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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

@mkramer.bsky.social

9.7K followers 1.9K following 2.5K posts

engagement + crowdsourcing products, ProPublica; librarian, journalist, hyperlocal information ecosystems, public(s) and participation, digital archives, dogs, civic joy, mom, mummer, board games, philly, carrboro north carolina 🌈 melodykramer.github.io

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · Nov 9

Intro: Hello! I’m a librarian and journalist who has also spent time with demographers, Wikipedia, and 18F. I care about hyperlocal information ecosystems, new models of information sharing, the South, digital archiving practices, hound dogs, and walking in the woods without headphones.

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 1h

working from the gorgeously well lit chapel hill public library this morning 🥰

Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 1h

cryogenic tips

a cartoon character is holding a can of iced tea in front of a city skyline

ALT: a cartoon character is holding a can of iced tea in front of a city skyline

media.tenor.com

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 1h

wait till you see what we’re cooking up next

a man with long hair and a beard is holding a steering wheel in his hands .

ALT: a man with long hair and a beard is holding a steering wheel in his hands .

media.tenor.com

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 1h

same my grandmother was really into bacos this is very nostalgic for me

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 2h

A nice write up in @usa.streetsblog.org!

usa.streetsblog.org/2025/10/08/t...

This Newsroom Is Looking For Its Next Big Tip on the Train — Streetsblog USA

Investigative journalists at ProPublica are betting that the next big tipster is riding the rails right now — and reaching out to find them.

usa.streetsblog.org

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

Megan O'Matz @megomatz.bsky.social · 2h

A policy expert described Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s push in favor of private schools as a “great American heist,” funneling money from public schools: “It’s a strategic theft of the future of our country, our kids and our democracy. @propublica.org

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.

Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...

www.propublica.org

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 4h

my favorite part of donating platelets is that they pile like 5 warmed blankets on top of you and you feel like a little caterpillar.

Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 4h

donating platelets due to a shortage at the local hospital. (received email that indicated they are in desperate need of platelets.) wrote about routinely donating platelets last year. very easy to do! triangleblogblog.com/2023/11/27/u...

Urgent: Holiday season platelet donors are needed at UNC! - Triangle Blog Blog

A group civics blog covering town council, education, transportation, and recreation in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC.

triangleblogblog.com

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 6h

NEW: As Linda McMahon guts the Dept. of Education, she’s operated in what she calls “a parallel universe” to radically shift how future kids will learn -- seeking to dismantle the public school system in favor of private and Christian schools or homeschooling.

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

Geoff Green @geoffgreen.org · 1d

My youngest has been e-biking to school since freshman year in 2022, and just broke 5,000 miles of riding—most of them on the way to and from school and midday college classes. Read what we've learned @triangleblogblog.bsky.social.

5,000 miles - Triangle Blog Blog

A group civics blog covering town council, education, transportation, and recreation in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC.

triangleblogblog.com

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 1d

We made a photo book with some of our favorite Dug memories. Lots of tears tonight.

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 1d

Dug got a cheeseburger tonight and a long walk around a park.

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 1d

Saying goodbye to Dug who is going to a different home tomorrow. We are all very, very sad but know this is the best for Dug and for our family. I will miss his velvety ears and sofa flops.

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

South Side Weekly @southsideweekly.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: In the weeks leading up to a massive ICE raid at a South Shore apartment building, neighbors saw drones surveilling the area, and teachers at a nearby school regularly saw agents in the neighborhood.

✍️ Jose Abonce for the Weekly and Maira Khwaja for @invisible.institute

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

Colin Campbell @raleighreporter.bsky.social · 1d

Crazy NC growth numbers here:
-Raleigh has now passed 500,000 residents
-Cary has way more people than Wilmington or Asheville
-Wendell's population grew by 73% in just four years
-Apex has more people than Chapel Hill

www.osbm.nc.gov/blog/2025/10...

Raleigh surpassed 500,000 people in 2024

Latest population estimates show rapid population growth in Triangle municipalities continues

www.osbm.nc.gov

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

Jeremy Markovich @ncrabbithole.com · 2d

The lawmaker accused of diluting the votes of Appalachian State students was honored in 2024 as a Distinguished Alumni of … Appalachian State www.ncrabbithole.com/p/why-voters...

Why do voters at Appalachian State keep getting picked on?

A new lawsuit is trying to overturn state laws that made it harder for students in Boone to have a voice in county politics. Who created those laws? A proud and powerful App State grad, that's who.

www.ncrabbithole.com

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 2d

we do a lot of math puzzles (pips in the times, big 10, whatever’s in games magazine.) think we might go to geometry next.

Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 2d

we’re there! we did both, and then decimals.

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Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 2d

teaching someone how to multiply two digits by two digits and then seeing it click is delightful.

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

Waldo Jaquith @waldo.net · 3d

The Trump administration has cancelled 4,304 deliveries to food banks so far this year, refusing to deliver 94 million pounds of contracted-for food. Food banks simply can’t feed people enough anymore. Millions of Americans are going hungry as a result.

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.

ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...

projects.propublica.org

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Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS

Carrie Brown @brizzyc.bsky.social · 2d

"Our takeaway is that mainstream fact-based journalism plays a central, if not the central, role in helping extremist politicians capture public attention." www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/how-...