Oh this is very sad news. He was a real hero. -gave evidence in the trials of Milosevic and Mladic at the Hague - he faced the monsters. He showed us how libraries are of crucial importance for their communities - esp when they are deliberately targetted. I celebrated his work in #Burningthebooks
I am very sorry to learn of the death of Andras Riedlmayer, with whom I corresponded for over twenty years. A great fighter against genocide, its perpetrators and its deniers; a true expert who did as much as anyone to catalogue the cultural destruction caused by the genocide in Bosnia.
February 11, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Oh this is very sad news. He was a real hero. -gave evidence in the trials of Milosevic and Mladic at the Hague - he faced the monsters. He showed us how libraries are of crucial importance for their communities - esp when they are deliberately targetted. I celebrated his work in #Burningthebooks
More #Burningthebooks as the arbitrary use of power being exercisd againt the Director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US archivist ousted after refusing to let Trump give Eisenhower’s sword to King Charles – reports
The Trump administration ultimately gave the King a replica sword on the president’s recent state visit
www.theguardian.com
October 3, 2025 at 5:27 AM
More #Burningthebooks as the arbitrary use of power being exercisd againt the Director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Thanks so much for recommending #Burningthebooks Mary! Another follow up piece, on libraries in Trump’s America, will appear in @theobserveruk.bsky.social this coming Sunday …
I recommend “Burning the Books, A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge” by @richove.bsky.social. I liked it so much I bought a second copy for a friend.
July 10, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Thanks so much for recommending #Burningthebooks Mary! Another follow up piece, on libraries in Trump’s America, will appear in @theobserveruk.bsky.social this coming Sunday …
#NZGovt are busy closing down #knowledge #statistics & recording of data -what don’t they want known or taught? #fascism involves #BurningtheBooks & controlling the message in #media #education #nzpol
#AtlasNetwork #census
More cuts proposed at Ministry for Culture and Heritage
#AtlasNetwork #census
More cuts proposed at Ministry for Culture and Heritage
June 18, 2025 at 11:17 PM
#NZGovt are busy closing down #knowledge #statistics & recording of data -what don’t they want known or taught? #fascism involves #BurningtheBooks & controlling the message in #media #education #nzpol
#AtlasNetwork #census
More cuts proposed at Ministry for Culture and Heritage
#AtlasNetwork #census
More cuts proposed at Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Immense dignity and restraint on show from Dr Carla Hayden, in her first interview since being fired by email from her position as Librarian of Congress. #Burningthebooks in full flow in Trump’s America.’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rme21qIbVHM
Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden speaks out on her firing by Trump
YouTube video by CBS Sunday Morning
www.youtube.com
June 8, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Immense dignity and restraint on show from Dr Carla Hayden, in her first interview since being fired by email from her position as Librarian of Congress. #Burningthebooks in full flow in Trump’s America.’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rme21qIbVHM
Thank you to the amazing @elifshafak.bsky.social for remembering Aida Butorovic, the librarian from Sarajevo murdered by a sniper in 1992 on the day the National Library was attacked (& for the shout out to my #Burningthebooks) in your latest Substack post open.substack.com/pub/elifshaf...
The Astonishing Light of Your Being
Aida...
open.substack.com
June 1, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Thank you to the amazing @elifshafak.bsky.social for remembering Aida Butorovic, the librarian from Sarajevo murdered by a sniper in 1992 on the day the National Library was attacked (& for the shout out to my #Burningthebooks) in your latest Substack post open.substack.com/pub/elifshaf...
Thanks so much for reading #Burningthebooks Eduardo, and for recommending it - available in paperback too (from my friends @johnmurrays.bsky.social & in North America from @harvardpress.bsky.social). The war on knowledge continues, librarians & archivists are on the front line.
I've just finished 'Burning the Books' by @richove.bsky.social Published in 2020, it's a fierce defence of libraries and a prescient essay on the war of so many authoritarian leaders against knowledge. The emphasis on powerful actors (politicians and big tech) is particularly welcome. Must read
June 1, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Thanks so much for reading #Burningthebooks Eduardo, and for recommending it - available in paperback too (from my friends @johnmurrays.bsky.social & in North America from @harvardpress.bsky.social). The war on knowledge continues, librarians & archivists are on the front line.
