Marcel LaFlamme
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marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Marcel LaFlamme
@marcellaflamme.bsky.social
980 followers 590 following 190 posts
Helping research libraries support the future of scholarship. Anthro PhD, Quaker, Western Mass returner 🏳️‍🌈 Views my own.
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marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Finding that a study can't be reproduced is just the beginning of exploring the "variable space" that might explain why.

issues.org/confidence-s...
Build Confidence in Science by Embracing Uncertainty Rather Than Chasing Reproducibility
Despite calls to fund reproducibility studies, resources would be better spent on developing tools that help researchers assess uncertainty.
issues.org
November 9, 2025 at 1:11 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
An article I'm thinking with about how research libraries can support engaged scholarship and societal impact: what would it mean to lean into place, rather than a research ecosystem that's implicitly elsewhere and everywhere?

journals.litwinbooks.com/index.php/jc...
Re-Localizing the Library | Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies
journals.litwinbooks.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:29 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
I loved this piece on the organizational infrastructure of Sacred Harp singings. Did it all seem natural, effervescent? Systems and collective labor did that.

www.greyledger.org/the-architec...
The Architecture of the Hollow Square
How Volunteers Make Sacred Harp Singing Possible When hundreds of singers gathered at the Laurelhurst Club in Southeast Portland for the 34th Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singing Convention in mid-O...
www.greyledger.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:27 AM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Here's the latest installment of my newsletter for @arl.org, which aims to provide library leaders with intelligence and insight on the research environment. You can also subscribe if you'd like future issues to show up in your inbox.

www.arl.org/our-prioriti...
Fall 2025 — Association of Research Libraries
Subscribe to the email version of the ARL Monitor. ARL Monitor: Public Edition (Fall 2025) In the Government Affairs section of this issue, research funding on either side of the 49th parallel gets...
www.arl.org
November 4, 2025 at 5:56 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Filling my cup today with Jan Morris's remembrance of Trieste, where I stopped off en route to Ljubljana twenty years ago this month 🧳
October 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Marcel LaFlamme
arl.org
The latest post in our #ARLRepertoires series by @marcellaflamme.bsky.social looks to Clay Spinuzzi’s book Triangles and Tribulations for insight on why social scientists continue to look to theory in an age of data-intensive scholarship. bit.ly/RepTheory
@mitpress.bsky.social @cossa.bsky.social
Repertoires: How Social Science Theory Gets Made and Remade — Association of Research Libraries
In 2008, technologist Chris Anderson famously predicted the end of theory, as massively abundant data reduced the need for researchers to develop and test explanatory models. “Who knows why people...
bit.ly
October 2, 2025 at 5:38 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Glimmer of insight: is one reason departments resist research assessment reform because faculty governance and researcher autonomy are being eroded on so many other fronts?
September 24, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Marcel LaFlamme
miriamposner.com
I hope you keep writing and researching and publishing, even if it’s about distant and abstruse topics. It’s not stupid, it’s beautiful, because it’s a testament to the curiosity and care they’re trying to eradicate.
September 16, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Marcel LaFlamme
sarahwillen.bsky.social
The first time I heard the phrase "publish a dataset" I thought, "well, that doesn't apply to us. Why would an anthropologist publish their data?" It's been a minute, and now I understand why *sometimes* it's actually a great thing to do. And we did it!
September 11, 2025 at 4:47 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Five institutions explored how machine-actionable data management plans, supported by @caldiglib.bsky.social's DMPTool, could improve research support and streamline compliance. Here's what we learned.

www.arl.org/news/new-res...
New Resources Available from Machine Actionable Plans (MAP) Pilot — Association of Research Libraries
The Machine Actionable Plans (MAP) Pilot project is in its final phase, providing institutions with resources to enable them to explore the potential uses of machine-actionable data-management plans (...
www.arl.org
September 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Finally working my way through this report, which has become a ubiquitous reference point for research libraries.

I can't help connecting it to @structureless.bsky.social's piece about porous social orders (doi.org/10.17613/y6e...).

www.oclc.org/research/pub...
Social Interoperability in Research Support
The report defines social interoperability and describes the network of campus units involved in major areas of university research support services. It concludes by offering recommendations for culti...
www.oclc.org
August 29, 2025 at 3:30 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
I did a practicum at the Harvard Herbaria when I was in library school. Super cool to read about this use of their collections to complement remote sensing data.

www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/07/harv...
Harvard’s Plant Collection Meets Space Science | Harvard Magazine
Light-based analysis of botanical collections link plants to Earth’s changing climate.
www.harvardmagazine.com
August 23, 2025 at 1:39 AM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
With IMLS funding for 2026 uncertain, Massachusetts prepares to cut online newspaper access, databases for K-12 students.

theshoestring.org/2025/08/20/o...
Opinion: Federal library funding cuts will hit rural areas the hardest
Cuts are already limiting Mass. residents’ access to research and educational tools, but there is still time to oppose them.
theshoestring.org
August 20, 2025 at 4:38 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Grateful for the opportunity to be trained on #TheoryofChange as a tool for linking program planning to societal impact.

