madison
@beastlibrarian.bsky.social
📍 seattle-ish
📚 art librarian
👩🏻🏫 part-time faculty teaching arts librarianship
this is an unprofessional account! I’m here for people with librarian in their bio.
📚 art librarian
👩🏻🏫 part-time faculty teaching arts librarianship
this is an unprofessional account! I’m here for people with librarian in their bio.
Pinned
madison
@beastlibrarian.bsky.social
· Apr 19
how can artists, writers, filmmakers, poets, etc
ever get a creative block
when small town historical newspapers from the 19th century exist
ever get a creative block
when small town historical newspapers from the 19th century exist
Reposted by madison
As @jbakcoleman.bsky.social and I wrote, “Every time a scientist abdicates their work to an AI tool, that is a tacit admission that the work is not worth being done by the scientist.”
Same goes for instructors.
Same goes for instructors.
You’ll have to read for the what happens next part, but I can tell you what will happen when parents and students realize profs have handed over expertise and teaching to chatbots.
NYU professor tested students with AI oral exams, here's what happened next
When student work looked like McKinsey memos, an NYU business school professor used AI oral exams to test real learning.
www.businessinsider.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:14 PM
As @jbakcoleman.bsky.social and I wrote, “Every time a scientist abdicates their work to an AI tool, that is a tacit admission that the work is not worth being done by the scientist.”
Same goes for instructors.
Same goes for instructors.
Reposted by madison
Found the coolest website that takes random found cassette tapes people submit and digitizes them. I’m listening to an NYC hip hop station from 1994: intertapes.net
Intertapes — Main
Obscure tape finds and their stories
intertapes.net
December 13, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Found the coolest website that takes random found cassette tapes people submit and digitizes them. I’m listening to an NYC hip hop station from 1994: intertapes.net
Reposted by madison
The ruling class has basically created an ambient WW3 for their profit and shits and giggles.
January 3, 2026 at 8:55 AM
The ruling class has basically created an ambient WW3 for their profit and shits and giggles.
Reposted by madison
Now that they’ve started a war I’ve completely forgotten that they’re pedophiles.
January 3, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Now that they’ve started a war I’ve completely forgotten that they’re pedophiles.
Reposted by madison
And there ya have it…
Officials from top Wall Street firms will be traveling to Venezuela to investigate “investment prospects” of the country. “The trip will feature about 20 officials from the finance, energy and defense sectors.”
Officials from top Wall Street firms will be traveling to Venezuela to investigate “investment prospects” of the country. “The trip will feature about 20 officials from the finance, energy and defense sectors.”
Finance Industry Eyes Investment Opportunities in Venezuela
Some on Wall Street are already considering possible investment opportunities in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, according to Charles Myers, chairman of consulting firm Signum Globa...
www.wsj.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:13 PM
And there ya have it…
Officials from top Wall Street firms will be traveling to Venezuela to investigate “investment prospects” of the country. “The trip will feature about 20 officials from the finance, energy and defense sectors.”
Officials from top Wall Street firms will be traveling to Venezuela to investigate “investment prospects” of the country. “The trip will feature about 20 officials from the finance, energy and defense sectors.”
Reposted by madison
Just saying out loud that I remember this morning when they were saying that they weren’t going to do anything besides the Maduro kidnapping
Before they announced they were also going to run the entire country
I remember a few hours ago
Before they announced they were also going to run the entire country
I remember a few hours ago
January 3, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Just saying out loud that I remember this morning when they were saying that they weren’t going to do anything besides the Maduro kidnapping
Before they announced they were also going to run the entire country
I remember a few hours ago
Before they announced they were also going to run the entire country
I remember a few hours ago
Reposted by madison
We had a good run
2026 could be great. We simply don't know.
January 3, 2026 at 4:08 PM
We had a good run
Reposted by madison
Maybe, just maybe, a university degree was not/is not solely about social mobility or jobs, but about learning, experimenting, expanding your mind with the close study of the world. Having to continually argue the above point is exhausting, but I'll never stop.
