A series of questions I never thought I'd have to ask: does the Author's Guild know what a library is? Have they been to one? How do they think the books got there? Have they ever encountered a library worker?

I am not trying to dunk here and also if library workers had been truly listened to in the last 10-15 years or so, the libraries being in danger would not be coming as a surprise to so many academics. Perhaps they would not be in as much danger, even.

“I believe these decisions represent the most strategic path to preserving the MIT Libraries for our full community” is a hell of a thing to say about, among other decisions, removing staff from that community.

Awful news. This isn't just a loss for the staff, it's a loss for the entire community. Dozens of people out of work and those who remain will be forced to do more work. Researchers, students, and faculty will lose access to information. Others will lose access to ILL material.

This is so devastating. I never got to meet Fobazi, but she was a major influence in not just my work, but librarianship as a whole. Many condolences to her family.

they’re abducting our neighbors and putting them in concentration camps and they’ll empty a whole goddamn magazine into you while you’re lying on the ground if you don’t cheer them on while they’re fucking doing it.

I got a new article published in the latest issue of EBLIP, where I ask, "visual timelines: are they good? Can they be useful in LIS research? Let's find out!" Part of a special issue on the Empirical Studies in Library Studies. doi.org/10.18438/ebl...

If you're an academic who is protective or defensive about your own area of expertise (understandable, in this day and age), but are offended when it's suggested that professional archivists & librarians have unique expertise outside your own experience, that's worth some self-examination

genuine plea for info here - is there an OCR model (open or not) which can recognize accented characters (i.e. ù û) and the characters <ŋ ɛ ə>? it genuinely seems there are no models for the International African Alphabet (link), or just the entire IPA, both of which would solve my problem 🐦🐦

Has anyone in library world ever received a telemarketing/spam call to their *personal* phones that referenced your specific jobs? Because I got such a call earlier today, and I am still a little freaked out about it.

The Carpentries (@carpentries.carpentries.org‬), a nonprofit that has trained over 100,000 researchers in coding and data skills, turned down a $1.5 million NSF grant after being asked to strip diversity-related content from its programming. www.forbes.com/sites/johndr...

Every library worker has benefitted in some way from @fobettarh.bsky.social's work, and if you can afford to, please pay it forward: www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo.... If you can't donate, please share.

I'm test driving a Contour RollerMouse (like this contourdesign.com/products/rol...) to help with nerve pain, and let me tell you it has been a ride so far! "This rod moves the curser?? Wait, hold on, my thumbs don't know what to do! Should my keyboard shake like that?"

[Blogged] The AI powered Library Search That Refused to Search - From Clarivate's Summon to Primo Research Assistant, content‑moderation layers meant mostly for chatbots are "quietly" blocking controversial topics from being searched aarontay.substack.com/p/the-ai-pow...

ICE has been kidnapping people from the Buffalo immigration court, as they have been doing in many other cities. For the past few weeks, I have been doing court support there. I'm still processing everything I've seen, but I want to say a few things. 1/

Notably universities and most faculty will ignore the *entire group of people* already charged with teaching information literacy on their campuses. I bet you have at least one librarian who has a lesson plan ready to go.

Kristi Noem took ICE and weapons to Huntington Park to terrorize a family this morning. But apparently a Latino sitting senator asking a question is too scary for her, so she needed some big guys to throw him to the ground and arrest him. I hope people see how ridiculous that is and be angry.

Padilla: If this is how DHS responds to a senator with a question you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California.

Hold the line and stay safe, LA! Show them that we can't stop/ won't stop protecting people from kidnappings! This Southeast LA County kid's hometown pride keeps growing and growing the more I see folks fighting for our families, friends, and neighbors.

It is very much in the self interest of academics to stand against professional services cuts because you really do not want to be doing our jobs in addition to your jobs

Just because I am not surprised does not mean I'm not angry. Carla Hayden, like every other *actually qualified federal worker* that has been shamefully treated in this unconscionable manner deserves better. www.npr.org/2025/05/09/g...

Me: Now when you use a steak sauce like A1, you have to think about what kind of steak you're making, your taste preferences, is A1 the best for your steak... Them: I thought you were here to talk about AI literacy... Me:... Them:... Me: Who wants to try Bone Suckin' Sauce?!

