Story msmagazine.com/2026/03/02/f...

My roommate is watching Madam Secretary and I’ve never seen it. Just How Many Broadway people are in this show!? Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bebe Neuwirth, Patina Miller…!!

Historians! Putting a plea out for suggestions of digital projects that foreground Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic histories?

I own four copies. I’ve facilitated it for a dozen 8-9 year olds, my niece at age 4, dozens of students, & my new game group this Friday. A staple.

I adore Murder Must Advertise for the whole story of the marketing schemes - and the window into wild interwar marketing ideas. The murder mystery is decidedly secondary 😆

This is a great thing about 'contemporary' novels that people don't really consider when writing them! Concrete historical detail that wasn't remotely historical when it was written. (Sherlock Holmes is also good for this.) You do have to go through the bit where it's 'dated' first, though.

Snow and/or ice predicted in my area. As my new abode has a fireplace, I have stocked up on essentials: firewood, marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. And, of course, extra treats for the cats.

Friends, I hope you’ll share this widely. The @jcblibrary.bsky.social is hiring 2 3-yr research associates for collaborative work on religions and freedoms in the early Americas. Info is here and I’m happy to take questions offline: brown.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/staff-...

Woody Guthrie Creates a Doodle-Filled List of 33 New Year’s Resolutions (1943): Beat Fascism, Write a Song a Day, and Keep the Hoping Machine Running www.openculture.com/2026/01/wood...

Engaging with people whose rules are built of a framework of “fine for me but not for thee” is so confusing and exhausting.