All is not dark, all is not hopeless. Resist the tide of despair. Curiosity, humility and empathy will prevail.

Had a wonderful time exploring the Saint-Denis Basilica in Paris. Recent digs linked to the reconstruction of the tower/spire allowed archaeologists to uncover hidden stories of the site and its Merovingian tombs.

Among all the horrors currently unfolding, one might need to pause and enjoy the little things. Here are two little bunny butts, relaxing under the coffee table.

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

Every time I check my phone to see what's going on in the world.

My limited experience with Bluesky has been surprisingly positive so far. So many smart, fascinating, curious, humble, nerdy people, gathered in the same corner of the internet, sharing cool insights and learning from each other. Great stuff.

I am old enough that, if I think carefully and look closely, I can almost see some of the things. I know childhood death is even rarer today than when I was a child. I know some I see with disabilities would have been dead.

The current infrastructure underpinning GenAI is not going to bring social justice to the world but reinforce existing structures of dominance.

theconversation.com/how-low-paid...

Gen AI is hungry, it craves data, it needs power. It was released into the wild and now seeps into every single task, from writing an email to cooking dinner. But its environmental impact is real, whether you see it or not.

news.mit.edu/2025/explain...

Why are "real men" so fragile ? If drinking out of a straw makes you feel less manly, maybe it's time to revisit your definition of manhood. It's a social construct, so enjoy that raspberry daiquiri and get over yourself. #genderisaconstruct #canunicornsbemale #strawsarefemale

I recently encountered Dr. Becky Kennedy's concept of the 'learning space' as the place between knowing and not knowing something. The dominating feeling in this interstitial process is frustration.

I actually find it helpful in accepting that learning is hard work.

youtu.be/qi4VwpEs3LE?...

Finished reading Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series: www.goodreads.com/series/17087...

It's smart, funny, entertaining, bittersweet at times. Diversity as richness, beauty and connectedness.

Taking a deep dive into the tumultuous waters of library decolonisation principles and practices.

Today's read: Narrative Expansion, edited by J. Crilly and R. Everitt.

"Decolonisation is impossible, but we must make her possible" (Foluke Adebisi)

Dipping my toes in career planning and CPD today. The information professions are so abundant: data, info, records, archives. Do you have any tips and resources for a young info pro who doesn't want to choose? Choosing a path to tread involves giving up on others, all equally fascinating.

Today I am writing about institutional records, memory, copyright, data protection and what institutions can do to disseminate their work while remaining compliant. What are you up to ?

Just attended the best webinar held by the British Library reference team @blrefservices.bsky.social. They are the incredibly knowledgeable professionals helping users address their info needs, be they quirky, unusual or vital. Truly inspiring.

Today is a good reminder to look attentively at the invaluable and ongoing contributions of women to human knowledge building.

I recommend this fascinating book by Emmanuelle Bermès, Head of the "Digital technologies applied to history” at @ecoledeschartes.bsky.social.