'March' from Eliot Hodgkin's 'The Months', 1951, with Spring in full bloom. There's pale pink bergenia in the centre; a beautiful mauve pasque flower; camellia and early iris just opening; cherry, pieris and ribes blossom; tooth-like blanched chicory and the first 'sticky bud'.

White Swan, Pimlico, since 1759 [Old London]. New blog post theoccasionalinformationist.com/2026/02/26/w...

Thinking just isn’t profitable.

Fascinating discovery - and a further reminder that people 40,000 years ago and more were just as smart, just as creative and innovative, as we are. Lots to #Unlearn about the past phys.org/news/2026-02...

Rereading my general observations about libraries in the context of overall discussion of library career preparation and research >> Libraries and library studies buff.ly/jPThnYq

Oscar Wilde, David Bowie, and afternoon tea. Cafe Royal [Old London] new blog post. theoccasionalinformationist.com/2026/02/07/c...

'Floral Hall, Covent Garden' (1965) by Edward Bawden

Imbolc. The snowdrops return to the garden. With a dark and rainy day, folklore says that the Cailleach can't go out to collect firewood, and winter comes to an end.

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

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

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

"Responsibility for libraries is ambiguous." True that! Helpful article & suggestion @theobserveruk.bsky.social. I worry that central Govt. overlooks that librarians are vital in All sectors: Business, Education & NHS as well as Public Libraries. observer.co.uk/news/opinion... @cilip.bsky.social

Libraries, alongside higher education, serve a curious, educated and literate populace. There seems to be little enthusiasm for enlightenment from current government, nor indeed much of society. Apparently, reading a whole book is rather too much these days.

Happy Winter Solstice ❄️ Make sure to get outside today, make use of every bit of daylight we have and when the night comes, know that tomorrow will be that little bit lighter 🙌🏻 📸 Lesley Marshall

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...

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

Maxwell's Demon was born OTD in 1867 in a letter to Peter Guthrie Tait. M called it only a “finite being.” Lord Kelvin named it a “demon,” presumably referring to its apparent unearthly power to (locally and temporarily) violate the second law of thermodynamics. 🦫🦋 #HistSTM #philsci 🧪

Annual Thanksgiving blog post! This year we are giving thanks for "information." www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2025/11...

A voice out of the dark of time; the once and future LIS discipline. New blog post by myself and @lynrobinson.bsky.social. theoccasionalinformationist.com/2025/11/25/a...

Lovely to see this nod from somebody whose work is central here.

Great reading for LIS folks - covers development of LIS related disciplines through to contemporary concerns for information professionals and LIS students.

Information re-reviewed. A thorough and insightful review of concepts and theories of information by Luke Tredinnick ... new blog post theoccasionalinformationist.com/2025/09/27/i...

The autumn equinox is here in the northern hemisphere, meaning that the new season has officially begun. This woodblock print by Hiroshige captures the colours and feeling of autumn beautifully. 🍁 Maple Trees at Mama, Utagawa Hiroshige 1 (1797 - 1858) , 1857. EAX.4362

The term ‘hobbyist’ applied to unfunded research is derogatory. This would seem to be about allowing only academics with grants time to undertake research, and increasing those on teaching only contracts, in order to reduce overall staffing. The result is a much diminished uni sector.

Proceedings from our 5th FanLIS Symposium held earlier this year, 2025. Huge thanks to @ludiprice.bsky.social and Tim Gorichanaz 😎 ideaexchange.uakron.edu/docam/vol12/...

Dark matter and information revisited. Gravity and entropy. Einstein and railway timetables. New blog post. theoccasionalinformationist.com/2025/08/29/d...

🎉Amazing news! We are thrilled to announce that Introduction to Documentation Studies by Niels Windfeld Lund has won the ASIS&T Best Information Science Book Award 2025 🏆 Learn more about the book and the award 👇 www.asist.org/2025/08/13/i...

Why everything is complex. The law of increasing functional information. New blog post. theoccasionalinformationist.com/2025/08/16/w...

Pleased to have spent time earlier today with colleagues from @unistrathclyde.bsky.social as external examiner for Salah Kashlot. “Exploring the influence of information overload in the context of digital learning tools. Congratulations to Salah and the supervisory and examination teams.

'Floral Hall, Covent Garden' (1965) by Edward Bawden

An intriguing editorial letter from @floridi.bsky.social in Philosophy and Technology, proposing a new academic discipline of 'Content Studies', as a response to the increasing complexity of digital content [well-formed, meaningful data, conveyed through media). link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Wishing @shannonmattern.bsky.social everything good from here on. I recommend her post to any and all UK academics wondering how their values can ever align with those of their institution right now. And of course, for all those academics who chose to leave.

If you don’t want your child to read a certain book, then don’t let them. Other parents may wish to make a different choice, and should be free to do so.

More good news! Oz Ablett-Webb has been awarded his PhD “Building Documents - considering the role of document theory in experiencing the built environment” Thanks to Tim Gorichanaz as external exam. V proud to have established such a fabulous group of research students w @davidbawden.bsky.social

This is super news! We are all delighted for Ian 📚🎓😎

London has been ranked the world’s #1 city for 2025—for the 10th year in a row. This recognition speaks to the strength and vibrancy of our capital. From our cultural institutions to our nightlife, London remains a place for everyone.

Consequences of turning UK universities into commercially driven enterprises, run by not so great management.

'The Albert Bridge' (1966) by Edward Bawden

For any @fanlis.bsky.social folks who have not seen this! #FanLIS2025

Dr Carla Hayden was a truly great Librarian of Congress. It is an outrage that she has been sacked - a national shame on the United States. I had the pleasure of knowing her and working with her - she’ll continue to do good in the next phase of her career whatever that is.

Not surprising. Carla Hayden is a highly educated woman who encourages reading and thinking.

Thanks to David Bawden & @lynrobinson.bsky.social for their review doi.org/10.55741/knj... of my book, ‘Achieving global open access’ doi.org/10.4324/9781... “recommended for anyone seeking an insightful analysis of the current problems of global open access, and thoughts...[on] future solutions”

LIS folks interested in the author/creator component of the information communication chain will want to read this. Note the concept of meta-author accompanying wrAIting. #DocumentTheory @floridi.bsky.social

One more time: libraries are essential infrastructure for civil society. They keep the record and make it available to all. UK government must be mindful of this in light of the erosion of democracy in the US. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

'St Paul's' (1966) by Edward Bawden

Banning (legal) books is a starting point from which our freedoms can be erased. Libraries should resist any such requests. We do not have to follow America.

All of that doing more with increasingly less seems not to have worked in many cases then. Universities call in consultants to stave off collapse. www.thetimes.com/article/1774...

Seeing this post (rightly) shared widely this morning. The deletion requests won’t stop at this though will they?

Silver plus one. New blog post in which I invoke Charles Darwin and @floridi.bsky.social in reflecting on why a personal blog is still worthwhile, if only as notes to oneself tinyurl.com/3ud5b7fx

Registration for #FanLIS2025 is now live! Check out our great programme of speakers at blogs.city.ac.uk/fanlis/fanli... To celebrate 5 years of #FanLIS with us, make sure to register at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fanlis-202... 🎉🎊