Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Micah Bateman

skellyton bones jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 15h

This is the second library director this year to win a settlement after being inappropriately fired over not banning books the board insisted be pulled.

That Librarian: Amanda Jones @librarianjones.com · 16h

Congratulations to Terri and Iris!!!
#BannedBooksWeek

www.cbsnews.com/news/wyoming...

Wyoming library director fired amid uproar over books with LGBTQ+ themes wins $700,000 settlement

Terri Lesley was fired amid an uproar over books with sexual content and LGBTQ+ themes that some people complained were inappropriate for youngsters.

www.cbsnews.com

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Reposted by Micah Bateman

Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 2d

This is a huge collapse in the book distribution business, especially following the closure of Small Press Distribution last year. Baker & Taylor--originally established in 1828--has been central to the library market for decades.

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 2d

seems very bad www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Baker & Taylor Prepares Plan to Shut Down

At a town hall yesterday, B&T owner and CEO Aman Kochar announced that following the termination of the ReaderLink acquisition deal, he does not see a path to keep the library wholesaler in business.

www.publishersweekly.com

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Reposted by Micah Bateman

Yuerong Hu @yrhu.bsky.social · Aug 18

My co-authors, Jana Diesner, @tedunderwood.me, @zoeleblanc.bsky.social, @gworthey.bsky.social and
@profdownie.bsky.social, and I are excited to share our paper in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social "Who decides what is read on Goodreads?" on book review sponsorship, open access at doi.org/10.1177/2053....

Hu, Y., Diesner, J., Underwood, T., LeBlanc, Z., Layne-Worthey, G., & Downie, J. S. (2025). Who decides what is read on Goodreads? Uncovering sponsorship and its implications for scholarly Research. Big Data & Society, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517251359229 (Original work published 2025)

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 20

New once-in-a-blue-moon poem out by yours truly. See if you can guess the very secret conceit!

Micah Bateman — Bennington Review

www.benningtonreview.org

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 19

The degree to which the new gilded-age political satire -- Don't Look Up, Succession, and in this case, Mountainhead -- sounds indistinguishable from reality is asymptotically approaching the totality horizon.

Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · Aug 18

The people dominating our political landscape, culture, and economy are just so stupid and full of shit it's almost impossible to describe

A transcription of a conversation between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and podcast host Theo Von on Von's podcast, in an excerpt from the Atlantic article "AI is a mass-delusion event" by Charlie Warzel:

"Sam Altman: I do guess that a lot of the world gets covered in data centers over time.

Theo Von: Do you really?

Altman: But I don’t know, because maybe we put them in space. Like, maybe we build a big Dyson sphere around the solar system and say, “Hey, it actually makes no sense to put these on Earth.”

Von: Yeah.

Altman: I wish I had, like, more concrete answers for you, but, like, we’re stumbling through this."

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 19

Granted he was a rabid anti-Federalist, so maybe not the cultural moment for ol' Freneau rn, but boy did he believe in the power of the small press to overthrow regimes

Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 19

Maybe an excerpt from section III of poets.org/poem/country...

The Country Printer

Beside a stream, that never yet ran dry, / There stands a TOWN, not high advanced in fame;

poets.org

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 18

Hard to explain knowledge domains and scope to people who are against knowledge.

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · Aug 18

Rather than defend faculty against the new law's intrusions on academic freedom, IU is telling faculty that they have to be ready to defend their own pedagogical choices. Including choices about what content to cover or not cover in class.

vpfaa.indiana.edu/doc/SEA-202-...

Slide from IU VPFAA saying "faculty must be able to defend their content selections through articulation of how the content aligns with discipline requirements/expectations."

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 18

omg

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · Aug 18

"We invite you to step across the threshold of ordinary life into a world of exquisite writing, spiritual luminescence, and fried lasagna."

Welcome to Mary Oliver Garden

Welcome to Mary Oliver Garden, home of Italian-adjacent cuisine and poignant observations about the human condition as it intersects with the natur...

buff.ly

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 18

When I've missed something, the school says, "Oh, did you not receive our notification?"

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Aug 18

My kids are starting two different schools. Each school uses 1,973 communication platforms. Each platform sends 791,237 notifications per day to my email.

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Reposted by Micah Bateman

Colleen @librarycolleen.bsky.social · Jul 30

Early Closure of House Leaves IMLS Future Hanging; What This Means & What You Can Do (7-29-2025) 📚
bookriot.com/imls-funding...

Early Closure of House Leaves IMLS Future Hanging; What This Means & What You Can Do

The abrupt early recess in the House of Representatives means the future of IMLS funding remains a question mark. Use this time to act.

bookriot.com

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jul 18

I'm just speaking on behalf of a certain repository, where the bottom line is: "We'd give you the data if you'd wait your turn!"

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jul 18

I mean I've always been a copyleftist, esp when things have been produced with public money, so it does surprise me to see OA people rethinking their commitment to the commons

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jul 18

I feel like rn the debate is like...

A: We're for Open Access! But bots are overloading our site!
B: Create a login wall!
A: That's less open!
B: So is having a laggy site!

fin

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Reposted by Micah Bateman

DH2026 | X/Twitter (@DH2026_Daejeon) @dh2026daejeon.bsky.social · Jul 6

🎉Hello, DH community! The official DH2026 account is now live!
🇰🇷 Daejeon, South Korea | July 27-31, 2026
🎯Theme: Engagement | Hosted by @kadhsocial.bsky.social
Can't wait to see you after @dh2025lisbon.bsky.social Following @dh2024.bsky.social let's build our community!
#DH2026 @adho-org.bsky.social

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jul 10

"What Is Permitted to Jove" by Hannah Arendt

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jul 6

ah, now’s that sweet time of the summer when for the rest of the summer I lament having wasted the summer

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jun 30

My name is Bateman and I am finally watching American Psycho for the very first time

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jun 29

Now that research funding has been gutted, will T&P standards shift accordingly? Or nah

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Reposted by Micah Bateman

jennie rose halperin @littlewow.online · Jun 25

There is so much good work coming out of @libraryfutures.bsky.social right now, but this Zine we sponsored featuring writing from incarcerated librarians is really special and beautiful. I learned so much from these knowledge workers’ writing. www.libraryfutures.net/publications...

Controlled Chaos

Research and advocacy for the future of libraries.

www.libraryfutures.net

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jun 23

I've found this to come in handy playing NYT Flashback

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jun 23

I just feel like after 32 years of thinking about how to fend off a velociraptor, I could do it

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jun 21

Yup, that's what it was called in my hometown ^^

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Micah Bateman @micahbateman.bsky.social · Jun 19

whoever taught my kids the copycat game come outside i just wanna talk

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