Colleen Barrett
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colleenlovesbks.bsky.social
Colleen Barrett
@colleenlovesbks.bsky.social
Champion of the obscure, Hobbit-like tendencies, Rare Books Librarian at UKL.
American Uncial can surely solve all of our problems!
Baskerville Old Face forever
December 10, 2025 at 4:38 AM
At least once a year I think about the fact I got all sorts of great leadership training from my time in Alpha Phi Omega, they told us we were getting it, and I totally didn't get how much it was going to help me in the long run.

Anyways, at a University training, why do you ask?
December 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Wine bar is showing different versions of Little Shop of Horrors and once again I have zero idea how my parents decided what was or wasn't an appropriate thing for me to watch as a child. Because this was a movie I watched a lot from what I remember.
December 7, 2025 at 11:59 PM
December 6, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
Reminder: I'm chairing the search committee for a Music and Performing Arts Special Collections Diversity Resident Librarian, and applications close Dec 12.

ALSO NOTE: Application review for this role will BEGIN in mid-January. Speed of academia, y'all.
www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/resi...
Library Diversity Residency Program – General Information – U of I Library
www.library.illinois.edu
December 4, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
Congrats everyone, we are officially at “circle back in the new year” o clock, we have survived the year, good work team
December 4, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
This holiday season, serve your curious Cat mind with low-calorie, high-flavor snacks straight from ExploreUK.uky.edu, the portal to UK Libraries' vast collections of archival and primary source materials that document the history and culture of Kentucky, Appalachia, and beyond.
December 3, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Make a @uklibraries.bsky.social calendar, they said. It'll be fun, they said. #KingLibraryPress

(It was and I definitely didn't do most of the work, so I'm not taking credit for this success)
December 2, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
2 Library Diversity Residency positions are still open here at Illinois! Deadlines are coming for applications, though...

www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/resi... #libraryjobs
Library Diversity Residency Program – General Information – U of I Library
www.library.illinois.edu
December 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Thankful to have made it from last Thanksgiving to this one. Also old friends and new ones, family that cares about me, a spouse that makes me a better person, and entertainment like Lower Decks. Looking forward to finding out what happens this coming year and the new ways I can be thankful.
November 28, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
thanksgiving is a time for people to come together, to celebrate the spirit of unity despite our differences, and to demonstrate that, here is busta rhymes performing "break ya neck" with raphael the ninja turtle
November 27, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Wearing some of my mom's old socks for her favorite holiday. Food got made only slightly late and I might have finally figured out how to make gravy. #CookingWithColleen
November 27, 2025 at 9:32 PM
#CookingWithColleen second Thanksgiving with a dead mom, so we got a smaller turkey and I don't have to wake up before 8am to make it. Can this even be real? (We used to wake up at like 4am)
November 26, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
if there is one American value I really do pride myself on adhering to when I travel abroad, it is “I will enthusiastically try all of your local foods”
November 26, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
There is always some anxiety from my LIS students about finding a job.

This semester though... I've had more questions about the job market than ANY OTHER TOPIC...

What advice would you give new librarians, trying to find their first post-MLS job, in 2025/2026?
November 25, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Butter, friends, money (hopefully all good things)
the first 3 words you see will define your 2026 😭

Money
New car
Pussy
November 25, 2025 at 3:25 AM
We're on the second local restaurant I really liked closing in less than a month because of rising costs and while this isn't the worst thing collectively happening, it is still a real bummer because I want joyous things to look forward to.
November 25, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
I think it’s pretty clear at this point that one of the main impacts of LLMs is to disrupt thinking: to make it so that far too many people never properly learn how to do it, and then to control the output so there are thoughts that people never learn how to think.
November 24, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
If someone knits or crochets you a blanket or sweater, they want to keep you warm AND they dedicated many hours of their lives to making it for you.

There's no profit in fiber arts, not when you can get a machine made at Target for 30 bucks. So know fiber artists making for you? Is an act of love.
November 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
Do you (or does someone in your network) want to tour New York City's book world with me on a "study abroad - at home!" trip next May? We'll be going to the Morgan Library, Grolier Club, Christie's book department, and the NYPL (the one with the lions) and a few other places I'm still looking into!
Librarians’ Tour of New York City
Tour Dates: May 17-23, 2026 Location: New York City, see tour highlights  Cost per person: $2,725* for a double room, $3,980* for a single room *Air fare not included, see cost details below for more ...
ischool.wisc.edu
November 20, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
Join us for #BibWeek26! And stay tuned for more information about our weeklong program.

The 2026 Keynote lecture, "Erle Stanley Gardner and the Case of the Mexican Pirates" will be delivered by the @universityofga.bsky.social's @norabenedict.bsky.social 

#bookstagram #bookhistory #bibliographyweek
November 19, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
The deadline to apply for the SHARP News Editor-in-Chief position has been extended through November 28th. This is such a great opportunity for any one interested in public-facing book history work!

sharpweb.org/sharpnews/20...
November 17, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
cranebow
November 17, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
networking is an incredibly important part of maintaining a professional presence in your creative industry, but it can be daunting. have you tried being completely fucking ridiculous online
November 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Colleen Barrett
In a free public lecture and hands-on workshop, designer and printer Brad Vetter will demonstrate the ways in which blending analog and digital technologies can profoundly alter both. Find more information and RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3JChaDP
November 10, 2025 at 9:20 PM