Spreading the word about the International Indigenous Librarians' Forum, which happens every two years and this year is in Toronto, 17–20 June (one day out in Scarborough, then the rest downtown). My #YorkU colleague Cora Coady is a co-chair.
All welcome. Free registration for Indigenous peoples who are students or workers on a reserve or Métis settlement.
My last post got more than 1k boosts! Thanks everyone! 👉 I decided to share one of my paid resources here on Mastodon for free so that everyone can have a look at my educational paper circuit projects and how my workshop kits look. Feel free to download and/or #retoot
These color-changing mushrooms are a fun party trick for grown-ups or an easy educational project for kids aged 7 and up.
And here is the super secret download link :-) https://www.voltpaperscissors.com/secretdownloads
One of Texas' most celebrated authors, author of the classic novel Lonesome Dove, is also one of the authors who could face #censorship under HB 3225. Chris Barton, vice president of the #Texas Institute of Letters, explains why we must oppose the latest batch of book ban bills ... https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-legislature-censorship-libraries/
#politics #USpol #news #TXlege #libraries #books #Bookstodon
We’re happy to say that @ProjectMUSE has signed up to receive IP address updates with details of verified changes via http://theIPregistry.org. Project MUSE will soon be implementing our APIs to automate the process.
#Library #libraries #publisher #publishers #publishing
Let's talk briefly about the destruction at the Library of Alexandria.
It didn't happen in one day.
145 BC: Tryphon purges intellectuals from Alexandria.
48 BC: Library burned by Julius Caesar
391 AD: All that remained was destroyed by Theophilus
There are lessons to be learned while libraries everywhere are under attack.
Synth Library Portland is so rad.
You should become a member.
#pdx #Portland #Oregon #synthlibraryportland #pnw #synth #synthesizer #modular #music #pdxmusic #portlandmusic #library #libraries #sharing
In this week's Monday Minutes from ByWater Solutions, Nick and Jessie talk about holds on the staff side!
The video: https://zurl.co/goIk4
The blog: https://zurl.co/akenq
"On April 3, 2025, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks sent a letter to Congress in support of the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS) following Executive Order 14238, signed on March 14, which calls for the dismantling of IMLS. HarperCollins is notably missing from this list of publishers."
"We demand to know why HarperCollins did NOT sign this letter and what they plan to do to support IMLS and all libraries moving forward."
"Author and AABB member Michael Leali has drafted an open letter to HarperCollins with this request. We need signatures from authors, illustrators, librarians, booksellers, literary agents, educators, and industry professionals in support of this message. If you are willing to add your name to the list of signees, please complete this form by Monday, April 28, 2025."
#WritingCommunity #Publishing #IMLS #BookBans #libraries #fascism
Well that was nice.
““I don’t pretend to know what the next literary masterpiece is going to be,” Armstrong wrote. “But I know that I want it available in a library.””
Israeli strikes devastate Gaza’s libraries, erasing resources and heritage
Palestinians in Gaza are describing the mass destruction of libraries in the enclave by Israel’s military as a direct attack on the future of the Palestinian people and their identity.
Places which were once quiet spaces for learning have been destroyed across the Strip.
https://aje.io/3kwlvu?update=3659541
@palestine
#Gaza
#libraries
#Introduction
These make the world better:
#Equality #Liberty #Justice for All
#Compassion #慈 #Frugality #儉 #Forbearance #不敢為天下先
#LandValueTax #SingleTax #Georgism #Geolibertarianism
#Constitutional Orthocratic #Government #FOSS
#Universal Income #Healthcare #Education #Accessibility #Housing
#Libraries #Multiculturalism #Atheism
#Urbanism #Environmentalism #Feminism #Travel
#Music #bass #bassguitar #pedalboard
#Filofax #FountainPen
#TTRPG #bicycle #comics #manga #anime
#TransWomenBelongHere
Library Study Shows It’s Just Politicians And Activist Groups Trying To Get Books Banned - https://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/17/library-study-shows-its-just-politicians-and-activist-groups-trying-to-get-books-banned/
"The latest report on censorship efforts compiled by the American Library Association makes it clear this isn’t a groundswell movement by personally offended parents to protect their kids from certain content. This is an activist movement that is determined to eliminate access to this content by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately, these groups are being helped along by legislators who believe their personal beliefs should be the only ones protected by the Constitution."
In #film: The librarians experience an awakening upon realizing they are not alone. From #Texas to Florida, Louisiana, and New Jersey, the film reveals how librarians across the country have become victims of a crisis manufactured by national organizations bent on infiltrating and disrupting local school boards. https://www.texasobserver.org/librarians-movie-sxsw-book-bans/
#books #bookstodon #documentary #movies #censorship #libraries #culture
The bookmobile went from a simple horse-drawn cart in the 19th century to large customized vehicles that became part of American culture and reached their height of popularity in the mid-twentieth century.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-earliest-libraries-on-wheels-looked-way-cooler-than-todays-bookmobiles-1418682/?utm_source=Globalmuseum #libraries #history
Smithsonian Magazine
@SmithsonianMag
EMS Press has signed up to receive IP address updates via https://theIPregistry.org. @ems-press.bsky.social has now implemented our APIs to automate the process.
