J. Stephen Downie
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profdownie.bsky.social
J. Stephen Downie
@profdownie.bsky.social
690 followers 1.2K following 71 posts
Professor, Executive Associate Dean, Associate Dean for Research, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois.

Digital Humanities-Music Information Retrieval-Library and Information Science
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
ryancordell.org
One of my kids just asked me to “turn on your depressing Christmas playlist, Dad” so here’s my annual reminder that I curate a playlist called “Melanholly & the Infinite Sadmas” for all your weepy holiday needs

song suggestions are welcome
Melanholly & the Infinite Sadmas by Ryan Cordell on Apple Music
Playlist · 0 Songs
music.apple.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
oregonthedm.bsky.social
So if it hits, you get to sleep for a long time

www.cnn.com/2025/11/27/s...
Scientists find evidence that an asteroid contains tryptophan | CNN
An essential amino acid that is mistakenly believed to cause drowsiness after eating turkey has been found in an asteroid for the first time, giving scientists clues to the origin of life on Earth.
www.cnn.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
irglasgow.bsky.social
We are happy to sponsor the Keith Van Rijsbergen (KvR) Award at #ECIR2026

📢 𝗡𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻!

Details and Submission Form at @ecir2026.eu website: lnkd.in/emecdsXm

🗓 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝟭𝟱 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

www.linkedin.com/posts/glasgo...
Keith van Rijsbergen Award | Glasgow Information Retrieval Group
𝗞𝘃𝗥 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 @ 𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗥 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 We are proud to sponsor the Keith Van Rijsbergen (KvR) Award at ECIR 2026. Keith van Rijsbergen is a pioneer of modern Information Retrieval, with a long history at the Univers...
www.linkedin.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:34 AM
profdownie.bsky.social
Meeting new friends post-lecture in Hsinchu.

Having fun with AI.
November 26, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
scottbot.bsky.social
Nearly-perfect printed and handwritten text recognition is the most consequential technical contribution to the study of human culture of the last fifteen years, and it's not even close.

It fundamentally changes our (both lay and expert) relationship with the written past.
dancohen.org Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 4d
New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition
One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved
newsletter.dancohen.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:14 PM
profdownie.bsky.social
Big lecture tomorrow at NYCU, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
@ischoolui.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 4:02 AM
profdownie.bsky.social
Trinity in Ginza. Off to Hsinchu tomorrow.
November 23, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
ljsmart.bsky.social
Thinking a lot about Canadian metadata sovereignty led to wanting to know more about the history of national union catalog development. Just found two sweet sweet sources. I remember UTLAS and AMICUS and have the protest letters when OCLC got it all. This goes a bit deeper.
Title page for a conference paper. Citation: Baldwin, Paul E. Development of a Canadian “National Library Network” and “National Library Network Union Catalogue”: de facto and de jure in AACR2 Seminar Papers from presentations given at “Evolution or Revolution” Ottawa, June 1979 and “Cataloguing Using AACR2 in the Cooperative Environment” Vancouver, June 1980. Canadian Library Association, Ottawa
November 21, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
samplereality.bsky.social
📣 Tenure-track DH position at Chapel Hill with a home in English/Comp Lit
Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities
The Department of English & Comparative Literature at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities with an anticipated sta...
unc.peopleadmin.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
tolonen.bsky.social
Great news! This is out: Opening the black box of EEBO academic.oup.com/dsh/advance-...
Opening the black box of EEBO
Abstract. Digital archives that cover extended historical periods can create a misleading impression of comprehensiveness while in truth providing access t
academic.oup.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
bibliowingate.bsky.social
#BookHistory!
This is a hybrid panel so please do join us even if you’re not in Bloomington!
yrhu.bsky.social Yuerong Hu @yrhu.bsky.social · 23d
Hi DH friends, join us on Nov 10, 10-11 am CT, for “New Book History Research with Internet Data”, a hybrid panel sponsored by SHAR, to explore challenges and opportunities of using Internet data and digital methods for book history research. More info in the poster attached and comments :)
This is a panel on “Book History with Internet Data”, with 8 panelists from different IMLS/iSchools, funded by SHARP. Over the past two decades, a variety of internet-based datasets have emerged related to books, reading habits, and reader communities—ranging from crowd-sourced genre tags and online reviews to platforms like BookTok. These datasets are increasingly valuable for research in reading and readership, often complementing traditional book history approaches. However, they also raise new questions and challenges. To explore these opportunities and foster interdisciplinary collaboration, this panel will bring together eight panelists from diverse fields to discuss questions, such as: How can we critically understand the relationship between Internet-based “book” data and traditional research materials? What are the methodological challenges and potential pitfalls of using digital data in book history research? How can interdisciplinary approaches enrich the analysis of Internet book and reader datasets? Here are our amazing panelists: - Micah Bateman, Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science, The University of Iowa - Melanie Walsh, Assistant Professor, an Assistant Professor in the Information School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the English Department, University of Washington - Wenyi Shang, Assistant Professor, School of Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri - Cici Ling, Assistant Professor, Department of Informatics, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington - Kai Li, Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville - Andrew Zalot, Assistant Professor, College of Education, East Carolina University - Alex Wingate, PhD Candidate, Department of Information and Library Science, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington
November 6, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
tedunderwood.com
Wrote a short piece arguing that higher ed must help steer AI. TLDR: If we outsource this to tech, we outsource our whole business. But rejectionism is basically stalling. If we want to survive, schools themselves must proactively shape AI for education & research. [1/6, unpaywalled at 5/6] +
Opinion | AI Is the Future. Higher Ed Should Shape It.
If we want to stay at the forefront of knowledge production, we must fit technology to our needs.
www.chronicle.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
ischoolui.bsky.social
The #iSchoolUI has 🔸FOUR🔹 open faculty positions in the areas: Information Sciences, Information, Culture & Society, Information Behavior/HCI/UX, and Early Literacies!

