Rotting Bit
@rottingbit.bsky.social
Librarian/Archivist interested in digital culture and preservation
Reposted by Rotting Bit
"Almost all the infrastructure we now use to find, access, and read books in virtual environments... has existed for two decades. So why are the vast majority of digitized books still inaccessible on the web?"
Monica Westin says it doesn't need to be this way.
asteriskmag.com/issues/12-bo...
Monica Westin says it doesn't need to be this way.
asteriskmag.com/issues/12-bo...
The Dream of the Universal Library—Asterisk
The Internet promised easy access to every book ever written. Why can’t we have nice things?
asteriskmag.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:31 PM
"Almost all the infrastructure we now use to find, access, and read books in virtual environments... has existed for two decades. So why are the vast majority of digitized books still inaccessible on the web?"
Monica Westin says it doesn't need to be this way.
asteriskmag.com/issues/12-bo...
Monica Westin says it doesn't need to be this way.
asteriskmag.com/issues/12-bo...
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Book I would swear an oath on.
January 2, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Book I would swear an oath on.
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Some of my 📚 have included 50+ photos. I've spent *entire summers* tracking down rights holders + handling clearances. Every copyrighted graphic in 100+ articles and chapters: all researched, cleared, and, in most cases, *paid for*. That's a ton of time, expertise, effort, and (unrecouped) 💰.
“I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work.”
From May 2025: www.theverge.com/news/674366/...
From May 2025: www.theverge.com/news/674366/...
January 1, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Some of my 📚 have included 50+ photos. I've spent *entire summers* tracking down rights holders + handling clearances. Every copyrighted graphic in 100+ articles and chapters: all researched, cleared, and, in most cases, *paid for*. That's a ton of time, expertise, effort, and (unrecouped) 💰.
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Happy New Year! We love sharing these pro-book posters from the Works Projects Administration Poster Collection in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress's collection of more than 900 is the largest.
January 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Happy New Year! We love sharing these pro-book posters from the Works Projects Administration Poster Collection in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress's collection of more than 900 is the largest.
Reposted by Rotting Bit
This story reminds us that:
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
They're going to *throw out* one-of-a-kind NASA archives?!
Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
December 31, 2025 at 8:15 PM
This story reminds us that:
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Some carts need a warning label
December 19, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Some carts need a warning label
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Leading Tech Policy Group Calls for Urgent Review of Speech Recognition Technology (via @acm.org) www.acm.org/media-center... #asr #speechrecognition
December 19, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Leading Tech Policy Group Calls for Urgent Review of Speech Recognition Technology (via @acm.org) www.acm.org/media-center... #asr #speechrecognition
Reposted by Rotting Bit
AAUP Raises Alarm Over Palantir’s Work for Ed Department
www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
AAUP Raises Alarm Over Palantir's Work for Ed Department
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is publicly expressing concern about the Education Department working with Palantir, a controversial artificial intelligence and data analysis ...
www.insidehighered.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:52 PM
AAUP Raises Alarm Over Palantir’s Work for Ed Department
www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
Reposted by Rotting Bit
"This document outlines the reasons why we don’t currently use AI in archival processes – including archival appraisal, acquisition, arrangement and description (processing), digital preservation, and access – as well as how we support our user communities who want to employ AI..." (via Nate Hill)
AI Use in Our Archival Processes
Statement on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in archival processes at the Rockefeller Archive Center.
docs.rockarch.org
December 11, 2025 at 11:16 PM
"This document outlines the reasons why we don’t currently use AI in archival processes – including archival appraisal, acquisition, arrangement and description (processing), digital preservation, and access – as well as how we support our user communities who want to employ AI..." (via Nate Hill)
Reposted by Rotting Bit
This is so amazing and underrated, and probably great for like a low(er)-key Advent of Code datasittersclub.github.io/site/index.h...
The Data-Sitters Club
DSC logo Need a fun way to learn about computational text analysis for digital humanities? The Data-Sitters Club has you covered with 23 main books and 5 multilingual mysteries! Feeling lost? Check...
datasittersclub.github.io
December 5, 2025 at 11:22 PM
This is so amazing and underrated, and probably great for like a low(er)-key Advent of Code datasittersclub.github.io/site/index.h...
