Aakash
@aakashs.bsky.social
Dissertator @University of Toronto Anthropology
Reposted by Aakash
"Implicit in the bargain was permission to do with that time whatever the kid saw fit. No educational goal had to be attained. Nothing had to be learned... The exchange itself carried value for having happened. It taught that kid a lesson in the nature of generosity."
On the Infinite Lives of the Library
One might say that a library’s most abundant resource—what it lends most freely—is not books and information but time. Time to think, breathe, be, and become. Last spring, in exchange for my servic…
lithub.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:40 AM
"Implicit in the bargain was permission to do with that time whatever the kid saw fit. No educational goal had to be attained. Nothing had to be learned... The exchange itself carried value for having happened. It taught that kid a lesson in the nature of generosity."
Reposted by Aakash
Brought to you by the same people who are afraid of the subway and measure their self worth by the cost of admission to a private club
The Airport-Lounge Wars
When you’re waiting for a flight, what’s the difference between out there and in here?
www.newyorker.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Brought to you by the same people who are afraid of the subway and measure their self worth by the cost of admission to a private club
Reposted by Aakash
“Sleeping’s underlying biological need is not a weakness to be remedied, or a limitation to overcome, but a fact of our nature that gives rise to valuable interpersonal and aesthetic activities and is also valuable in itself.”
Sleep is not just a physical need but a delicious pleasure | Aeon Essays
The idea that we should reduce sleep to an efficient minimum in our lives gets something fundamentally wrong
aeon.co
December 7, 2025 at 6:19 PM
“Sleeping’s underlying biological need is not a weakness to be remedied, or a limitation to overcome, but a fact of our nature that gives rise to valuable interpersonal and aesthetic activities and is also valuable in itself.”
Reposted by Aakash
And please see ggcl.rice.edu for the most recent chapter of the same project…
December 7, 2025 at 9:03 PM
And please see ggcl.rice.edu for the most recent chapter of the same project…
Reposted by Aakash
"The armrest is shared space"
November 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM
"The armrest is shared space"
Reposted by Aakash
Taking readers from border villages, mountain passes to courtrooms, law offices, & forensic laboratories, Smuggling Law by Fırat Bozçalı examines how Kurdish smugglers legally disrupt state sovereignty in criminal courts
https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/smuggling-law
https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/smuggling-law
November 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Taking readers from border villages, mountain passes to courtrooms, law offices, & forensic laboratories, Smuggling Law by Fırat Bozçalı examines how Kurdish smugglers legally disrupt state sovereignty in criminal courts
https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/smuggling-law
https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/smuggling-law
Reposted by Aakash
OMG! In 1970 Hiler + Dorsky "collaborated on... an industrial film commissioned by NJ’s Sussex County Area Reference Library, whose local branch Dorsky and Hiler frequented first as patrons, then eventually as projectionists and programmers for the library’s 16mm screenings" - ft Tony Conrad :)
Library (1970) by Nathaniel Dorsky & Jerome Hiler
YouTube video by For All People
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:38 AM
OMG! In 1970 Hiler + Dorsky "collaborated on... an industrial film commissioned by NJ’s Sussex County Area Reference Library, whose local branch Dorsky and Hiler frequented first as patrons, then eventually as projectionists and programmers for the library’s 16mm screenings" - ft Tony Conrad :)
Reposted by Aakash
"In a sequel to her influential 'Library as Infrastructure', contributing writer Shannon Mattern delves into the organizing force of libraries at a time when public knowledge is under attack."
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
Extralibrary Loan: Making the Civic Infrastructure We Need
Amid a war on public knowledge, libraries are pushing outward, enlarging the commons through new configurations of civic and creative life.
placesjournal.org
November 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
"In a sequel to her influential 'Library as Infrastructure', contributing writer Shannon Mattern delves into the organizing force of libraries at a time when public knowledge is under attack."
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
Reposted by Aakash
ICYMI: @cetracey.bsky.social on the origins of the Sanctuary Movement; Julian Aguon, on cancer clusters in Guam caused by U.S. nuclear tests; @shannonmattern.bsky.social on the organizing force of libraries to sustain public knowledge; and Belmont Freeman, on Trump's attack on federal architecture.
November 2025 Newsletter: Sanctuary, Colony, Library, Democracy
Recent essays in Places by journalist Caroline Tracey, human rights lawyer Julian Aguon, and contributing writers Shannon Mattern and Belmont Freeman.
mailchi.mp
November 24, 2025 at 4:32 PM
ICYMI: @cetracey.bsky.social on the origins of the Sanctuary Movement; Julian Aguon, on cancer clusters in Guam caused by U.S. nuclear tests; @shannonmattern.bsky.social on the organizing force of libraries to sustain public knowledge; and Belmont Freeman, on Trump's attack on federal architecture.