Submit your application by December 15 ▶️ bit.ly/iSchoolatIllinoisJobs
"We are hiring" graphic, with the iSchool building in the background in a blue overlay.
November 6, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
lauraestill.bsky.social
Out now: "Digital Text Analysis and Early Shakespeare Bibliography: Using Voyant Tools with Bad OCR"
www.digitalstudies.org/article/id/1...
Digital Text Analysis and Early Shakespeare Bibliography: Using Voyant Tools with Bad OCR
Enumerative bibliographies are lists of scholarship that capture the state of a field. This article first evaluates digital texts of one such bibliography, Franz Thimm’s Shakspeariana from 1564–1864 (...
www.digitalstudies.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
chesterjankowski.com
Quick question for y’all musicology PhDs from a humble composition MusDoc: what‘s the consensus on the Jan Swafford bios?
November 4, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
ryancordell.org
Job alert: the University of Illinois Library is hiring a Humanities Librarian to serve as liaison to African-American Studies and English Literatures. I’m sure someone here would be a great fit for this job—& we’ve got a pretty phenomenal community here

Please share!
Humanities Librarian - (African American Studies and English Literature)
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
mellymeldubs.bsky.social
As DH grows, it’s increasingly important to publish conference papers, but there hasn’t been a clear venue for that.

So I’m thrilled to share this new home for DH proceedings, which will include CHR papers & more.

Thanks to @taylor-arnold.bsky.social for leading this effort!

bit.ly/ach-anthology
Screenshot that reads: Introducing the Anthology for Computers and the Humanities Taylor Arnold, Maria Antoniak, Miguel Escobar Varela, Marie Puren, Mila Oiva , Amanda Regan, Lauren Tilton, and Melanie Walsh 1 Data Science and Statistics, University of Richmond, U.S.A. 2 Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder, U.S.A. 3 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore 4 Laboratoire de Recherche de l'EPITA, Paris, France 5 History and Archaeology, University of Turku, Finland 6 History and Geography, Clemson University, U.S.A. 7 Rhetoric and Communication Studies, University of Richmond, U.S.A. 8 Information School, University of Washington, U.S.A. Permanent Link: https://doi.org/10.63744/HHsQG7hNWyxG Published: 25 September 2025
October 29, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
urinieto.bsky.social
Are you a brilliant grad student with a passion for human-centered audio creativity? Experienced in generative AI and multimodal reasoning models for audio creation? Come join us at Adobe in San Francisco during the Summer of 2026 for our Internship program! research.adobe.com/careers/inte...
Careers
Internships at Adobe Research Excited about research on the cutting edge? Adobe Research works with graduate student interns to collaborate on state-of-the-art technologies across a range of research ...
research.adobe.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
ryancordell.org
In a few weeks CU will host the Midwest Yiddish Fest ’25. The kickoff "Block Party" includes a lecture by Rachelle Grossman on Yiddish Printing in America & live printing @skeuomorphpress.org using our case of Yiddish type—the event does require registration but there’s a single-event $5 option
Midwest Yiddishfest 2025 | Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation
www.cujf.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
So glad to see my friend Steve here. A good follow and a better fellow.
October 17, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
tedunderwood.com
Looking forward to this meeting at Chicago organized by @hoytlong.bsky.social and Chris Kennedy: neubauercollegium.uchicago.edu/research/hum...
Humanistic AI: Reimagining Humanistic Pursuits in the Age of Generated Media Project Team: Hoyt Long, Chris Kennedy, Maria Antoniak, David Bamman, Eamon Duede, Ari Holtzman, Atoosa Kasirzadeh, Mikayla Kelley, Cody Kommers, Mina Lee, Laura K. Nelson, Nanyun (Violet) Peng, Jason Salavon, Richard Jean So, Ted Underwood, Anubav Vasudevan, Matthew Wilkens 2025 – 2027
October 16, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
roopikarisam.bsky.social
Getting ready for my lecture for Dartmouth’s Family Weekend tomorrow! They’re getting the #DataEmpire sneak peek 🤩
From Clay Tablets to Cloud Servers: The Deep History of Data (Murdough Center) Read more v Cook Auditorium, 31 Tuck Mall Drive Special Faculty Lecture Before there was "big data," there were tallies carved on bone, census rolls of empires, and ledgers of trade. Sharing insights from her forthcoming book, Data Empire: A Human History of Records and Rule (HarperCollins, 2026), Prof. Risam reveals how data has always been a tool of power, tracing its history from ancient civilizations to the digital platforms that govern our lives today.
September 25, 2025 at 12:27 PM
profdownie.bsky.social
Yiting Xia showing our poster at ISMIR 2025’s Late-Breaking/Demo session!
September 25, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Reposted by J. Stephen Downie
ryancordell.org
Pulling this post from the archives because…well because I have only a few papers left to comment on & need to fill the exponentially-longer stretches of time between each one
ryancordell.org Ryan Cordell @ryancordell.org · Dec 13
Prof. Zeno’s paradox—to grade a stack of papers, you must first grade half the stack—With this done, you must now grade half the remaining stack—then half again—then half again of the remaining stack—Each smaller stack takes just as much time as the previous for some reason—You never finish grading.
September 24, 2025 at 7:38 PM
profdownie.bsky.social
MIREX poster at ISMIR 2025.

MIREX started 2005!
September 24, 2025 at 6:56 AM