UK university degree no longer ‘passport to social mobility’, says King’s vice-chancellor
UK university degree no longer ‘passport to social mobility’, says King’s vice-chancellor
Prof Shitij Kapur says there are too many graduates and degree is now just a ‘visa’ to enter professional world
The UK now has a “surfeit” of graduates and students must accept that a university degree is no longer a “passport to social mobility”, a leading vice-chancellor has argued.
Prof Shitij Kapur, the head of King’s College London, said the days when universities could promise that their graduates were certain to get good jobs are over, in an era where nearly half the population enters higher education. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Maybe, just maybe, a university degree was not/is not solely about social mobility or jobs, but about learning, experimenting, expanding your mind with the close study of the world. Having to continually argue the above point is exhausting, but I'll never stop.
Reposted by madison
Honestly? If you email or message me today I consider it an act of aggression. Your name goes on a list. Sure, no one is COMPELLED to open messages when you send them but also? Read the room.
January 2, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Honestly? If you email or message me today I consider it an act of aggression. Your name goes on a list. Sure, no one is COMPELLED to open messages when you send them but also? Read the room.
Reposted by madison
Any discussion of how a few actors are protesting Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center has to consider how Republicans have tried to slash social spending for the arts — and denigrate the arts and humanities as legitimate fields — since at least Reagan, if not longer.
December 30, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Any discussion of how a few actors are protesting Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center has to consider how Republicans have tried to slash social spending for the arts — and denigrate the arts and humanities as legitimate fields — since at least Reagan, if not longer.
Reposted by madison
Earlier this year, Republicans tried to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in their 2026 budget, while proposing a 13% increase in defense spending. The Institute of Museum and Library Services just got their funding back through courts.
Boycotting Constitution Hall because the DAR won’t let Marian Anderson sing has costs. It may end opera. Is that worth it? By Megan McArdle, 1939
December 30, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Earlier this year, Republicans tried to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in their 2026 budget, while proposing a 13% increase in defense spending. The Institute of Museum and Library Services just got their funding back through courts.
Reposted by madison
It is EXHAUSTING not only being made responsible for coming up with new kinds of assignments for our students; it's also tedious reading op-eds that suggest the core problem is a crisis in teaching. But, as Chris and I lay out here, this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning.
"We envision a resistance that is...a repudiation of the efficiencies that automated algorithmic education falsely promises: a resistance comprising the collective force of small acts of friction."
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
Four Frictions: or, How to Resist AI in Education - Public Books
We are calling for resistance to the AI industry’s ongoing capture of higher education.
www.publicbooks.org
December 24, 2025 at 7:39 PM
It is EXHAUSTING not only being made responsible for coming up with new kinds of assignments for our students; it's also tedious reading op-eds that suggest the core problem is a crisis in teaching. But, as Chris and I lay out here, this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning.
Reposted by madison
Look, I'm sure that Nolan's adaptation of "The Odyssey" will be fun, but I highly doubt it will be as good as the original.
December 25, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Look, I'm sure that Nolan's adaptation of "The Odyssey" will be fun, but I highly doubt it will be as good as the original.
Reposted by madison
Ten years ago today, I was working on a dissertation chapter about how we redefine what we think is "real" based on how different technologies copy and distort historical records.
You can read an article based on that work here (scroll down for an OA link):
halperta.com/scholarship/...
You can read an article based on that work here (scroll down for an OA link):
halperta.com/scholarship/...
December 22, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Ten years ago today, I was working on a dissertation chapter about how we redefine what we think is "real" based on how different technologies copy and distort historical records.
You can read an article based on that work here (scroll down for an OA link):
halperta.com/scholarship/...
You can read an article based on that work here (scroll down for an OA link):
halperta.com/scholarship/...
Reposted by madison
Charles White (1918-1979)
Hope for the Future, 1946
Lithograph
White evoked Michelangelo's
Pietà in both arrangement and theme. This print was made while White was an artist-in-residence at Howard.