This is the only thing I got going for me today. Turns out, spending 2+ hours sculpting petals by hand can keep me from laying down and giving up on everything.

Like many others I am dismayed by the effort to end IMLS. I know IMLS matters to so many people. I put together the following site to collect and share stories of how "IMLS matters" to people. Please consider submitting a story. forms.gle/MAocZZMsoUu7... imls-matters.github.io/imlsmatters/

I helped build a government AI system. DOGE fired me, rolled the AI out to the whole agency, and implied the AI can do my job and the jobs of the others they've fired. It can't. But, what DOGE accidentally revealed about themselves in the process is fascinating. 🧵

This, by the by, is an effing disaster if it holds up. The number of public libraries that will go under if IMLS is shuttered is mind-boggling. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

ACH has confirmed reports that DOGE is at the NEH. Chair Shelly C. Lowe has been replaced by Acting Chair Michael McDonald. ACH remains committed to a diverse, inclusive, and supportive DH. To engage in advocacy efforts: [email protected]. Read our statement of support for NEH: buff.ly/bQeRaGw

Has the nerve pain in my arms made doing my job and enjoying hobbies difficult during the past couple of months? Yes. Has it also distracted me from the chaos of everything, including everything academia related? No, actually, it has not; the pain killers and news minimizing do nothing.

Hmm. I guess we need another reminder: staff *also* work at colleges and universities. We often have degrees or specialties in our areas. Some of us publish, attend conferences, and participate in other professional development activities. And, fwiw, most universities wouldn't function without us.

Remember what I've said & others have shown you about how neurodivergent folx are flagged at higher rates by both "AI"-enabled GPT checkers *And* humans who think they can "always tell" but are actually just 1) LEARNING from GPT checkers and 2) confirmation bias reinforcing their own ableism? Yeah.

Here is an ongoing list of LA restaurants that are offering shelter, food, and support to first responders and evacuees: bit.ly/LAaid

Way More Than Very Happy to announce this book, co-edited with the incomparable Isabel Galina, and co-authored with 70+ amazing folks from 5 continents: "The Routledge Companion to Libraries, Archives, and the Digital Humanities" www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1... Tell your librarian!

Hi, so I've spent the past almost-decade studying research uses of public social media data, like e.g. ML researchers using content from Twitter, Reddit, and Mastodon. Anyway, buckle up this is about to be a VERY long thread with lots of thoughts and links to papers. 🧵

While working on this "staff-to-librarian job search" paper and trying to work on the argument around capital and labor, I keep thinking to myself, "please don't make me regret not having the Marx-Engel reader anymore." Maybe this is why I'll never finish this paper 😩

As the war on higher education looks to heat up, academic libraries will likely be the first on the chopping block.

📣 New zine!! "A Librarian Against AI; or, I Think AI Should Leave" is a 40-page zine about why we should think twice about using & supporting generative AI. violetbfox.info/against-ai/ #noAI #zines

I created a starter pack for folks who work in and/or are interested in the intersection of #DigitalHumanities and #libraries. Happy to add folks! go.bsky.app/Fg9dqjc

Hello, new followers! The first question I want to ask before I give an intro is: how did you get this number? Kidding... or am I??

Oh god, why did I agree to do an instruction session AND a meeting *the day after the election??* What state of mind was I in to agree to such terrible ideas??

It's still a bummer that the lit I've been referencing for this staff-to-librarian job search process article highlights one of my findings: sure, academic libraries will help you get that MLIS. Will they hire you as a librarian tho? Likely, it's "Lol, no thx!" 😠

Crafting tips: Jenny Holzer edition

I teach a first year seminar in the bicycle. Here are the zines my class made with a prompt about how they got around when they were younger, or whatever. I made one about being a beginner. Looking forward to doing this again. Thanks instagram@maddycherr for demonstrating book binding and folding!

Wow - "HathiTrust will suspend funding of the HathiTrust Research Center at the end of 2026 to allocate resources toward new programs that leverage emerging technologies to enhance our services and collection." www.hathitrust.org/about/resear...

Good: finding out a meeting you had on your schedule today wasn't happening. Not good: It's because it was last week and you missed it 🙃