Reposted by Aakash
“A federal judge ordered some public school districts in Texas on Tuesday to remove Ten Commandment displays from their classroom walls by next month, a victory for families who had argued that the posters infringed on their religious freedom.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...
Federal Judge Orders Some Texas Schools to Remove Ten Commandment Posters
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:10 AM
“A federal judge ordered some public school districts in Texas on Tuesday to remove Ten Commandment displays from their classroom walls by next month, a victory for families who had argued that the posters infringed on their religious freedom.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...
Reposted by Aakash
There's still time to sign up to resist the vendor machine! Join Library Futures, Stephanie "Cole" Adams, Samantha Teremi, Layla Maurer, and Hayley Park to talk AI and library contracts. That's this Thursday 11/20!
nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
November 18, 2025 at 5:05 PM
There's still time to sign up to resist the vendor machine! Join Library Futures, Stephanie "Cole" Adams, Samantha Teremi, Layla Maurer, and Hayley Park to talk AI and library contracts. That's this Thursday 11/20!
nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by Aakash
"Today, hunger and starvation are used by the RSF and army as a strategic weapon of war...But these deadly tactics of obstruction, displacement, and starvation alone cannot account for the crisis levels of hunger people are currently facing."
transitionmagazine.fas.harvard.edu/the-politics...
transitionmagazine.fas.harvard.edu/the-politics...
The Politics of Hunger in Sudan – Transition Magazine
transitionmagazine.fas.harvard.edu
November 18, 2025 at 8:53 PM
"Today, hunger and starvation are used by the RSF and army as a strategic weapon of war...But these deadly tactics of obstruction, displacement, and starvation alone cannot account for the crisis levels of hunger people are currently facing."
transitionmagazine.fas.harvard.edu/the-politics...
transitionmagazine.fas.harvard.edu/the-politics...
Reposted by Aakash
Bad bad very bad.
A ‘Steep Decline’ in Students’ Academic Preparation at UC-San Diego Struck a Nerve www.chronicle.com/article/peop...
A ‘Steep Decline’ in Students’ Academic Preparation at UC-San Diego Struck a Nerve www.chronicle.com/article/peop...
November 14, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Bad bad very bad.
A ‘Steep Decline’ in Students’ Academic Preparation at UC-San Diego Struck a Nerve www.chronicle.com/article/peop...
A ‘Steep Decline’ in Students’ Academic Preparation at UC-San Diego Struck a Nerve www.chronicle.com/article/peop...
Reposted by Aakash
“It is terribly hard for books to compete with video on demand, for children as for adults. Between streaming services, TikTok, audiobooks, iPads, video games, and voice-operated systems like Siri, anything more than basic literacy seems poised for irrelevancy.”
Speak and Sell | Sophie Pinkham
The siren song of Ms. Rachel cannot be understood outside of America’s ongoing impoverishment of families.
thebaffler.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:37 AM
“It is terribly hard for books to compete with video on demand, for children as for adults. Between streaming services, TikTok, audiobooks, iPads, video games, and voice-operated systems like Siri, anything more than basic literacy seems poised for irrelevancy.”
Reposted by Aakash
Two weeks into a new program that gives New Mexico children free childcare, officials are opening up about the surge that happened day one & how it’s been moving forward. In just a short time, the state said thousands of children are now enrolled in free childcare, & daycares are lining up to join.
www.krqe.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Two weeks into a new program that gives New Mexico children free childcare, officials are opening up about the surge that happened day one & how it’s been moving forward. In just a short time, the state said thousands of children are now enrolled in free childcare, & daycares are lining up to join.
Reposted by Aakash
There is always money for the consultants. No matter how much “austerity.” Always always always.
"Outsourcing our flagship state university’s future to drop-in budget consultants is not the way forward" -- Jeffrey Dudas, President of UConn AAUP @uconnaaup.bsky.social
Opinion: UConn's administration should consult its own experts
Genuine collaboration and shared governance - not outside consultants - should guide the decisions of a major university.
ctmirror.org
November 9, 2025 at 5:58 PM
There is always money for the consultants. No matter how much “austerity.” Always always always.
Reposted by Aakash
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Reposted by Aakash
The Trump of science
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:08 AM
The Trump of science
Reposted by Aakash
In the name of protecting Jews, Jews have their funding cancelled, get kicked out of seminars, and are removed from leadership positions in Jewish Studies to be replaced by non-Jews.
