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plach.bsky.social
pam lach
@plach.bsky.social
2.6K followers 2.2K following 2.1K posts
Digital Humanities Librarian/DH Center Director living/working on unceded Kumeyaay land (San Diego). US historian (PhD) + info scientist (MSIS). Podcast teacher. Still masking. Dogs are my jam. @ach.bsky.social‬ Co-VP. she/her
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plach.bsky.social
pam lach @plach.bsky.social · Oct 11
I love my colleagues and collaborators. But I HATE their file names.
Cartoon of two stick figures, one sitting at a computer and the other standing behind them, looking over their shoulder and saying "Oh my God." A callout appears over the computer showing a long list of similarly named untitled documents. The caption reads: Pro tip: Never look in someone else's documents folder.
Reposted by pam lach
indianaclimate.bsky.social
IU lecturer removed after *one* student complaint and no due process
IU lecturer removed from class during intellectual diversity investigation
School of Social Work lecturer Jessica Adams said a student submitted the complaint to the office of U.S. Senator Jim Banks over a graphic she used in her class. Adams said Banks’ office then contacte...
www.ipm.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by pam lach
libraryleadpipe.bsky.social
"This is partially a story of my own cowardice and partially a cautionary tale about employee retention, but perhaps more importantly, it is a story of institutional cultural ineptitude."
libraryleadpipe.bsky.social In the Library with the Lead Pipe @libraryleadpipe.bsky.social · 5d
"This article speaks to the cultural context of the harm that racism and colonialism cause for Indigenous peoples that they encounter in institutions of higher education, including libraries."
www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2025/more-th...
More Than Sage Smoke and Mascots: How Well Do You Know Your Indigenous Patrons and Employees? – In the Library with the Lead Pipe
www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org
November 6, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by pam lach
sydneypurdue.bsky.social
So excited to be presenting our paper at VIS tomorrow! I have so many gorgeous examples and pictures to share from so many people. Overwhelming thanks to everyone who took our survey, and looking forward to continuing the project soon so stay tuned! #ieeevis #datatextiles #DHmakes #datavis
khouryvis.bsky.social Khoury Vis Lab @ Northeastern University @khouryvis.bsky.social · 5d
How do data textile creators stitch meaning into their work? 🧶 Hear from @sydneypurdue.bsky.social , Eduardo Puerta, @ebertini.bsky.social, & Melanie Tory, Thurs 11:15 - 12:30. (Rumor has it there’ll be a real piece on display 🤫)
#ieeevis #dataphysicalization #datatextiles
osf.io/preprints/os...
Screenshot of a paper titled "Stitching Meaning: Practices of Data Textile Creators." Below the title is a figure showing two data textiles pieces – a colorful “book blanket” and a striped “temperature blanket.” It illustrates how textile patterns encode data and describes study focus areas on data, creator motivations, and visual encodings. Screenshot of a paper titled "Stitching Meaning: Practices of Data Textile Creators." Below the title is a figure showing two data textiles pieces – a colorful “book blanket” and a striped “temperature blanket.” It illustrates how textile patterns encode data and describes study focus areas on data, creator motivations, and visual encodings.
November 5, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by pam lach
ryancordell.org
Increasingly the Venn diagram of my intellectual interests & commitments—digital humanities, book history/bibliography, book arts, critical making—perhaps meet in the region "Luddite Humanities"

Not technological rejection—but slower, deliberate, critical, historicized engagement with technology
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
plach.bsky.social
Our quest to brighten up our DH Center and infuse more playfulness continues with this Pac-Man inspired podcasting cartoon (adhesive matte print) #DHmakes
A dark blue poster with yellow trim runs nearly the length of my office windows. A yellow Pac-Man is chasing four cartoon podcasting microphones. My office is partially visible, complete with blue accent wall and various lobby cards from Gene Kelly musicals
November 5, 2025 at 10:35 PM
plach.bsky.social
A night like tonight makes me think maybe there’s still hope for our flawed democracy after all
November 5, 2025 at 4:08 AM
plach.bsky.social
Just checked the news after being offline most of the afternoon and OMFG YESSSSSSSSS 🎉
November 5, 2025 at 2:46 AM
plach.bsky.social
It seems that naming the problem was enough to move me from spinning out of control to finding my writing flow 😅
plach.bsky.social pam lach @plach.bsky.social · 6d
I'm in that super messy writing phase where I feel like I'm spinning out of control & no matter how much I yell at myself to JUST WRITE IT it seems like I cannot, in fact, just write it.

I know I'll get thru it & things will start to come together & I'll find my flow & it'll be fine, but still...
November 4, 2025 at 9:33 PM
plach.bsky.social
Sharing a recent puppy pic for all in need of something calming to look at today
A black dog with a light brown beard sleeps contentedly on a blue couch. His head is resting comfortably on a light blue blanket that we draped over the arm of the couch
November 4, 2025 at 9:05 PM
plach.bsky.social
I'm in that super messy writing phase where I feel like I'm spinning out of control & no matter how much I yell at myself to JUST WRITE IT it seems like I cannot, in fact, just write it.

I know I'll get thru it & things will start to come together & I'll find my flow & it'll be fine, but still...
November 4, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by pam lach
midnitelibrary.bsky.social
Librarianship isn't a calling, it's just a job!
📚
November 4, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Reposted by pam lach
mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
Very proud to have worked on this statement of the Modern Language Association with @annamillsoer.bsky.social and other colleagues on the MLA’s task force on AI in Research and Teaching. It is a direct call for faculty input into Ed Tech decision-making, especially AI: www.mla.org/Resources/Ad... 🧵
Screenshots of the following text: Statement on Educational Technologies and AI Agents The following statement of endorsement was drafted by the MLA Task Force on AI in Research and Teaching. The Executive Council approved it as an MLA statement in October 2025. Software, specifically learning management systems (LMSs), is as important to teaching and learning as physical classrooms and facilities. The recent and hasty integration of generative AI features into those systems is already redefining student and instructor relationships, evaluative standards, and instructional outcomes—with no compelling evidence that any of it is for the better. At the same time, so-called agentic browsers are becoming widely available to the public. These offer AI “agents” that can navigate LMSs and complete assignments without any student involvement. All of this is unfolding at a time when contractual arrangements between institutions and commercial vendors often lack transparency, with worrisome implications for data collection and student privacy. Screenshots of the following text: The Modern Language Association therefore unequivocally 1. Advocates for full faculty and instructional involvement, including faculty of languages, literatures, and the humanities, at all levels of decision-making in the selection, procurement, and responsible implementation of instructional technology systems and software, including those incorporating AI.

The instructional mission cannot be fulfilled in the absence of faculty expertise, and this expertise extends not only to the “content” of the curriculum but also to the infrastructures and environments—virtual and otherwise—in which learning happens.
  2. Calls upon law- and policymakers, LMS vendors, and companies offering agent-based AI browsers to cooperate in order to prevent misuse and to ensure that academic institutions have the ability and option to block agentic AI when needed.

Without dedicated outside cooperation from lawmakers and technology providers, academic institutions may not have the technical capacity to do so on their own. If we do not act, we risk seeing the development of a fully automated loop in which assignments are generated by AI with the support of a learning management system, AI-generated content is submitted by an agentic AI on behalf of the student, and AI-driven metrics evaluate the work on behalf of the instructor.
November 4, 2025 at 1:09 AM
plach.bsky.social
The pup insists it’s his dinner time, no matter what the clock says.
A black dog with a light brown beard and white socks sits on light grey patio furniture as the sun sets in the background. He’s got a desperate and hungry look on his face
November 3, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by pam lach
phdhurtbrain.bsky.social
If you eat Halloween Candy during the Daylight Savings Hour, those calories actually don't count.
November 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by pam lach
hayao.lol
Hi, we're Silicon Valley- you probably recognize us from classic inventions like 'Chatbot That Drives You Crazy', 'The App That Gives You An Eating Disorder', 'A Bus, Except Worse', and 'Doorbell That Reports Directly to the NSA'
November 1, 2025 at 5:39 PM
plach.bsky.social
Not me giving out extra candy to each kid so I can run down my supply faster and make an early night of it 🎃
November 1, 2025 at 1:33 AM
plach.bsky.social
Pablo Socks doesn’t mind being a bee once a year, as long as there’s the promise of a few treats
A black dog with a light brown beard and white socks dressed as a bee, complete with wings and antennae. He’s sitting like a good boy waiting for a treat A black dog with a light brown beard and white socks dressed as a bee, complete with wings and antennae. His mouth is partially open in anticipation of receiving a treat Profile of black dog with a light brown beard and white socks dressed as a bee, complete with wings and antennae. He’s sitting like a good boy waiting for a treat
November 1, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Reposted by pam lach
miriamposner.com
Eminently reasonable proposed principles for professors’ use of AI, from a student refusinggenai.wordpress.com/2025/08/29/a...
• Professors should never put a student's words or work into an AI software without their consent. • Professors should also be transparent about their Al usage with grading, curriculum building, and any other way they might use it in their teaching. • If a professor does use Al chatbots in the classroom, they should explain their reasoning behind this decision and how its usage will help students meet learning outcomes. • Professors should additionally respect a student's choice to refuse Al. To do this, it would be ideal that they have assignments that students can choose from that do
October 31, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by pam lach
plach.bsky.social
It’s that time of the year 🎃
Trick or treat Boolean search meme. There are six panels featuring different Halloween themed Boolean searches with jack-o’-lantern styled Venn diagrams illustrating: trick OR treat, trick AND treat, trick XOR treat, trick NOR treat, trick NAND treat, trick XNOR treat
October 10, 2024 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by pam lach
zeblarson.bsky.social
D: This is the most important thing of all: we’re never going to defend the merits of graduate education from a career metric standpoint. It’s a losing game, and one that only benefits people who want to eliminate or slash doctoral study. We need to make a case for knowledge as a cultural good.
October 31, 2025 at 11:01 AM
plach.bsky.social
I'm chairing a small standing library faculty committee this year. We spent half of our first meeting talking about our purpose, processes, file management, and general approach to our work. I wish every committee took the time to do this.
October 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by pam lach
stevecooke.org
Every time discover a new piece on the dangers of LLMs, particularly for research and teaching, I add it to a Zotero library. I figure that I might as well share it, so here's my library of Cautionary AI Tales: www.zotero.org/groups/62758...
October 28, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Reposted by pam lach
dustinedwards.bsky.social
Proposal: those who are feverishly pushing GenAI in classes, at work, and in institutions should be required to listen to public testimony from communities where AI hyperscale data centers are being built.
October 27, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Reposted by pam lach
ach.bsky.social
We're thrilled to welcome @jajrk.bsky.social and @emmcg.bsky.social as co-Deputy Secretaries to the ACH Officers team. Looking forward to their leadership and contributions to our community!
October 27, 2025 at 2:02 PM