Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Lauren Klein @laurenfklein.bsky.social · 1h

The syllabus and schedule for my fall semester quantitative literary analysis course is now online, better late than never! github.com/laurenfklein...

GitHub - laurenfklein/2025-quant-lit: Class labs for Fall 2025 ENG 385 on quantitative literary analysis

Class labs for Fall 2025 ENG 385 on quantitative literary analysis - GitHub - laurenfklein/2025-quant-lit: Class labs for Fall 2025 ENG 385 on quantitative literary analysis

github.com

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Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · 18h

Happy to announce that both my departments—English and Black & Latino Studies (BLS)—are hiring for TT positions this year!

In English, we're hiring in Anglophone South Asian.
cuny.jobs/new-york-ny/...

Jobs | City University of New York

cuny.jobs

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 20h

But I just looked up CollectionHQ, and I found out that B&T sold it to the Valsoft Corporation in July 😱: www.valsoftcorp.com/news/valsoft...

It's so hard to keep up with this stuff.

Valsoft Corporation Acquires collectionHQ, Global Leader in Library Collection Performance Solutions - Valsoft Corporation - Acquisition of Vertical Software Businesses

Montreal, Canada, June 27, 2025 – Valsoft Corporation Inc. (“Valsoft”), a Montreal-based company specializing in the acquisition and development of vertical market software businesses, is pleased to a...

www.valsoftcorp.com

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 20h

Baker & Taylor had pivoted toward algorithmic and digital tools in recent years. In 2011, they acquired (the parent company of) CollectionHQ, a management software widely used by libraries, which includes algorithms that predict how well books will circulate and automated diversity audit tools.

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 20h

Wow I can't believe that Baker & Taylor is going under. Fully agree that book distribution is a huge and often overlooked part of publishing and libraries.

We wrote a bit about B&T's history and relationship to public libraries in our recent FAccT paper: dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....

Sarah Weinman @sarahweinman.com · 23h

Distribution is THE under-reported story in book publishing (outside of the trade publications) and losing B&T is going to have untold ripple effects on the industry, small presses, and authors.

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 1d

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

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Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Nick Sturm @nicksturm.bsky.social · 23h

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 · 1d

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 Melanie Walsh

Sarah Weinman @sarahweinman.com · 23h

Distribution is THE under-reported story in book publishing (outside of the trade publications) and losing B&T is going to have untold ripple effects on the industry, small presses, and authors.

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 1d

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 Melanie Walsh

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 1d

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 Melanie Walsh

Heather Froehlich @heatherfro.bsky.social · 23h

We talked about how I made this workshop on Thursday; today (Tuesday) at 2pm in the University of Arizona Main Library Data Studio we're doing it live & in person! my slides are here if you want to have a look www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pwo8s..., huge hat tip to @mellymeldubs.bsky.social

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Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 5d

🚨🚨 My dear friend and fellow academic, the Palestinian American sociologist @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social has been taken by the Cook County Sheriff near Chicago. They have not mirandized her. Please signal boost. All eyes on Broadview for Eman and the community she was defending 🚨🚨

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 5d

Haha but you got it! Even when you know the poem, it's sometimes disorienting in this form!

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 5d

I'm sorry, and you're welcome 😅

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 5d

Yay glad you think it's fun! 💓

Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Wendy Willow Wark @wwilloww.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you, @mellymeldubs.bsky.social What fun!

Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 6d

I made a lil game inspired by the Wordle universe. It's called Versedle (pronounced Verse-a-dle). You guess who wrote famous lines of literature.

As my parents can attest, it's hard! I made them an Easy Mode, but it's still kinda hard. Maybe you'll like it!

▶️ 📚: melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/

VERSEDLE

Test your literary knowledge with Versedle!

melaniewalsh.github.io

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Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Molly White @molly.wiki · 5d

New research from AWU/CWU/Techquity on AI data workers in North America. “[L]ow paid people who are not even treated as humans [are] making the 1 billion dollar, trillion dollar AI systems that are supposed to lead our entire society and civilization into the future.”
cwa-union.org/ghost-worker...

We identify four broad themes that should concern policymakers: Workers struggle to make ends meet. 86% of surveyed workers worry about meeting their financial responsibilities, and 25% of respondents rely on public assistance, primarily food assistance and Medicaid. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (66%) report spending at least three hours weekly sitting at their computers waiting for tasks to be available, and 26% report spending more than eight hours waiting for tasks. Only 30% of respondents reported that they are paid for the time when no tasks are available. Workers reported a median hourly wage of $15 and a median workweek of 29 hours of paid time, which equates to annual earnings of $22,620. Workers perform critical, skilled work but are increasingly hamstrung by lack of control over the work process, which results in lower work output and, in turn, higher-risk AI systems. More than half of the workers who are assigned an average estimated time (AET) to complete a task felt that AETs are often not long enough to complete the task accurately. 87% of respondents report they are regularly assigned tasks for which they are not adequately trained. With limited or no access to mental health benefits, workers are unable to safeguard themselves even as they act as a first line of defense, protecting millions of people from harmful content and imperfect AI systems. Only 23% of surveyed workers are covered by health insurance from their employer. Deeply involved in every aspect of building AI systems, workers recognize the wide range of risks that these systems pose to themselves and to society at large. Fifty-two percent of surveyed workers believe they are training AI to replace other workers’ jobs, and 36% believe they are training AI to replace their own jobs. 74% were concerned about AI’s contribution to the spread of disinformation, 54% concerned about surveillance, and 47% concerned about the use of AI to suppress free speech, among other issues.

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 5d

Pay WNBA players what you owe them!

All-star WNBA rookies make like $70k while their NBA counterparts make like $12 million... umm that's crazy.

The league is booming, and the players deserve their share. Keep up the pressure!

www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

WNBA players say CBA negotiations are stalling as deadline nears

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Shameka 🏀 @shameka23.bsky.social · 6d

Nneka Ogwumike says time is almost up for the #WNBA

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Reposted by Melanie Walsh

The Athletic @theathletic.com · 7d

In a prepared statement during her team exit interview, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier called out WNBA leadership.

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you!

Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Amardeep Singh @electrostani.bsky.social · 5d

I just tried this and it's fun and beautifully designed (and maybe not *that* hard for someone who teaches English lit.!).

Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 6d

I made a lil game inspired by the Wordle universe. It's called Versedle (pronounced Verse-a-dle). You guess who wrote famous lines of literature.

As my parents can attest, it's hard! I made them an Easy Mode, but it's still kinda hard. Maybe you'll like it!

▶️ 📚: melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/

VERSEDLE

Test your literary knowledge with Versedle!

melaniewalsh.github.io

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you for playing, Deep! Yes I think the English profs are going to do better than my parents 😅 Hard Mode required.

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Reposted by Melanie Walsh

Heather Froehlich @heatherfro.bsky.social · 5d

ITHAKA S&R has started a Generative AI Licensing Agreement Tracker sr.ithaka.org/our-work/gen...

Generative AI Licensing Agreement Tracker - Ithaka S+R

In recent months, several publishers have announced that they are licensing their scholarly content for use as training data for LLMs. These deals

sr.ithaka.org

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 5d

If you're looking for the last possible excuse to procrastinate, this v nerdy Wordle-spinoff is here for you! Featuring lots of good poems and some author birthdays that may surprise you.

(The social image got messed up, so sharing again 😄.)

Game here: melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 6d

My dream is to add a million bonus rounds like Worldle: worldle.teuteuf.fr Masterclass in bonus rounds

Worldle - Guess the Country

A daily geography game where you guess the country from its shape and get clues with every attempt. Play daily or explore the archive.

worldle.teuteuf.fr

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Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 6d

I borrowed lots of the code from Tradle (github.com/alexandersim...), which borrowed from Worldle, which of course borrowed from Wordle.

Thank you to these lil games that help me momentarily stave off existential dread!

GitHub - alexandersimoes/tradle: OEC Tradle

OEC Tradle. Contribute to alexandersimoes/tradle development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

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