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Good news today for anyone who got a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services: all grants are reinstated! www.imls.gov/news/statem...
Statement of Agency’s Reinstatement of Terminated IMLS Grants
Statement of Agency’s Reinstatement of Terminated IMLS Grants Washington, DC– Upon further review, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has reinstated all federal grants. This action supersedes any prior notices which may have been received related to grant termination.
www.imls.gov
December 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Good news today for anyone who got a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services: all grants are reinstated! www.imls.gov/news/statem...
Reposted by Rotting Bit
FWIW, I celebrate ILL in this recent article :)
December 3, 2025 at 3:02 AM
FWIW, I celebrate ILL in this recent article :)
Reposted by Rotting Bit
New Research Tool: GovScape (US Gov PDFs)
govscape.net ||| Research Paper (preprint) About #GovScape arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010 #govdocs @eotarchive.org
govscape.net ||| Research Paper (preprint) About #GovScape arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010 #govdocs @eotarchive.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
New Research Tool: GovScape (US Gov PDFs)
govscape.net ||| Research Paper (preprint) About #GovScape arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010 #govdocs @eotarchive.org
govscape.net ||| Research Paper (preprint) About #GovScape arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010 #govdocs @eotarchive.org
Reposted by Rotting Bit
“If the government starts using the database and does not put out the appropriate disclosure and then later does put out that appropriate disclosure, they still have violated the law,” EFF’s Adam Schwartz told @WIRED.com.
www.wired.com/story/socia...
www.wired.com/story/socia...
Social Security Data Is Openly Being Shared With DHS to Target Immigrants
For months, the Social Security Administration was quietly sharing sensitive data about immigrants with DHS. Now it’s official.
www.wired.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM
“If the government starts using the database and does not put out the appropriate disclosure and then later does put out that appropriate disclosure, they still have violated the law,” EFF’s Adam Schwartz told @WIRED.com.
www.wired.com/story/socia...
www.wired.com/story/socia...
Reposted by Rotting Bit
"Students who began their doctorates in September 2023 have now entered their final year of funding without access to British Library digitisations and, for long periods, without access to British Library manuscripts." - 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 2:14 PM
"Students who began their doctorates in September 2023 have now entered their final year of funding without access to British Library digitisations and, for long periods, without access to British Library manuscripts." - www.cityam.com/the-british-...
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Fired Scholars and Big #Grants to Favored Projects: Inside Trump's #NEH (via @nytimes.com) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/a... #humanities
November 15, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Fired Scholars and Big #Grants to Favored Projects: Inside Trump's #NEH (via @nytimes.com) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/a... #humanities
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Statement From EveryLibrary on FY2026 "Minibus" #Funding for the Library of Congress www.everylibrary.org/2026_minibus #libraries #LC @everylibrary.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Statement From EveryLibrary on FY2026 "Minibus" #Funding for the Library of Congress www.everylibrary.org/2026_minibus #libraries #LC @everylibrary.bsky.social
Reposted by Rotting Bit
This has been my unequivocal experience, as someone who has read through a great deal of marketing material.
The vendors—presumably knowledgeable about their own products—cannot point to any evidence to support them. They exclusively play on vague fears about “marketability” and “staying current.”
The vendors—presumably knowledgeable about their own products—cannot point to any evidence to support them. They exclusively play on vague fears about “marketability” and “staying current.”
A good note here.
In our co-authored paper (now in pre-print), Kenney and I wrote “The National Education Policy Center argues that the promise of genAI is currently supported only by 'commercial marketing claims' (...) and not by peer-reviewed evidence.”
In our co-authored paper (now in pre-print), Kenney and I wrote “The National Education Policy Center argues that the promise of genAI is currently supported only by 'commercial marketing claims' (...) and not by peer-reviewed evidence.”
October 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
This has been my unequivocal experience, as someone who has read through a great deal of marketing material.