Latest write-up about outrageous administrative over reach at IU. www.jta.org/2025/11/07/u...
In Indiana, a vaunted Jewish studies program is upended by red-state politics over Israel and speech - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A leadership shakeup, a defunded graduate student and political pressure from above have turned a storied program into a flashpoint for Trump-era campus politics.
www.jta.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:58 AM
In the name of protecting Jews, Jews have their funding cancelled, get kicked out of seminars, and are removed from leadership positions in Jewish Studies to be replaced by non-Jews.
Reposted by Aakash
Hello Zine Librarians unConference day 2! www.zinelibraries.info/wiki/zluc2025/ We're starting with Community Organizing with presenters Kelly Lindberg, Momo Mullings, Ana Rico, Al Cassada, and Leila Boukarim with live Spanish translation
Zine Librarians unConference 2025 | zinelibraries.info
www.zinelibraries.info
November 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Hello Zine Librarians unConference day 2! www.zinelibraries.info/wiki/zluc2025/ We're starting with Community Organizing with presenters Kelly Lindberg, Momo Mullings, Ana Rico, Al Cassada, and Leila Boukarim with live Spanish translation
Reposted by Aakash
now that women have ruined the workplace we should just get rid of it
November 9, 2025 at 2:33 AM
now that women have ruined the workplace we should just get rid of it
Reposted by Aakash
Literally every dem should be shouting from the rooftops that republicans are giving Americans two choices: die from starvation or from a lack of affordable healthcare.
USDA orders states to stop paying full SNAP benefits and "immediately undo" steps taken to issue them for November. Follow live updates.
https://cnn.it/47LOq3z
https://cnn.it/47LOq3z
November 9, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Literally every dem should be shouting from the rooftops that republicans are giving Americans two choices: die from starvation or from a lack of affordable healthcare.
Reposted by Aakash
How did socialist projects of making antibiotics and building atom bombs amount to the primitive accumulation of "scientific capital" in the People's Republic?
🗓️ Tuesday, November 11
🕥 10:30–11:45 am Eastern Time
📍 Over Zoom
Register: seow.scholars.harvard.edu/STinAsia
#histstm #histsci #sts 🧪
🗓️ Tuesday, November 11
🕥 10:30–11:45 am Eastern Time
📍 Over Zoom
Register: seow.scholars.harvard.edu/STinAsia
#histstm #histsci #sts 🧪
November 5, 2025 at 1:19 PM
How did socialist projects of making antibiotics and building atom bombs amount to the primitive accumulation of "scientific capital" in the People's Republic?
🗓️ Tuesday, November 11
🕥 10:30–11:45 am Eastern Time
📍 Over Zoom
Register: seow.scholars.harvard.edu/STinAsia
#histstm #histsci #sts 🧪
🗓️ Tuesday, November 11
🕥 10:30–11:45 am Eastern Time
📍 Over Zoom
Register: seow.scholars.harvard.edu/STinAsia
#histstm #histsci #sts 🧪
Reposted by Aakash
"[B]ook censorship in schools has reached a new apex, now a routine and expected part of school operations." We call that kind of ban neo-censorship... /1
www.wordsandmoney.com/pen-america-...
www.wordsandmoney.com/pen-america-...
PEN America Report Finds the Battle Over Book Bans Has Entered an Alarming New Phase
“For many students, families, educators, librarians, and school districts, book banning is a new normal,” the report, 'Banned in the USA 2024-2025: The Normalization of Book Banning,' concludes.
www.wordsandmoney.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:51 PM
"[B]ook censorship in schools has reached a new apex, now a routine and expected part of school operations." We call that kind of ban neo-censorship... /1
www.wordsandmoney.com/pen-america-...
www.wordsandmoney.com/pen-america-...
Reposted by Aakash
"[L]ibraries pay much more for books and digital materials than regular buyers do, and right now, there’s no way around this."
You know this. We know this. But we're working to change it. You're with us, right?
evanstonroundtable.com/2025/10/16/l...
You know this. We know this. But we're working to change it. You're with us, right?
evanstonroundtable.com/2025/10/16/l...
Letter: Why EPL withdrew from the state's digital library - Evanston RoundTable
I serve as a trustee for the Evanston Public Library, but I’m sharing my thoughts today as a library professional, a resident of Evanston, and someone who
evanstonroundtable.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:35 PM
"[L]ibraries pay much more for books and digital materials than regular buyers do, and right now, there’s no way around this."
You know this. We know this. But we're working to change it. You're with us, right?
evanstonroundtable.com/2025/10/16/l...
You know this. We know this. But we're working to change it. You're with us, right?
evanstonroundtable.com/2025/10/16/l...