@038b7317 Oh hey Oklahoma is one of the states I've never given a talk in (and I sure would like to, my Dad lived in OKC for a time). I did hear librarians at a national conference once talking about how there wasn't so much OVERT censorship in OK libraries (maybe ten years ago) so much as some staff who would somehow ensure that certain books (usually queer topics, or one set that was purchased about sex toys) just never quite made it on to the shelf.
Only one student so far, someone with a new -to-her smartphone. She'd never had a smart phone before. Has no Apple ID, has to email address. "I had one once on my tablet but I could never figure it out" CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
We talk for 40 min or so. She's not great at tapping (who ever is at first?) and so we practice that but also had she heard the good news about speech to text, she had not!
Did a few other simple things: take a picture, remove all the stupid apps she will never use...
https://cdn.masto.host/glammrus/media_attachments/files/111/184/139/423/233/403/original/863f4c1b2fae572a.jpeg
@ae43a286 Yeah it's Flickr.com hosting, wherever that is. WordPress VIP. I initially could see the iframe (for including an Internet Archive Book Reader book) in a smushed sort of way, but then after a while it seemed like the iframe was just getting removed before the page loaded. Super strange.
A short Tales From Drop-In Time today with a few anecdotes from my work week. I have been trying to get an embed-this-item type of iframe working within my "not designed by me" work website and it fails inscrutably and I'm not even sure why. Is it because of something set up by the web designers? My browser plugins? My levels of permissions? A cache somewhere? I've been troubleshooting but also winding up in a "same input but different output" situation and I am flummoxed. Ahem.
Nothing like Banned Books Week starting on a Sunday to make you realize how much of the library world operates mainly M-F. #BannedBooksWeek historically has mainly talked about book challenges and not all-out bannings. That's changed in the past few years and it's troubling.
"ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 2,571 titles targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from... 2021. Most of the targeted books were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color."
Here's ALA's website which has, stats, events and more details.
https://bannedbooksweek.org/
PEN has some ways to get involved. Most notably, donating your TIME to serve on school and library boards and defend intellectual freedom and the freedom to read for everyone (including children) is a big and important step.
https://pen.org/banned-book-week-action/
@9042307f Exactly. In my ideal scenario the library could lend its catalog infrastructure to a project like this which could have non-library leadership but realistically that's a tough sell for libraries which can be very very strict about data hygiene as well as privacy. In fact I think current library privacy regs might actually be the larger stumbling block, now that i am thinking about it.
@9042307f This is a great idea and some places do this in terms of tool library stuff (i.e. instead of a centralized tool library the tools just live in people's houses etc) but I think the devil is in the details-insurance is a concern (and who pays it), librarians don't want to be enforcers for stuff in other people's homes (I know I wouldn't, not as my job) and people who tend towards this are already doing it within their communities. Let me track down some examples that work.
@9042307f I feel like more people have written software to do this than have actually done it effectively. :lolsob:
More to the point, I think if it's distributed it starts being outside of the usual "In the building" domain of the library but there have been other community groups that seem to be able to do it in small scale but all the ones I know about, while they have the *capacity* to have multiple locations, don't use that. A good starting point:
https://sustainableconsumption.usdn.org/initiatives-list/tool-lending-libraries
@9042307f This is a great idea and some places do this in terms of tool library stuff (i.e. instead of a centralized tool library the tools just live in people's houses etc) but I think the devil is in the details-insurance is a concern (and who pays it), librarians don't want to be enforcers for stuff in other people's homes (I know I wouldn't, not as my job) and people who tend towards this are already doing it within their communities. Let me track down some examples that work.
Sobering news from the Vermont Public Library Compensation and Benefit Survey Analysis
https://libraries.vermont.gov/services/initiatives-and-projects/working-group-status-libraries-vermont
"Library Directors in municipalities under 4,000 people are not making a professional minimum. Those working in locations in the 4,001—6,000 band are making barely above that minimum, at just $29.00 per hour... Library Directors in just 14% of the Vermont libraries [are] making a wage that is meaningfully in excess of the minimum to meet basic needs for a single person."
@d0e5ad5c Truth, and while I don't know Threads at all I know Bluesky's future plans for Bluesky include a LOT of federation to minimize the efforts they need to go through for moderation and most of their users don't understand AND don't care about "composable moderation." Like, I think it's interesting as an experiment, but the bulk of users, for now, are staying right within the Bluesky universe.
@9042307f You're welcome. I'd also suggest
- letting them know the difference between the three "major" timelines (i.e. ppl you follow, instance, firehose)
- maybe having some "who to follow" suggestions
- letting them know there's no algo, they'll ONLY see who they follow or who is in those places
- how to follow a hashtag, with some suggestions
- ALT TEXT
They're lucky to have you doing this.
@9042307f
- I'd stick with the Masto app just b/c for a lot of people, using the default app with the same name as the tool will be easier for them.
- I'd pick out the instance in advance.
- I'd show them how to make a basic filter with an extreme example (like you can show your account, and then show it again without whatever the word is "Weather" or something)
- I'd find a few accounts for them to consider following that might be useful
- Show them Block/Mute tools and how to reply.
@8d211236 This happens to me at work during my library shift to people showing up at 4:25 PM when I go off work at 4:30 saying they just have a "quick tech question"
"What happens when large language models are asked to provide justifications for book bans? Do the same built-in guardrails that prevent them from generating pipe-bomb recipes kick in, or do models do their best to comply with the user’s request?"
The answer will... probably not surprise you.
https://lil.law.harvard.edu/blog/2023/09/25/ai-book-bans-freedom-to-read-case-study/
@426c6e71 I think one of the biggest favors that I do myself as a person with jobs is to not write down any of those middle of the night thoughts so I don't try to work on them the next morning when I've already forgotten them. :lolsob:
A few days late for Fall Equinox Greetings 2023, but now I can combine it with a Yom Kippur g’mar chatima tova! Here's a poem and a song and a picture to greet the shorter days.
"Joy is not made to be a crumb."
https://homemadejam.org/mix/fallequinox-2023.html
@e5ab6fae I've definitely seen some libraries that seem to collect much more towards their patrons specific interests. My library definitely gets a lot more local titles and some fairly specific mystery stuff than just the best sellers but I think in the suburbs especially your point is valid.
Would have wrapped up these "Day at Work" toots sooner but a woman came in at 4:55 needing to scan and email some documents. I had already shut the pubic computers down (and I don't actually know how the library scanner works that well) but we muddled through it. Such a fine line, right? Do you say "Sorry we're closing" or are you open until 4:59:59?" Anyhow, I cleaned this thing. I am pretty sure it's never been cleaned as long as I've been subbing at the library (15-ish years)
https://cdn.masto.host/glammrus/media_attachments/files/111/071/875/493/788/689/original/192c345156d5139c.jpeg
@2c46aa33 Yep it was a very brief illness as these things go. Sick for about four days and then did not get a Paxlovid rebound. Very lucky. Thanks for your well wishes.
Would have wrapped up these "Day at Work" toots sooner but a woman came in at 4:55 needing to scan and email some documents. I had already shut the pubic computers down (and I don't actually know how the library scanner works that well) but we muddled through it. Such a fine line, right? Do you say "Sorry we're closing" or are you open until 4:59:59?" Anyhow, I cleaned this thing. I am pretty sure it's never been cleaned as long as I've been subbing at the library (15-ish years)
https://cdn.masto.host/glammrus/media_attachments/files/111/071/875/493/788/689/original/192c345156d5139c.jpeg
@28c86fc0@8cb47b98 Yep. I hated to be such a crank about it, I know design is hard, but I'm in a LOT of active Slacks (at least a few for work) and it was a real problem to keep track of notifications with this redesign.
@f5045b53 OK gosh I thought it was just me. I see the scrollbars I don't need (though I assume that's an accessibility thing) but also a lot more annoying mouseovers. smaller buttons, moving around of the icons and a lot more dead space in the notifications column.
@b8cbaabf I just wonder about our profession when a giant organization can't schedule a post to go live on the day Banned Books Week actually starts. I think it's ultimately a library culture vs tech culture thing and mostly I'm just upset about censorship.
In other New Slack news: you can now ditch the gradient. I like to think this update addressed MY concerns specifically but I suspect they just got a lot of negative feedback.
"We just released an update to the Slack app to address your concerns with the gradient! Please refresh Slack, navigate to Preferences > Themes > Customize, and you should see the ability to adjust the gradient on/off and sidebar contrast."
Oddbean new post about login | logout
Notes by Jessamyn | export