Thanks for highlighting this from #Burningthebooks Eduardo … back to the 16th century future …
"What may bring our realm to more shame and rebuke, than to have it known abroad, that we are despisers of learning?"
These words from John Bale that @richove.bsky.social includes in 'Burning the Books' resonate today in light of so many Trump's actions against archives, libraries and universities
These words from John Bale that @richove.bsky.social includes in 'Burning the Books' resonate today in light of so many Trump's actions against archives, libraries and universities
May 28, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Thanks for highlighting this from #Burningthebooks Eduardo … back to the 16th century future …
Thanks for recommending #Burningthebooks Mary. It is still available from @johnmurrays.bsky.social in the UK and from @harvardpress.bsky.social in North America! History may not be repeating just now, but it certainly is rhyming ….
Two other books to read on this topic are “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and “Burning the Books- A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge” by Richard Ovenden.
The parallels to contemporary America are stark.
The parallels to contemporary America are stark.
April 27, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Thanks for recommending #Burningthebooks Mary. It is still available from @johnmurrays.bsky.social in the UK and from @harvardpress.bsky.social in North America! History may not be repeating just now, but it certainly is rhyming ….
The social importance of the preservation of knowledge (the key message in #Burningthebooks) kicking in here: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Trump administration is sabotaging your scientific data | Jonathan Gilmour
Burying our heads in the sand won’t stop the climate crisis or pandemics. We’re taking action to preserve government tools
www.theguardian.com
April 22, 2025 at 5:07 AM
The social importance of the preservation of knowledge (the key message in #Burningthebooks) kicking in here: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks Sebastian, and thanks too for all you great work with @datarescueproject.org
Using some downtime from @datarescueproject.org to read @richove.bsky.social’s compelling history of knowledge under attack. The medium may change over time, but the goal remains the same: to destroy evidence of inconvenient truths - whether in 1930s Germany, 1990s Bosnia, or in the US today.
April 19, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks Sebastian, and thanks too for all you great work with @datarescueproject.org
Thanks for the shout out for #Burningthebooks (still available from my friends @johnmurrays.bsky.social and @harvardpress.bsky.social)!
April 16, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Thanks for the shout out for #Burningthebooks (still available from my friends @johnmurrays.bsky.social and @harvardpress.bsky.social)!
What a depressing irony that my #Burningthebooks & seven of my scholarly articles have been pirated by Meta for LibGen. We are experimenting with AI @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social using only public-domain materials. This industry needs to be regulated! www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem
Meta pirated millions of books to train its AI. Search through them here.
www.theatlantic.com
March 20, 2025 at 8:49 PM
What a depressing irony that my #Burningthebooks & seven of my scholarly articles have been pirated by Meta for LibGen. We are experimenting with AI @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social using only public-domain materials. This industry needs to be regulated! www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
I highlighted the critical role of activist archivists during the first Trump administration in my #Burningthebooks (still available from @johnmurrays.bsky.social & @harvardpress.bsky.social) and here they are stepping up to the plate again. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led....
The Volunteer Data Hoarders Resisting Trump’s Purge
Can librarians and guerrilla archivists save the country’s files from DOGE?
www.newyorker.com
March 16, 2025 at 9:04 AM
I highlighted the critical role of activist archivists during the first Trump administration in my #Burningthebooks (still available from @johnmurrays.bsky.social & @harvardpress.bsky.social) and here they are stepping up to the plate again. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led....
Thanks for listening to the audiobook version of #Burningthebooks. The period we are living in now is a new phase in the deliberate destruction of knowledge.
February 24, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Thanks for listening to the audiobook version of #Burningthebooks. The period we are living in now is a new phase in the deliberate destruction of knowledge.
Thanks for the recommendation. #BurningtheBooks was written in part as a warning about the danger of allowing authoritarian regimes to have control of knowledge ... 'there is no political power without power over the archive'....
#Recommended
BURNING THE BOOKS:
A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge
by Richard Ovenden
Book:
www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
Front Matter & Intro:
www.hup.harvard.edu/file/feeds/P...
Audiobook:
www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/bu...
audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/b...
