Ready for #CALC26 📚

The day has finally arrived. You can now *officially* watch puffins live from the Farne Islands, 24 hours a day: bit.ly/4tRz72T Please enjoy these puffins kissing in celebration of this momentous event.

Controversial but - students *perceive* they have been failed when what has happened is they have failed to understand information retrieval is a skill requiring effort. I don't believe a zero friction experience is realistic or desirable in learning, actually.

Wonkhe@wonkhe.bsky.social · 5mo ago

NEW on Wonkhe: Students aren't confused about AI – they're making rational choices in a system that has removed the incentives to learn. Jim Dickinson and Mack Marshall preview findings from new research on learning in an age of AI buff.ly/4TKftU3

We need to pay attention to this and do what we can to stop our schools from going down the American route, like making school libraries a statutory right. Plus, the fact that the poor librarian was put before a safeguarding committee is ludicrous. UK Labour, please keep your promise and fix this.

Nik Sunil Williams@nikwilliams.bsky.social · 5mo ago

My excellent colleague @katiedd.bsky.social has just published this remarkable investigation into rampant book banning in a Greater Manchester secondary school library. 193 books including The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, White Teeth and 1984 Graphic Novel www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...

Just witnessed Zoom bombing (with P*rnhub content) for the first time since 2020. It was in a webinar about the Glasgow Small Trans Library. The speaker and host dealt with it admirably but this is not okay. Trans people deserve to take space, educate and learn online without being harrassed.

It started as a routine book move. Before we know it, it’s a modern art installation (or perhaps a minor safety concern). It's hard to say. #FoundArt

*slams it down* I finished it My article About AI use, impacts, etc, with lots and lots of links It's uh Really long

Opinion: Is it worth it to use AI? Some things you should know

AI has shown us again and again how it aims to change our society. Is this technology really "here to stay" and what's it doing to us?

foundationwebdev.com

Interrupting a fortnight's holiday for 9, The Pirate Queen, at the Minack Theatre, at the very edge of Cornwall. The ADC has some way to go to match this view...

Research data management at its finest outside a building in Cambridge! #RDM #research #librarians

Important news: the Weston Library in Oxford (part of the Bodleian) has added a small baby play space. And they've called it the Toddleian.

Completely agree - research support should be for everyone! @lucywoolhouse.bsky.social & #FrankieMarsh #Darts9

@lucywoolhouse.bsky.social & #FrankieMarsh Workshop on making open research more inclusive. #TechniciansCommitment #darts9

Thanks @alicecann.bsky.social for liveblogging our workshop! We hope #DARTS9 enjoyed it 😊

Alice Cann@alicecann.bsky.social · last yr.

The final presentation at #DARTS9 is by Lucy Woolhouse & Frankie Marsh, from the University of Cambridge, on ‘How to make open research more inclusive by supporting under-recognised research professionals’. Relevant to previous talks, & I heard a little about this talking with Frankie earlier.

A Sage journal that holds the distinction of highest number of retracted articles in the Retraction Watch Database likely made in excess of $400,000 in revenue from those papers, by our calculations.

Journal collected $400,000 from papers it later retracted

A Sage journal that holds the distinction of highest number of retracted articles in the Retraction Watch Database likely made in excess of $400,000 in revenue from those papers, by our calculation…

retractionwatch.com

Just published on FOSS Force: The Mobile Browsers That Stick Their Noses Into Your Business the Most fossforce.com/2025/05/the-...

The Mobile Browsers That Stick Their Noses Into Your Business the Most - FOSS Force

The folks behind Surfshark VPN have looked to see which mobile Browsers are most likely to compromise your privacy, and offers some ways that you can protect yourself.

fossforce.com

On Tuesday 27 May 1-2pm, I'm presenting a webinar on behalf of @ciliplgbtq.bsky.social, "How to be a good ally to trans*, non-binary and gender-conforming people" I've spoken about this before but allies are more vital than ever now... Register and share please! www.cilip.org.uk/events/Event...

My latest @newscientist.com cartoon

UK SC's definition of 'woman' is a serious affront to decades of labour in queer studies to decouple sex & gender that even WHO recognises. It's a colonial-racial chokehold to safeguard power of TERFs & GCs. Moving forward, all women will have rights curtailed. www.thepinknews.com/2025/04/16/s...

UK Supreme court rules legal definition of a woman excludes trans women

The UK Supreme Court has ruled the legal definition of a woman excludes trans women.

thepinknews.com

On what is a really difficult day, here are some resources for our trans friends and allies. Solidarity 💜 goodlawproject.org/resource/sup...

Support resources for our trans friends and allies | Good Law Project

At a time when anti-trans discrimination is rife and hate crime has reached record levels, it’s important to know what support is out there for trans, non-binary or gender-questioning individuals and ...

goodlawproject.org

Instead of believing the myth that three expensive, genetically modified wolves are “de-extinct” dire wolves, let’s look at animals humanity has actually brought back from the brink of extinction using proven science and dedicated hard work: 🧵/6

This is the literal destruction of knowledge. Mississippi libraries are being ordered to remove academic research on race and gender from library databases. mississippitoday.org/2025/04/08/m...

Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws - Mississippi Today

The two research collections state officials ordered for deletion included material from professional journals, conference papers, books, student dissertations, periodicals and newspaper articles.

mississippitoday.org

Shortlisting for a library assistant role currently, and I'd forgotten just how frustrating it is when people refer to experience in their statement that they haven't listed in their job history *head desk*

PLOS has issued a statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity. We are determined to stand firmly behind our mission, our values and our principles, and against any attempt at censorship or undermining of the core principles of scientific inquiry. plos.io/3D4O8cH

PLOS statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity - The Official PLOS Blog

Since its founding over twenty five years ago PLOS has been dedicated to advancing open science, ensuring that knowledge is accessible to…

plos.io

Hate that it has come to this, but it's time to consider PubMed vulnerable to enshittification. My latest post @plos.org discusses the lines we need to fight to hold – and alternatives we can rely on internationally: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/02/14/w... #medlibs

What if We Can't Rely on PubMed? - Absolutely Maybe

PubMed is incredibly reliable. And a lot depends on it. It’s an ecosystem built around MEDLINE, the steady feed of new publications…

absolutelymaybe.plos.org

Far more sense & informed comment on the REF PCE pilot & proposals from @lizziegadd.bsky.social than you will find in the pages of the Times. wonkhe.com/blogs/anothe...

Another way of thinking about the national assessment of people, culture, and environment

Can we make better use of existing mechanisms to examine research culture in REF 2029? For Elizabeth Gadd there is scope to make the assessment of research culture better for everyone

wonkhe.com

Had to do some PGCTLHE work today (next Day School on Wednesday and first assignment due on 20th!). Particularly interested in studies on the different experiences of public school and state school students in supervisions - we have to do better to provide a level playing field and foster belonging.

It was helpful to search through the spreadsheet directly here, I wasn't surprised to find a simple game I play with lots of ads in it was on the list. I checked and it doesn't have personalized ads or location tracking in my permissions, not sure if that means much. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

gravy_app_list

docs.google.com

Another one bites the dust. York now confirming they are dropping the Elsevier deal, alongside Surrey and Sheffield. @librarianth.bsky.social you must be crushed... 😅 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

"The University of Surrey has opted out of a subscription deal with the academic publishing giant Elsevier, saying the arrangement is not financially sustainable. The move, coming after the University of Sheffield cancelled its subscription deal" www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

The first of three Sondheims I've never seen before that we'll be seeing in the next six months 🥳

Adam Care@adamcare.bsky.social · 2y ago

Resurrecting an old thread from the Other Place: every musical @lucywoolhouse.bsky.social has brought me to in 2025: 1. Sondheim's Road Show at @gatehouselondon.bsky.social