The vendors—presumably knowledgeable about their own products—cannot point to any evidence to support them. They exclusively play on vague fears about “marketability” and “staying current.”
The vendors—presumably knowledgeable about their own products—cannot point to any evidence to support them. They exclusively play on vague fears about “marketability” and “staying current.”
Reposted by Rotting Bit
I see that AECOM is engineering the new White House ballroom.
Xltn conversation btw @hawthorne.bsky.social + Aaron Cayer abt Cayer's 📘 on AECOM, a huge, faceless, ethically ?-able conglomerate that designs electrical grids, military bases, highways, airports; they discuss why it's imptnt to study such work + methods for doing so amidst gov't + corp secrecy
The architectural-imperial complex
A conversation with Aaron Cayer about how AECOM rose from humble SoCal roots to become a powerful, secretive player in global politics
www.punchlistmag.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I see that AECOM is engineering the new White House ballroom.
Reposted by Rotting Bit
“‘Over the next three years or so, unless Congress steps in, the Park Service will be pretty seriously damaged, you might almost say dismantled,’ says former NPS director Jonathan Jarvis, who served as the agency’s head from 2009 to 2017…
What’s the Trump Administration’s End Game for the National Parks?
We saw it in Yosemite. But you have to look beyond the bathrooms.
www.republic.land
October 23, 2025 at 3:54 PM
“‘Over the next three years or so, unless Congress steps in, the Park Service will be pretty seriously damaged, you might almost say dismantled,’ says former NPS director Jonathan Jarvis, who served as the agency’s head from 2009 to 2017…
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Public universities that sign onto Trump's "Loyalty Oath" will violate the constitutional rights of their students.🤯
AAUP General Counsel Veena Dubal breaks down why in this clip from our recent AAUP TV update.
@veenadubal.bsky.social
#DefendHigherEd
AAUP General Counsel Veena Dubal breaks down why in this clip from our recent AAUP TV update.
@veenadubal.bsky.social
#DefendHigherEd
October 22, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Public universities that sign onto Trump's "Loyalty Oath" will violate the constitutional rights of their students.🤯
AAUP General Counsel Veena Dubal breaks down why in this clip from our recent AAUP TV update.
@veenadubal.bsky.social
#DefendHigherEd
AAUP General Counsel Veena Dubal breaks down why in this clip from our recent AAUP TV update.
@veenadubal.bsky.social
#DefendHigherEd
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Oh man weird time to announce that you’re going reorganize your computer, data, and information science programs into a “College of AI.”
October 22, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Oh man weird time to announce that you’re going reorganize your computer, data, and information science programs into a “College of AI.”
Reposted by Rotting Bit
I will never stop being tired of Digital Humanities professors who never approach archivists as peers deeming fit to tell archivists how and why to do their jobs differently. It happens time and time again, rarely with a spirit of collaboration and often with an uncomfortable tech-disruptor energy
October 15, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I will never stop being tired of Digital Humanities professors who never approach archivists as peers deeming fit to tell archivists how and why to do their jobs differently. It happens time and time again, rarely with a spirit of collaboration and often with an uncomfortable tech-disruptor energy
Reposted by Rotting Bit
Cultural memory isn’t automatic; it takes care and action.
Trevor Owens & Shannon Mattern talk strategies for preserving libraries, archives & museums in AFTER DISRUPTION: A FUTURE FOR CULTURAL MEMORY on the Future Knowledge #podcast.
🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm
Trevor Owens & Shannon Mattern talk strategies for preserving libraries, archives & museums in AFTER DISRUPTION: A FUTURE FOR CULTURAL MEMORY on the Future Knowledge #podcast.
🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm
October 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Cultural memory isn’t automatic; it takes care and action.
Trevor Owens & Shannon Mattern talk strategies for preserving libraries, archives & museums in AFTER DISRUPTION: A FUTURE FOR CULTURAL MEMORY on the Future Knowledge #podcast.
🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm
Trevor Owens & Shannon Mattern talk strategies for preserving libraries, archives & museums in AFTER DISRUPTION: A FUTURE FOR CULTURAL MEMORY on the Future Knowledge #podcast.
🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm