Dr Beth
@drbeth.bsky.social
The librarian formerly known (on twitter) as @Phdgeek. Into nerdy stuff, open research, EDI campaigning, powerlifting and climbing. 🏳️🌈
Pinned
Dr Beth
@drbeth.bsky.social
· Nov 19
So I did a bit of a search around and these are the past and present Francis Crick Institute folks that I could find.
I can't guarantee they're talking about science, but if they are, you know it's going to be cool science 😉
FYI - @thecrick.bsky.social
go.bsky.app/2tMmrSY
I can't guarantee they're talking about science, but if they are, you know it's going to be cool science 😉
FYI - @thecrick.bsky.social
go.bsky.app/2tMmrSY
Reposted by Dr Beth
Do you work in a UK HE library? Are you early-career? Would you like a sponsored place to attend the Copim Conference at the end of February?
Find out how to apply for these sponsored places, which are offered in memory of our beloved friend and colleague, Elaine Sykes: buff.ly/sbU2eRP
#OAbooks
Find out how to apply for these sponsored places, which are offered in memory of our beloved friend and colleague, Elaine Sykes: buff.ly/sbU2eRP
#OAbooks
Sponsored places for the Copim Conference 2026 - Copim
Copim is offering a minimum of three sponsored places to this year’s conference ‘Exploring the future of community-led open access books’. Find out more in th…
copim.pub
January 15, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Do you work in a UK HE library? Are you early-career? Would you like a sponsored place to attend the Copim Conference at the end of February?
Find out how to apply for these sponsored places, which are offered in memory of our beloved friend and colleague, Elaine Sykes: buff.ly/sbU2eRP
#OAbooks
Find out how to apply for these sponsored places, which are offered in memory of our beloved friend and colleague, Elaine Sykes: buff.ly/sbU2eRP
#OAbooks
When you look at the placement of the towns & cities carefully there's a lot of nonsense, but I'm particularly enjoying the fact that Manchester Piccadilly seems to be just south of Sheffield - would be much easier to get to 😆
January 14, 2026 at 1:44 PM
When you look at the placement of the towns & cities carefully there's a lot of nonsense, but I'm particularly enjoying the fact that Manchester Piccadilly seems to be just south of Sheffield - would be much easier to get to 😆
Post Christmas I'm still finding days in the hotdesking, open plan office completely overwhelming. Two days of trains & open plan and I'm burnt out.
Struggling to get going today!
(Luckily I'm in my nice quiet home office)
Struggling to get going today!
(Luckily I'm in my nice quiet home office)
January 14, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Post Christmas I'm still finding days in the hotdesking, open plan office completely overwhelming. Two days of trains & open plan and I'm burnt out.
Struggling to get going today!
(Luckily I'm in my nice quiet home office)
Struggling to get going today!
(Luckily I'm in my nice quiet home office)
This article made me slightly reassess AI created papers.
Maybe it's just the way technology moves on. Postdoc in my Phd lab got his for sequencing a gene, move on a few years & that's easy, you've got to do more.
Maybe this is just tech making certain analyses easy, forcing us to do more.
Maybe it's just the way technology moves on. Postdoc in my Phd lab got his for sequencing a gene, move on a few years & that's easy, you've got to do more.
Maybe this is just tech making certain analyses easy, forcing us to do more.
I just finished a three-year term as an editor at an international relations journal. I began at the start of the LLM era but ended right in the middle of it. Our volume of submissions tripled and our desk reject rate rose to 75%. I have some thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/hegemon/...
open.substack.com/pub/hegemon/...
The Age of Academic Slop is Upon Us
what happens when AI automates "normal science"?
open.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:56 AM
This article made me slightly reassess AI created papers.
Maybe it's just the way technology moves on. Postdoc in my Phd lab got his for sequencing a gene, move on a few years & that's easy, you've got to do more.
Maybe this is just tech making certain analyses easy, forcing us to do more.
Maybe it's just the way technology moves on. Postdoc in my Phd lab got his for sequencing a gene, move on a few years & that's easy, you've got to do more.
Maybe this is just tech making certain analyses easy, forcing us to do more.
Overheard on EMR train from London to Sheffield "Reservations have become futile".
Very Borg 😂
Very Borg 😂
January 13, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Overheard on EMR train from London to Sheffield "Reservations have become futile".
Very Borg 😂
Very Borg 😂
Reposted by Dr Beth
Ten years after his first article on the subject @rickanderson.bsky.social looks back on "Ten years of a ‘quiet culture war’: where does it stand now?" for #UKSGInsights dub.sh/kih9XK7
January 13, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Ten years after his first article on the subject @rickanderson.bsky.social looks back on "Ten years of a ‘quiet culture war’: where does it stand now?" for #UKSGInsights dub.sh/kih9XK7
This matches what I've seen for GenAI for general search - folks feel like its great for things they don't know about, but can easily see how wrong it is when they ask it about a subject they're familiar with.
I suppose it makes you kind of okay at things you're really, really awful at...
I suppose it makes you kind of okay at things you're really, really awful at...
the discourse on what jobs are acceptable to replace with generative AI reveals a lot about what we think of other people's jobs
January 9, 2026 at 2:43 PM
This matches what I've seen for GenAI for general search - folks feel like its great for things they don't know about, but can easily see how wrong it is when they ask it about a subject they're familiar with.
I suppose it makes you kind of okay at things you're really, really awful at...
I suppose it makes you kind of okay at things you're really, really awful at...
Reposted by Dr Beth
The British Library’s modernised catalogue is now live on Alma, with Primo VE enhancing discovery - strengthening a UK national institution that serves millions. More here: clarivate.com/academia-gov...
British Library Modernises with Alma and Primo
The British Library has restored services and launched a modern Alma‑powered catalogue, improving search, access and user experience through its partnership with Clarivate.
clarivate.com
January 9, 2026 at 10:07 AM
The British Library’s modernised catalogue is now live on Alma, with Primo VE enhancing discovery - strengthening a UK national institution that serves millions. More here: clarivate.com/academia-gov...
Reposted by Dr Beth
Explorer & naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was born #OTD in 1823. He independently conceived the theory of evolution by natural selection & was the father of biogeography.
His portrait hangs at the Society alongside Charles Darwin, commemorating the 1858 reading of their joint paper on evolution.
His portrait hangs at the Society alongside Charles Darwin, commemorating the 1858 reading of their joint paper on evolution.
January 9, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Explorer & naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was born #OTD in 1823. He independently conceived the theory of evolution by natural selection & was the father of biogeography.
His portrait hangs at the Society alongside Charles Darwin, commemorating the 1858 reading of their joint paper on evolution.
His portrait hangs at the Society alongside Charles Darwin, commemorating the 1858 reading of their joint paper on evolution.
Finally Sheffield has seen some decent snow this winter 😀
January 9, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Finally Sheffield has seen some decent snow this winter 😀
Just told by the train tannoy that to find out about snow based train cancellations later today I should follow them on X.
Why are these businesses still using that platform as their main comms place?
Why are these businesses still using that platform as their main comms place?
January 8, 2026 at 8:37 AM
Just told by the train tannoy that to find out about snow based train cancellations later today I should follow them on X.
Why are these businesses still using that platform as their main comms place?
Why are these businesses still using that platform as their main comms place?
FFS, reminds me of when a reading at my wedding was very nearly banned - it was that part of Plato's Symposium which talks about Zeus splitting apart humans and love as the pursuit of becoming whole again...bc religious readings weren't allowed and Zeus is a god 🙃
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
Texas A&M Bans Plato - Daily Nous
Drop the race and gender material from your course and the Plato readings, or teach a different course. You have a day to decide. That's a paraphrase of what Martin Peterson, professor of philosophy a...
dailynous.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:36 PM
FFS, reminds me of when a reading at my wedding was very nearly banned - it was that part of Plato's Symposium which talks about Zeus splitting apart humans and love as the pursuit of becoming whole again...bc religious readings weren't allowed and Zeus is a god 🙃
Reposted by Dr Beth
On the subject of precise language and “artificial intelligence,” I also really like this piece from Emily Tucker on power, technology, and language, and why the Center on Privacy & Technology "will stop using the terms 'artificial intelligence,' ‘AI,' and 'machine learning.’"
Artifice and Intelligence
Executive Director Emily Tucker explains why you won’t hear us say “artificial intelligence.”
medium.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:58 PM
On the subject of precise language and “artificial intelligence,” I also really like this piece from Emily Tucker on power, technology, and language, and why the Center on Privacy & Technology "will stop using the terms 'artificial intelligence,' ‘AI,' and 'machine learning.’"
Worst day of the year for me. The christmas tree is down and my world is no longer filled with sparkly lights.
Wife did suggest we just keep things up all year, but it'd lose the magic.
Wife did suggest we just keep things up all year, but it'd lose the magic.
January 6, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Worst day of the year for me. The christmas tree is down and my world is no longer filled with sparkly lights.
Wife did suggest we just keep things up all year, but it'd lose the magic.
Wife did suggest we just keep things up all year, but it'd lose the magic.
How are people still saying we must engage with these things or be left behind when there are so many security risks?
I had high hopes for genAI a couple of years ago, I thought it was going to be great. Very much don't feel that now.
I had high hopes for genAI a couple of years ago, I thought it was going to be great. Very much don't feel that now.
I'm almost certainly late to this, but the list of risks for the Claude in Chrome beta is 👀. Essentially, you the human need to be extremely cautious so that the AI agent can be permissive support.claude.com/en/articles/...
January 6, 2026 at 6:25 PM
How are people still saying we must engage with these things or be left behind when there are so many security risks?
I had high hopes for genAI a couple of years ago, I thought it was going to be great. Very much don't feel that now.
I had high hopes for genAI a couple of years ago, I thought it was going to be great. Very much don't feel that now.
Hmm, I guess I can provide: Fantasy fiction (not that esoteric), editions of carols for choirs (but its the last day for that!), details & rules of niche sports, a bit about medieval weaponry and classical music stuff.
u heard sharon, everyone post about their esoteric interests right fucking now. for the good of the community, we need to be hyperfixationmaxxing.
i think this site really needs to figure out how to grow the non-politics verticals (the baseball moment was a good thing!) because i suspect a lot of the bad clusters come out of the political clusters driving 95% of ENG-lang posts
January 6, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Hmm, I guess I can provide: Fantasy fiction (not that esoteric), editions of carols for choirs (but its the last day for that!), details & rules of niche sports, a bit about medieval weaponry and classical music stuff.
Does anyone else find themselves thinking about Neville Chamberlain a lot these days?
January 6, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Does anyone else find themselves thinking about Neville Chamberlain a lot these days?
Reposted by Dr Beth
EU pals - shipping is restored!
For the first time since Brexit you can now get my rainbow Science and Science Fiction pin badges across Europe.
Tell your pals!
proudscience.etsy.com
For the first time since Brexit you can now get my rainbow Science and Science Fiction pin badges across Europe.
Tell your pals!
proudscience.etsy.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:50 PM
EU pals - shipping is restored!
For the first time since Brexit you can now get my rainbow Science and Science Fiction pin badges across Europe.
Tell your pals!
proudscience.etsy.com
For the first time since Brexit you can now get my rainbow Science and Science Fiction pin badges across Europe.
Tell your pals!
proudscience.etsy.com
Reposted by Dr Beth
Tell me we should trust AI to give us the facts. Tell me it's a future we can put our faith in. Come at me. I'm right here, waiting.
January 4, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Tell me we should trust AI to give us the facts. Tell me it's a future we can put our faith in. Come at me. I'm right here, waiting.
Reposted by Dr Beth
When I pitched the 'big gay book of libraries' I said I was going to write a positive and uplifting books. But it's hard, folks.
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
January 5, 2026 at 7:36 AM
When I pitched the 'big gay book of libraries' I said I was going to write a positive and uplifting books. But it's hard, folks.
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
When I pitched the 'big gay book of libraries' I said I was going to write a positive and uplifting books. But it's hard, folks.
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
January 5, 2026 at 7:36 AM
When I pitched the 'big gay book of libraries' I said I was going to write a positive and uplifting books. But it's hard, folks.
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
I just find myself writing about discrimination and censorship, again and again.
1/2
I'm a librarian and I always lose my library books. If the libraries I use (other than mine) still had late fees, I wouldn't use them...
Abolishing library late fees/any intervention to address car dependency:
"One on hand, it's been objectively demonstrated to work by any useful metric but also I feel like it doesn't & it'd mean people I look down on get away with something & when you really think about it that's what's important."
"One on hand, it's been objectively demonstrated to work by any useful metric but also I feel like it doesn't & it'd mean people I look down on get away with something & when you really think about it that's what's important."
January 4, 2026 at 8:31 PM
I'm a librarian and I always lose my library books. If the libraries I use (other than mine) still had late fees, I wouldn't use them...
Reposted by Dr Beth
In what's now become an annual tradition, I've written another piece for The Gist about how and why I hate A.I.
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
Guest Gist: 2026, Our Already Rotting Future
Seamus O'Reilly warns of AI maximum bubbledrive this year.
www.thegist.ie
January 2, 2026 at 10:25 AM
In what's now become an annual tradition, I've written another piece for The Gist about how and why I hate A.I.
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
Reposted by Dr Beth
📚 Put pressure on publishers to follow best practice — external regulation is the answer
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Put pressure on publishers to follow best practice — external regulation is the answer
Journals that work hard to meet the needs of both authors and readers should be acknowledged publicly — encouraging others to follow suit.
www.nature.com
January 2, 2026 at 8:13 AM
📚 Put pressure on publishers to follow best practice — external regulation is the answer
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...