Christian
@ceebarnacles.bsky.social
By the sea or by the books.
Pinned
As part of the Fredson Bowers award from @bibsoc.bsky.social (🙏) I’ll be giving a short talk on ‘The reassembly, analysis and appraisal of John Bellingham Inglis (1780-1870): #rarebooks collector; savant; scholar; slave owner’
November 18th, 5-7pm.
In person / online bibsoc.org.uk/event/panel-...
November 18th, 5-7pm.
In person / online bibsoc.org.uk/event/panel-...
Reposted by Christian
Voices in Slavery’s Archive: Law, Place & Testimony in British Guiana
making the largest collection of first-person testimony of enslaved people from the Caribbean in existence – the Reports of the Protectors of Slaves – accessible.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/p...
#History
making the largest collection of first-person testimony of enslaved people from the Caribbean in existence – the Reports of the Protectors of Slaves – accessible.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/p...
#History
Project to bring voices of enslaved people to life - The National Archives
The National Archives is working with international academics to make the largest collection of first-person testimony of enslaved people from the Caribbean in existence – the Reports of the Protector...
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Voices in Slavery’s Archive: Law, Place & Testimony in British Guiana
making the largest collection of first-person testimony of enslaved people from the Caribbean in existence – the Reports of the Protectors of Slaves – accessible.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/p...
#History
making the largest collection of first-person testimony of enslaved people from the Caribbean in existence – the Reports of the Protectors of Slaves – accessible.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/p...
#History
Word counts. I shit ‘em. If you got to write your own obituary there’d be a bloody word count wouldn’t there?!
November 25, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Word counts. I shit ‘em. If you got to write your own obituary there’d be a bloody word count wouldn’t there?!
I have discovered ‘Didgeridoo Drone’ 🎧🪃👌
November 25, 2025 at 8:14 AM
I have discovered ‘Didgeridoo Drone’ 🎧🪃👌
Capitalism. It saw you coming.
Black Friday discounts fail to offer cheapest prices, Which? research finds
Black Friday discounts fail to offer cheapest prices, Which? research finds
Products sold by retailers including John Lewis and Very among those cheaper outside of November discount period
Shoppers holding out for a Black Friday bargain on 28 November may not get the best prices, according to Which? research that found none of the offers on the day were at their lowest level over a 12-month stretch.
The consumer group compared prices for 175 home, tech and health appliances across eight retailers, ranging from Amazon to John Lewis. Prices were tracked over a full year, from May 2024 to May 2025, including the 2024 Black Friday period. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Capitalism. It saw you coming.
Reposted by Christian
📌
Someone bought a bunch of the turkeys and hams at our local grocery in town and told the manager to make them available for free to folks that need them. There’s a whole freezer case with a sign on it that just says “If you need one take one, if you don’t then leave it for someone else.”
November 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
📌
Can anyone think of a less 🤮 phrase for ‘passion project’?
‘Passion’ is one of my bugbear words - up there with ‘literally’ (both overused colloquially). I usually use ‘intensity of feeling’ as a synonym for ‘passion’.
‘Passion’ is one of my bugbear words - up there with ‘literally’ (both overused colloquially). I usually use ‘intensity of feeling’ as a synonym for ‘passion’.
November 24, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Can anyone think of a less 🤮 phrase for ‘passion project’?
‘Passion’ is one of my bugbear words - up there with ‘literally’ (both overused colloquially). I usually use ‘intensity of feeling’ as a synonym for ‘passion’.
‘Passion’ is one of my bugbear words - up there with ‘literally’ (both overused colloquially). I usually use ‘intensity of feeling’ as a synonym for ‘passion’.
Reposted by Christian
“If only they had fewer rights, then people wouldn’t hate them so much and we would hit some golden ratio where everyone will be happier. Because immigration perception and immigration reality are famously aligned things.”
November 24, 2025 at 7:16 AM
“If only they had fewer rights, then people wouldn’t hate them so much and we would hit some golden ratio where everyone will be happier. Because immigration perception and immigration reality are famously aligned things.”
Reposted by Christian
Reposted by Christian
Tom Gauld on librarians v booksellers – cartoon
Tom Gauld on librarians v booksellers – cartoon
There’s no competition …
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Tom Gauld on librarians v booksellers – cartoon
Reposted by Christian
The British Library needs leadership that understands what’s involved, what’s gone wrong, what needs fixing, what needs jettisoning and what is reasonably expected of a library with encyclopaedic resources that represent all aspects of human thought, history, experience and hope.
Give us a Panizzi!
Give us a Panizzi!
Good to see the problems facing our colleagues @britishlibrary.bsky.social being raised here by @hetanshah.bsky.social (of @britishacademy.bsky.social). If this had happened in France it would be considered a national problem to be urgently addressed! www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:12 PM
The British Library needs leadership that understands what’s involved, what’s gone wrong, what needs fixing, what needs jettisoning and what is reasonably expected of a library with encyclopaedic resources that represent all aspects of human thought, history, experience and hope.
Give us a Panizzi!
Give us a Panizzi!
Reposted by Christian
Good to see the problems facing our colleagues @britishlibrary.bsky.social being raised here by @hetanshah.bsky.social (of @britishacademy.bsky.social). If this had happened in France it would be considered a national problem to be urgently addressed! www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Good to see the problems facing our colleagues @britishlibrary.bsky.social being raised here by @hetanshah.bsky.social (of @britishacademy.bsky.social). If this had happened in France it would be considered a national problem to be urgently addressed! www.cityam.com/the-british-...
Reposted by Christian
Come for the article about the British Library hack, stay for the impromptu reading group that pops up in the replies (my librarian heart grew three sizes just now)
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Come for the article about the British Library hack, stay for the impromptu reading group that pops up in the replies (my librarian heart grew three sizes just now)
Reposted by Christian
As a @britishlibrary.bsky.social reader, I urge the management to stop fooling around, treat staff with respect and settle a decent pay award, righting three years + of wrongs. @ceebarnacles.bsky.social @pcsunion.bsky.social
Breaking: British Library staff reject improved pay offer after strike.
Union members unanimously dismiss 3.8 per cent pay increase and threaten to escalate industrial action.
Free to read.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Union members unanimously dismiss 3.8 per cent pay increase and threaten to escalate industrial action.
Free to read.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
British Library staff reject improved pay offer after strike - Research Professional News
Union members unanimously dismiss 3.8 per cent pay increase and threaten to escalate industrial action
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM
As a @britishlibrary.bsky.social reader, I urge the management to stop fooling around, treat staff with respect and settle a decent pay award, righting three years + of wrongs. @ceebarnacles.bsky.social @pcsunion.bsky.social
Reposted by Christian
'at a meeting on 19 November, PCS said its “members voted unanimously to reject the revised offer”. The union has written to the British Library requesting an improved offer by 24 November, warning it “will consider escalating the dispute if our demands are not met”.'
Breaking: British Library staff reject improved pay offer after strike.
Union members unanimously dismiss 3.8 per cent pay increase and threaten to escalate industrial action.
Free to read.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Union members unanimously dismiss 3.8 per cent pay increase and threaten to escalate industrial action.
Free to read.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
British Library staff reject improved pay offer after strike - Research Professional News
Union members unanimously dismiss 3.8 per cent pay increase and threaten to escalate industrial action
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
'at a meeting on 19 November, PCS said its “members voted unanimously to reject the revised offer”. The union has written to the British Library requesting an improved offer by 24 November, warning it “will consider escalating the dispute if our demands are not met”.'
Sick of the demolition of all that is collective, progressive, sustaining and good.
The people who rule aren’t content with having so freakin much to themselves - they rabidly set about disinheriting people of every last good thing there is.
Knowledge IS power and it’s being thieved by the rich.
The people who rule aren’t content with having so freakin much to themselves - they rabidly set about disinheriting people of every last good thing there is.
Knowledge IS power and it’s being thieved by the rich.
State Library Victoria is being diminished by ignorant leadership and management.
Seriously, these ‘managers’ and politicos think now people have the internet they don’t need professional library workers.
People with power simply don’t want places for people to gather
archive.md/2025.11.21-0...
Seriously, these ‘managers’ and politicos think now people have the internet they don’t need professional library workers.
People with power simply don’t want places for people to gather
archive.md/2025.11.21-0...
archive.md
November 21, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Sick of the demolition of all that is collective, progressive, sustaining and good.
The people who rule aren’t content with having so freakin much to themselves - they rabidly set about disinheriting people of every last good thing there is.
Knowledge IS power and it’s being thieved by the rich.
The people who rule aren’t content with having so freakin much to themselves - they rabidly set about disinheriting people of every last good thing there is.
Knowledge IS power and it’s being thieved by the rich.
State Library Victoria is being diminished by ignorant leadership and management.
Seriously, these ‘managers’ and politicos think now people have the internet they don’t need professional library workers.
People with power simply don’t want places for people to gather
archive.md/2025.11.21-0...
Seriously, these ‘managers’ and politicos think now people have the internet they don’t need professional library workers.
People with power simply don’t want places for people to gather
archive.md/2025.11.21-0...
archive.md
November 21, 2025 at 10:13 AM
State Library Victoria is being diminished by ignorant leadership and management.
Seriously, these ‘managers’ and politicos think now people have the internet they don’t need professional library workers.
People with power simply don’t want places for people to gather
archive.md/2025.11.21-0...
Seriously, these ‘managers’ and politicos think now people have the internet they don’t need professional library workers.
People with power simply don’t want places for people to gather
archive.md/2025.11.21-0...
Good. People can be so hesitant to have things checked and cancer screening should be universal.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Prostate cancer screening trial to recruit thousands of men
The study aims to find the best way to detect prostate cancer - the most common cancer in men in the UK.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Good. People can be so hesitant to have things checked and cancer screening should be universal.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Christian
#OtD 20 Nov 1896 Jewish garment worker organiser and anarchist Rose Pesotta was born in Ukraine. She was active in NYC, narrowly avoided deportation, and badly beaten by anti-union thugs, causing her permanent hearing loss, but did not give up stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9309...
November 20, 2025 at 9:55 PM
#OtD 20 Nov 1896 Jewish garment worker organiser and anarchist Rose Pesotta was born in Ukraine. She was active in NYC, narrowly avoided deportation, and badly beaten by anti-union thugs, causing her permanent hearing loss, but did not give up stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9309...
Reposted by Christian
We installed a new Jane Austen display case in time for Jane's 250th birthday in December. The display is available in the Treasures Gallery (free) at the British Library in London until 15 March 2026. Blogpost: www.bl.uk/stories/blog...
November 20, 2025 at 4:10 PM
We installed a new Jane Austen display case in time for Jane's 250th birthday in December. The display is available in the Treasures Gallery (free) at the British Library in London until 15 March 2026. Blogpost: www.bl.uk/stories/blog...
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
Nothing on pay restoration for last year’s shortfall where BL workers got 3% compared to other public sector workers receiving 5%
The commitment to paying the Living Wage only applies to 17% of staff (and was expressed long before strike action commenced)
Shabby!!
Nothing on pay restoration for last year’s shortfall where BL workers got 3% compared to other public sector workers receiving 5%
The commitment to paying the Living Wage only applies to 17% of staff (and was expressed long before strike action commenced)
Shabby!!
November 20, 2025 at 5:49 PM
www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
Nothing on pay restoration for last year’s shortfall where BL workers got 3% compared to other public sector workers receiving 5%
The commitment to paying the Living Wage only applies to 17% of staff (and was expressed long before strike action commenced)
Shabby!!
Nothing on pay restoration for last year’s shortfall where BL workers got 3% compared to other public sector workers receiving 5%
The commitment to paying the Living Wage only applies to 17% of staff (and was expressed long before strike action commenced)
Shabby!!
Reposted by Christian
Gosh, has it really reached this point in the year again? Your annual reminder to be careful how you put Christmas lights on palm trees.
November 19, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Gosh, has it really reached this point in the year again? Your annual reminder to be careful how you put Christmas lights on palm trees.
Reposted by Christian
Pleased to announce the Wheatley Census is ready for 1.0 public release! As detailed a census as possible (right now) of the first six editions - those printed in the 18th century - of Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, is available here: www.wheatleycensus.org.
Wheatley Census
www.wheatleycensus.org
November 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Pleased to announce the Wheatley Census is ready for 1.0 public release! As detailed a census as possible (right now) of the first six editions - those printed in the 18th century - of Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, is available here: www.wheatleycensus.org.
Reposted by Christian
So even though there were readers/translators of Wheatley amongst French abolitionists, why aren’t there obvious surviving copies in institutions? English vs French language books? Protestant print in a Catholic country? The tumult of the 1780s/90s? Can anyone help me find find copies in France?
November 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
So even though there were readers/translators of Wheatley amongst French abolitionists, why aren’t there obvious surviving copies in institutions? English vs French language books? Protestant print in a Catholic country? The tumult of the 1780s/90s? Can anyone help me find find copies in France?