BURNING THE BOOKS:
A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge
by Richard Ovenden
Book:
www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
Front Matter & Intro:
www.hup.harvard.edu/file/feeds/P...
Audiobook:
www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/bu...
audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/b...
February 12, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Thanks for the recommendation. #BurningtheBooks was written in part as a warning about the danger of allowing authoritarian regimes to have control of knowledge ... 'there is no political power without power over the archive'....
Delighted that BBC Radio4Extra are repeating the serialisation of my #Burningthebooks, as read by the great librarian Rupert Giles (er, I mean Anthony Head). Book still available (John Murray/HarvardUP) www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Burning the Books by Richard Ovenden, 1. A Scholar's Mission
Henry VIII entrusts a scholar with a mission.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 7, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Delighted that BBC Radio4Extra are repeating the serialisation of my #Burningthebooks, as read by the great librarian Rupert Giles (er, I mean Anthony Head). Book still available (John Murray/HarvardUP) www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks Jonathan!
How relevant, especially in these days.
Libraries and Archives "support the well- being of citizens and the principles of the open society through the preservation of key rights and through encouraging integrity in decision- making."
Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social - Burning the Books
Libraries and Archives "support the well- being of citizens and the principles of the open society through the preservation of key rights and through encouraging integrity in decision- making."
Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social - Burning the Books
January 25, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks Jonathan!
Thanks for reading it Mary - hope you find it interesting. Currently writing something about #Burningthebooks going on right now …
Looking forward to reading this timely book by @richove.bsky.social which just arrived with my latest book order!
#archives #library 📚
#archives #library 📚
January 24, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Thanks for reading it Mary - hope you find it interesting. Currently writing something about #Burningthebooks going on right now …
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks!
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you.
One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
Day 5 - Burning the Books, Richard Ovenden
#Books
💡📚💙
#Booksky
#BookChallenge
One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
Day 5 - Burning the Books, Richard Ovenden
#Books
💡📚💙
#Booksky
#BookChallenge
January 16, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks!
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks Jay -
I am still positive despite the continued instances of the deliberate destruction of knowledge.
I am still positive despite the continued instances of the deliberate destruction of knowledge.
“Burning the Books” by Richard Ovenden is a harrowing ride but somehow brings hope along with it.
A timely read.
A timely read.
January 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Thanks for reading #Burningthebooks Jay -
I am still positive despite the continued instances of the deliberate destruction of knowledge.
I am still positive despite the continued instances of the deliberate destruction of knowledge.
Thanks for the extremely kind call-out for #BurningtheBooks (available in the UK from @johnmurrays.bsky.social and in the US and Canada from Harvard University Press)!
If you have someone whom you can't decide on a gift for, I recommend "Burning the books," by Richard Ovenden, Bodley's Librarian. It is informative, well written, and highly relevant to today.
November 23, 2024 at 7:35 PM
Thanks for the extremely kind call-out for #BurningtheBooks (available in the UK from @johnmurrays.bsky.social and in the US and Canada from Harvard University Press)!
Now more than ever, it is important to revisit and reinterpret this text in today’s context, with a broader perspective. We must ask ourselves: what is our stance on knowledge? True freedom of expression originates in the freedom to think freely. #BurningTheBooks
November 17, 2024 at 1:19 PM
Now more than ever, it is important to revisit and reinterpret this text in today’s context, with a broader perspective. We must ask ourselves: what is our stance on knowledge? True freedom of expression originates in the freedom to think freely. #BurningTheBooks
Apols for the self promotion but #BurningtheBooks was written during the first Trump era (& in part responded to it). The coming years portend intensified attacks on knowledge. My CODA re-ups the argument for libraries & archives as infrastructure of democracy.
November 17, 2024 at 1:14 PM
Apols for the self promotion but #BurningtheBooks was written during the first Trump era (& in part responded to it). The coming years portend intensified attacks on knowledge. My CODA re-ups the argument for libraries & archives as infrastructure of democracy.
Delighted to be speaking on #Burningthebooks #QuiemarLivros for the Folio Festival in the ancient and beautiful city of Óbidos! Obligada!
October 14, 2023 at 9:16 AM
Delighted to be speaking on #Burningthebooks #QuiemarLivros for the Folio Festival in the ancient and beautiful city of Óbidos! Obligada!