Our actions always have unintended consequences, but I see value in at least getting clear on the intended ones.
August 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Marcel LaFlamme
plosbiology.org
What happens when science's greatest strengths (openness, humility, self-criticism, self-correction) are exploited for political gain? @briannosek.bsky.social calls on scientists to affirm the application of those strengths as the source of its trustworthiness @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4l8rNuE
A speech bubble containing the following quotation from the article: "However, when the US Administration issued the May 2025 Executive Order titled ‘Restoring Gold Standard Science’, it suggested that the failure of individual studies to achieve a list of transparency and rigor-related practices is a justification for disqualification of the evidence, and could even potentially be considered misconduct. This reframed science’s commitment to identifying limitations as a weakness and has set a standard that is rarely achieved by any individual study. The fall-out from the Executive Order has prompted some difficult questions. Are scientists undermining trust by acknowledging flaws? And how should scientists respond when the tools of accountability are misappropriated?"
August 4, 2025 at 4:31 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Collecting #Quaker resources like this one as I prepare to clerk a committee at my monthly meeting for the first time. Any other favorites?

web.archive.org/web/20041210...
FGC: A Practical Mystic's Guide to Committee Clerking (Deborah Haines)
web.archive.org
August 3, 2025 at 11:14 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
"The politicization of economic data and potential interference with it by political appointees is something that's typically seen in non-democratic countries like Russia, Venezuela or China."

www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...
Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after weak jobs report
The president implied that the BLS commissioner, longtime federal employee Erika McEntarfer, manipulated the data "for political purposes."
www.nbcnews.com
August 1, 2025 at 7:08 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Canada's Tri-Agencies have removed the mandatory requirement to disclose use of AI in grant proposals, calling it "an unnecessary administrative burden."

science.gc.ca/site/science...
Frequently Asked Questions: Use of Artificial Intelligence in the development and review of research grant proposals
General Use and Scope Can I use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to draft sections of my proposal? Yes. However, you must fully verify and take responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, ...
science.gc.ca
July 30, 2025 at 9:22 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Interesting menu of options for publishing cost containment being considered by NIH. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-25-138: Request for Information on Maximizing Research Funds by Limiting Allowable Publishing Costs
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information on Maximizing Research Funds by Limiting Allowable Publishing Costs NOT-OD-25-138. NIH
grants.nih.gov
July 30, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Marcel LaFlamme
cni-org.bsky.social
We look forward to welcoming Kate Zwaard as the next Executive Director of CNI, effective September 15, 2025. She will join CNI from the Library of Congress, where she presided over the Library’s digital transformation.

Full announcement: www.cni.org/news/kate-zw... @arl.org @educause.bsky.social
Kate Zwaard Courtesy: Shawn Miller and the Library of Congress
July 22, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Marcel LaFlamme
anthropologyofwork.bsky.social
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS!

Society for the Anthropology of Work and Anthropology of Work Review invite applications to the SAW Community of Writing Fellows, a 8-month writing mentorship program running September 2025 to April 2026. Applications due August 15, 2025 to Jennifer Shaw at jeshaw@tru.ca.
The Society for the Anthropology of Work and the Anthropology of Work Review invite applications to join the SAW Community of Writing Fellows, a new 8-month writing mentorship program running from September 2025 to April 2026. We seek six early-career scholars and graduate students working on topics related to labor and work from anthropological perspectives and who seek to develop submissions for the Anthropology of Work Review. Our initiative is designed to especially support those who may not have robust mentorship supports in their home institutions, and we strongly welcome applicants from equity-deserving groups. You’ll engage in… • Monthly writing group meetings and peer feedback • A developmental editing workshop with Ideas on Fire [ideasonfire.net] • The opportunity to meet and learn from the AWR editorial collective • A community of practice (CoP) approach to writing focused on collaborative, supportive, and rigorous writing development Eligibility: • Current graduate student or early-career scholar (within five years of PhD) • Working on an article-length research manuscript related to the anthropology of work • Committed to attending monthly meetings and engaging in one peer review between meetings To apply, please submit a short application of max 500 words describing (1) your project and its fit with the anthropology of work, (2) your goals for writing and publishing, and (3) a brief note about your writing and mentoring needs. Applications due August 15, 2025 to Jennifer Shaw, SAW Mentorship Coordinator, at jeshaw@tru.ca. Questions are also welcome!
July 22, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Marcel LaFlamme
alicesperi.bsky.social
Exclusive: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication.

My latest.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Revealed: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication
As Harvard’s feud with Trump escalated, so did tensions over an ‘education and Palestine’ issue of a prestigious journal. Scholars blame the ‘Palestine exception’ to academic freedom
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 11:17 AM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
Roundups like this are so valuable! And, like Ryan, I'm not quite sure where to look for them these days.
anthropologia.bsky.social Ryan Anderson @anthropologia.bsky.social · Jul 21
Back in the summer of 2023 I wrote a post on Anthrodendum called "Salvaging what is good." This was an attempt to sow some seeds in the ruins of Twitter (thanks @clmorgan.bsky.social for the inspiration). Here's my attempt to pick up that thread again: anthropologia.org/2025/07/21/a...
Anthropology The Gathering #1
Coastal gathering, 2017. Photo: Ryan Anderson. I think it’s fair to say that the discipline of anthropology feels…quiet these days. I’m mostly talking about anthropology online. M…
anthropologia.org
July 21, 2025 at 9:17 PM
marcellaflamme.bsky.social
"The greater the pressure on the scientific enterprise, the more one hears about FDR’s science advisor." 😂

issues.org/innovation-h...
Innovation’s Hidden Scaffolds
In this time of upheaval, what does it mean that so many advocates for science are pointing to an 80-year-old report by Vannevar Bush?
issues.org
July 18, 2025 at 11:03 AM