Charles White was married to the artist Elizabeth Catlett (her work in quoted post). #BlackSky #BHM
Hope for the Future, 1946
Lithograph
White evoked Michelangelo's
Pietà in both arrangement and theme. This print was made while White was an artist-in-residence at Howard.
Charles White was married to the artist Elizabeth Catlett (her work in quoted post). #BlackSky #BHM
February 26, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by madison
And we're not just talking about written material. I've worked in audio & video archives for media organizations. The time, money, expertise, & equipment needed to get the backlogs digitized is overwhelming. And a lot of the media it is on is decomposing.
December 22, 2025 at 2:13 AM
And we're not just talking about written material. I've worked in audio & video archives for media organizations. The time, money, expertise, & equipment needed to get the backlogs digitized is overwhelming. And a lot of the media it is on is decomposing.
Reposted by madison
I work for an academic library that has an digitization lab and their backlog is HUGE. People don't realize what goes into it.
December 22, 2025 at 2:02 AM
I work for an academic library that has an digitization lab and their backlog is HUGE. People don't realize what goes into it.
Reposted by madison
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives?
Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?
contingentmagazine.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Reposted by madison
Maria has been accused over the years of fabricating her story that she had gone to the FBI. After finding the document in the trove, I called her. She broke down in tears.
“I’ve waited 30 years. I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...
“I’ve waited 30 years. I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...
December 20, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Maria has been accused over the years of fabricating her story that she had gone to the FBI. After finding the document in the trove, I called her. She broke down in tears.
“I’ve waited 30 years. I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...
“I’ve waited 30 years. I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...
Reposted by madison
Absolute bullshit, and authors, if Harlequin has your foreign rights, you should also complain.
French publishing house Harlequin decided to use AI translation instead of human translations.
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequin for +30y!!!) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin
December 18, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Absolute bullshit, and authors, if Harlequin has your foreign rights, you should also complain.
Reposted by madison
Love this thread
Clay letters from ancient Mesopotamia are alive with idiom, sayings, and everyday language that I love.
Here are just a few random ones so you can enjoy them too.
Here are just a few random ones so you can enjoy them too.
December 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Love this thread
Reposted by madison
It is rare that library teams get formally recognized by their universities for their work on metadata in this way. This feels special.
#Metadata #Libraries
#Metadata #Libraries
Félicitations to the @uottawabiblio.bsky.social Metadata Creation Team on their President's Award for Best Practices in Francophonie & French Language Services 🎉🎉
Their expert work led to the creation of 6,700+ high-quality French bibliographic records this year!
www.uottawa.ca/en/news-all/...
Their expert work led to the creation of 6,700+ high-quality French bibliographic records this year!
www.uottawa.ca/en/news-all/...
Library's Metadata Creation team recognized for its excellence in Francophonie | University of Ottawa
The Metadata Creation team, part of the Library's Metadata and Cataloging team, was recognized for its excellence in Francophonie at the 2025 University of Ottawa President's Awards Gala and End of Ye...
www.uottawa.ca
December 17, 2025 at 4:37 AM
It is rare that library teams get formally recognized by their universities for their work on metadata in this way. This feels special.
#Metadata #Libraries
#Metadata #Libraries
Reposted by madison
"According to the…annual Harris Poll, for the 1st time, a majority of Americans believe billionaires are a threat to democracy. A remarkable 71% believe there should be a wealth tax. A majority believe there should be a cap on how much wealth a person can accumulate." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/o...
Opinion | The Billionaires Have Gone Full Louis XV
www.nytimes.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by madison
“DePaul laid off 114 staff members in December following budget cuts, along with plans to close the Loop Library. Those laid off make up around 7.6% of DePaul’s full and part time staff.”
DePaul lays off over 100 staff members amid budget cuts
Joining universities nationwide, DePaul makes sweeping budget cuts amid enrollment decline and federal uncertainty.
depauliaonline.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:10 PM
“DePaul laid off 114 staff members in December following budget cuts, along with plans to close the Loop Library. Those laid off make up around 7.6% of DePaul’s full and part time staff.”