#Library #Libraries #publishing #publishers
#Librarians in #UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads | #Libraries | The Guardian
Anecdotal evidence suggests a rise in requests to take #books off shelves, particularly #LGBTQ+ titles
#censorship #bannedbooks
The German National Library @DNB_Aktuelles AI team just published a paper "Automatic Subject Cataloguing at the German National Library" in LIBER Quarterly (open access):
https://doi.org/10.53377/lq.19422
The paper documents in detail how they use open source tools such as Git, Data Version Control and Annif to implement automatic assignment of DDC classes and GND subject terms to digital publications in various formats. Great work!
#libraries #cataloguing #opensource #Annif #machinelearning #AI
Time for a new Monday Minutes from the Team at ByWater Solutions.
This week, Nick and Jessie talk about holds on the staff side!
The video: https://zurl.co/goIk4
The blog: https://zurl.co/akenq
Is anyone building a database or otherwise collecting data on the canceled IMLS grants?
ACH has a database with the cancelled NEH grants - https://impact.ach.org/ - and having a similar database for IMLS grants could provide folks with more information about impacted positions, services, and community populations, bonus if hard numbers for all three can be collected!
United Kingdom: #Librarians in UK Increasingly Asked to Remove #Books, As Influence of US Pressure Groups Spreads & More Headlines https://www.infodocket.com/2025/04/14/united-kingdom-librarians-in-uk-increasingly-asked-to-remove-books-as-influence-of-us-pressure-groups-spreads-federal-grant-to-digitize-university-of-minnesota-flap-book-collection-terminated-amp/ #libraries
#Librarians in #UK increasingly asked to remove #books, as influence of #US #PressureGroups spreads | #Libraries | The Guardian
Not content with destroying their own libraries and educational system, the Americans are doing it over here too.
#Ireland - The rise of repair cafes: ‘It’s not sustainable to keep buying new stuff’
A resurgent repair culture has a bottom-up energy, but change is also coming from the top, with the EU’s Right to Repair Directive
by Sylvia Thompson
Mon Jan 20 2025 - 05:00
"At repair cafes across the island of Ireland, volunteers fix small pieces of furniture, household electrical appliances and clothing at community venues for free. This movement, which started about 10 years ago – but stalled during the Covid-19 pandemic – is gathering pace again as a kickback against the perils of #overconsumption and as a response to #environmental and cost-of-living crises.
"Tomorrow afternoon, in an industrial unit in #Dublin12, a repair cafe will take place, a community event in which a group of volunteer fixers will repair everything from broken toasters, kettles, coffee machines and air fryers to garments needing new zips or buttons.
"The #DublinMakerRepairCafe in Unit 2B, Motor City, Kylemore Road, #Dublin 12, is one of a number of repair cafe gatherings held throughout the island. Volunteer #fixers also show up for repair events organised in "#CommunityCentres, #libraries and third-level colleges.
" 'I’d do a repair cafe every weekend if I had enough volunteers. I can’t meet the demand from libraries, county councils and community groups,' says Jeffrey Roe, a software and hardware engineer who also runs Tog Hackerspace, which hosts the D12 repair cafes four times a year.
"He says there are three types of people who turn up with broken items to be repaired for free at these community events.
" 'There are the environmentally conscious people who want to get things fixed rather than consume more valuable resources by purchasing new things,' says Roe. 'There are people who want things fixed for sentimental reasons – say a food mixer their mother used or a toy they played with that they want to give to their children. And then, there are the cost-conscious people who find the cost of getting something new too high.' "
#RepairCafes #RightToRepair #BuildingCommunity #ReduceReuseRepair #ReuseRepair
#RepairCafésIreland #SolarPunkSunday
Mermaids, memory, found family and mythical revisionings in a thick novel that marries epic fantasy with domestic fantasy. Watermyth enfolds a mise-en-abyme narrative strategy (the tale within a tale) to create multiple perspectives for those who like their fantasy novels a little mind-bendy. 🧜♀️
EBOOK DISCOUNT: USD4.99 for the rest of 2025
https://mythopoetica.com/2024/09/01/places-to-purchase-watermyth-ebook/
Also available through various library subscription/catalogue services. Here are the ISBNs:
Print: 979-8224480395
eBook: 9798223523611
#introduction #bookstodon #writing #writingcommunity #books #libraries #fantasy #mermaids
I lament the fact that the City of #Salem budget is in such bad shape that the #libraries, #parks, and #seniorcenter are considered “optional” for funding. But here we are.
Please vote to keep these essential public services open and operating for the next five years. Your “Yes” vote on May 20 for the levy will support jobs and quality of life in Salem.
