“Books are patient where we are slow to understand, allow us to go over the hard parts as many times as we wish, and are never critical of our lapses. Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.” — Carl Sagan

Next week, Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, a landmark exhibition of the late Queen’s fashion opens at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. The exhibition represents the largest display of the Queen’s fashion ever staged: ft.trib.al/hKAtQae

Book banning is an arrogant practice, which has little to do with safeguarding children. It has more to do with restricting access to ideas. Schools should encourage pupils to read widely, and to think critically.

after much deliberation and giving AI the benefit of the doubt, Wikipedia editors have had enough of AI slop. New policy bans LLM generated content, periodt www.404media.co/wikipedia-ba...

In the UK we can watch The Librarians documentary on iPlayer It's vital. Defend the knowledge base, defend libraries, defend librarians. They are the stewards of our culture and progress.

Brilliant news! Congratulations Jack 😎

Today marks the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere meaning winter is officially behind us! This idyllic scene was painted by English-born painter Charles Conder.

A lovely preservation story.

Exciting news - I have actually updated the Library Conferences on BlueSky page, and it now has current and previous 2026 sections! Lots to do to add in events I have noted in screenshots and saved emails, but good progress.

Enjoyable visit today to the Fashion and Textile Museum to see Costume Couture: sixty years of Cosprop. The company was founded by John Bright in 1965, and has an outstanding collection of original and commissioned costumes for film, relevions and theatre. fashiontextilemuseum.org/exhibitionsd...

Study finds signs and symbols on central European artifacts between 43,000 and 34,000 years old, appear statistically similar to protocuneiform from approx 3500-3200BC. #TheStoryOfDocuments www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Reading any book can lead to understanding, which is something of a joy.

Now open!

Extra tour date announced for Wednesday 9th April. www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tic...

Job losses at UK research-intensive universities double in two years. Exclusive: Scale of redundancies branded a “disaster”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Thinking just isn’t profitable.

Never underestimate a cat.

This @historytoday.com article is FREE for 7 days to mark the 200th anniversary of London's first university #UCL200 @ioew.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk

The study shows association with a reduced risk, rather than a definitive link - but still encouraging!

Exposition of Libraries Alliance from founder @richove.bsky.social in conversation with Rob Green @cilip.bsky.social - importance of technologically up-to-date library staff. Listen to the end for clear statement on what libraries mean to society.

📚 Two centuries of student life reveal a dynamic, changing London. To mark UCL’s 200th anniversary, Student London: A New History of Higher Education in the Capital is out today- free to read and download: bit.ly/3NcnXpi #StudentLondon #LondonHistory #HigherEducation #OpenAccess

MAGAZINE MONDAY | From fragile fragments to the digital world: Library conservators treat crumpled Egyptian papyrus texts and bring them to a global audience online. https://lcm.loc.gov/issue/january-february-2026/history-unfolded/?loclr=blsky

' Ronald Barnett describes the contemporary fascination with skills as a form of ‘bewitchment’ (others have put it more strongly elsewhere)....When individuals are defined in this way, they become more easily interchangeable in the labour market, increasing workers’ vulnerability.'

An uplifting photo of our crocus lawn. Every single bulb moved there from under the trees by resident squirrels over the years 🐿️ No yellow ones. I guess they eat those straightaway.

It’s never a good thing to dictate what other people’s children can read. School libraries are spaces for every child.

The joy of books!

Treated, yesterday, to a David Bowie themed tea at the newly made-over Cafe Royal. Taken fashionably with the tourists at 1.00pm, the glam rock fare was served in the glittering Oscar Wilde Room, where videoing content took precedence to eating. Good times!

I have favoured the all black, non-biz style of dressing for a long time. Perhaps it is universal rather than specific to Manchester. It seems to say “I can think for myself” and “I don’t need to look like the rest of you”. Also, of course, eminently practical; everything matches everything else.

Even while the UK Web Archive’s public site is offline, the work hasn’t stopped. Behind the scenes, teams are still collecting, preserving, and building new collections to safeguard the UK’s digital history. 💻 www.bl.uk/stories/blog... #WebArchiving #UKWebArchive #UKLegalDeposit

If current politics is getting you down, Paddington The Musical will restore your faith in liberal London 😎 paddingtonthemusical.com

Detailed organisation and understanding of works still requires human effort.

See #CILIP's response to the new #Libraries funding announcement from the Government⤵️

Marie Curie in the history of bibliographic control. New blog post theoccasionalinformationist.com/2026/01/20/t...

Sad news. Lovely clothes.

My books cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com

“Many academic leaders follow managerial paths rather than scholarly ones ..” (often with no competence, creativity or credibility)

On the first anniversary of the signing of a century-long partnership between the UK and Ukraine, @richove.bsky.social, Bodley's Librarian at @ox.ac.uk expresses the city and university's unwavering solidarity with Ukraine's librarians.

👀From 2024... "If you’re an academic who is still using X, I would gently suggest to you that it is time to let go. The platform will either fold ~ or complete its evolution into the central engine of a politics, that compromises your professional credibility through association." #X #AcademicSky

THE LIBRARIANS has made the BAFTA Longlist for Best Documentary! We’re thrilled that the film is resonating with UK and Irish audiences and that our Librarians Without Borders movement continues to gain momentum. Now streaming in the UK on via BBC Storyville’s iPlayer. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

More libraries to explore - v good.

This is a delightful instruction guide for librarians from 1926. Check out the questions posed after each summary and reading list.

Books are so successful we don’t even think of them as IT bigthink.com/books/books-...

The Guardian view on universities: Labour needs a clearer plan | The Guardian

Stark warning from the Education Secretary. The decline in literacy risks undermining British national security by leaving future generations more at risk from Russian disinformation, Bridget Phillipson argues www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

Lava lamps are magic in a bottle. It is important to keep a spare bulb in, however, so that the supply of inner calm remains constant. 😎

I am very sad to learn that Dr Paul Ayris has died. He was internal examiner for my PhD at UCL and offered sound support which underpinned my early academic career. www.leru.org/news/in-memo...

UK to rejoin EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme

Lovely post on the impact on London of Sir Thomas Gresham. Highly recommend this blog for those interested in London - @alondoninheritance.bsky.social