Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 2h

How was this talk a year ago already? Despite so much change in AI/machine learning over the past 12 months, are we any closer to where libraries need AI to be?

Åsa M Larsson, Ph.D @archasa.bsky.social · Nov 25

Mia Ridge, British Library: "Hold steady - centering the human in the hype of AI"
Presentation held at Digikult conference Oct 2, organised by Swedish National Heritage Board, National Archives, National Library and County Administrative Boards.
#AI #DigitalHeritage
youtu.be/voDWMB-903k?...

Hold steady: centering the human in the hype of AI

YouTube video by Riksantikvarieämbetet

youtu.be

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Reposted by mia ridge

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 3d

New issue of my newsletter: “The Library’s New Entryway” — An interface that combines the advantages of the traditional index with the power of LLMs is the path forward newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...

The Library’s New Entryway

An interface that combines the advantages of the traditional index with the power of LLMs is the path forward

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Reposted by mia ridge

Dr. Amanda Wyatt Visconti @literaturegeek.bsky.social · 10h

I started the DH Slack 10 years ago today 🎉 3.8k legit DHer/DH-interested folks joined; we became a regular venue for asking questions & sharing opportunities+research; usually have several hundred folks active/week (more during DH conferences); 160k+ posts. Anyone curious about DH can join:

Digital Humanities Slack!

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by mia ridge

Arpit Narechania @arpitnarechania.bsky.social · 6h

Thrilled to share Exploropleth - our new #GIS #dataviz tool.

💡 @Mapmakers, you can simultaneously explore & compare 16+ data binning methods on a choropleth map, directly in your browser!

🎓 @Instructors, you can use the tool to teach how choropleth maps can mislead people!

exploropleth.github.io

Screenshot of a new, open source, web-based, geospatial visualization tool, Exploropleth, that lets users interact with a catalog of established data binning methods, and subsequently compare, customize, and export custom maps. The screenshot shows small multiples of 16 choropleth maps each showing Life Expectancy data for US counties, but using distinct data binning methods (e.g., natural breaks, standard deviation, pretty breaks, and so on).

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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 2h

Go Maja! 'Maja Maricevic is awarded the Presidential Citation in recognition of her outstanding work as a driving force behind the evolution of the Green Libraries movement.'

CILIP @cilip.bsky.social · 4h

Our President, @suelacey-bryant.bsky.social announces her Presidential Citations.

🎉Congratulations to @philbradley.bsky.social, Dr Carla Hayden & Maja Maricevic. Three individuals who've shown exceptional dedication, leadership & innovation. #CILIPAGM www.cilip.org.uk/page/preside...

Banner with images of the 3 recipients of the CILIP 2025 Presidential Citations

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CILIP @cilip.bsky.social · 4h

Our President, @suelacey-bryant.bsky.social announces her Presidential Citations.

🎉Congratulations to @philbradley.bsky.social, Dr Carla Hayden & Maja Maricevic. Three individuals who've shown exceptional dedication, leadership & innovation. #CILIPAGM www.cilip.org.uk/page/preside...

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Ruth Ahnert @ruthahnert.bsky.social · 3h

Hey! We have two new draft chapters of the Living with Machines book up online for your delectation! One on Mapreader and one on the Environmental Scan. read.uolpress.co.uk/projects/liv...

Living with Machines | University of London Press

*Living With Machines* is a data-driven history of the coming of the machine age in Britain in the long nineteenth century. Featuring an innovative open access edition enhanced with interactive maps, ...

read.uolpress.co.uk

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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 5h

Do you compose or publish music in the UK? 'Call for composers and publishers to deposit digital scores' with the British Library and other legal deposit libraries? www.bl.uk/stories/blog...

Please share with any musicians you know!

Call for composers and publishers to deposit digital scores

Help us to collect digital scores from composers and independent publishers.

www.bl.uk

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Reposted by mia ridge

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 10h

This, from @catherinedevries.bsky.social, is really useful advice for young (and, tbh, old!) academics. Worth passing on if you know any, maybe? catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/fail-bette...

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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 1d

My secret retirement plan is to get them the ciphers for all postboxes listed on openstreetmap

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adho-org.bsky.social @adho-org.bsky.social · 1d

#DH2026 CFP is now live! Submit your work on fostering meaningful connection between communities, cultures and emerging technologies.

🔗 Visit to learn more and submit your entry: dh2026.adho.org/cfp/: dh2026.adho.org/cfp/

🗓️ Deadline: Dec 8, 2025
#DigitalHumanities #DH2026 #Engagement

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Reposted by mia ridge

transcript Verlag @transcript-verlag.bsky.social · 2d

How to challenge colonial legacies: Namibian and South African artists use archives to develop alternative memory practices.

https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-7760-7/

@snf-fns.ch
#MemoryCulture #Colonialism #Namibia #SouthAfrica

Das Buch-Cover von »Troubling Archives« auf lachsfarbenem Hintergrund.

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Reposted by mia ridge

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2d

“More than half of the work done by women in the period between the 16th and 18th centuries took place outside of the home, and around half of all housework and three-quarters of care work was conducted professionally for other households” [England]

phys.org/news/2025-10...

A woman's place was not in the home: Challenging the assumptions about women's work in early modern history

New research has revealed that women played a fundamental role in the development of England's national economy before 1700.

phys.org

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 2d

This is such a clever idea on taking kids to museums/galleries
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Nadia from London has an idea that sounds such fun you'll be booking a day out asap.
"I've always loved museums," she says,
"but they can be overwhelming for children. For decades now, I've done something called 'playing postcards'
We do
the museum backwards, visiting the gift shop first. Each child gets to choose three postcards. Then they take it in turns to find that particular artwork in the museum and give us a little information about the piece from the details on the postcard, or from any gallery plaque. At the end of this treasure-hunt-style activity, we vote for our favourite in the cafe."

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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 3d

'Our research suggests large language models exhibit parahuman responses to persuasion techniques, despite not being human. This suggests that social scientists have a valuable role to play in understanding AI behavior.' gail.wharton.upenn.edu/research-and...

Call Me A Jerk: Persuading AI to Comply with Objectionable Requests

Research

gail.wharton.upenn.edu

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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 4d

And this year’s Open and Engaged Conference is themed for Open Access Week, and explores the power, ethics, and responsibility in how cultural heritage is created, shared, and preserved. Attend online over three afternoons openscholarship.gitbook.io/open-and-eng...

Open and Engaged 2025 | Open and Engaged 2025

Who Owns Our Knowledge? Exploring ownership, access, and stewardship of cultural heritage in the new era.

openscholarship.gitbook.io

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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 4d

Join me at two events at the British Library later this month:

On 20 October, the British Library joins forces with Wikimedia UK and the Wikimedia Foundation to explore the impact of AI on open knowledge and the wider information landscape. In-person only! www.bl.uk/stories/blog...

Knowledge is Human: The Information Ecosystem in the age of AI

A summit to mark the role of human-created, open knowledge in the age of AI and our collective responsibility to safeguard knowledge integrity and sustainability.

www.bl.uk

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Merrilee Proffitt @merrileeiam.bsky.social · 5d

📢New blog post! Backlogs and beyond: AI in primary cataloging workflows

Facing cataloging backlogs, legacy metadata issues, and language challenges, libraries are exploring how AI may offer practical support—while keeping human expertise central.

(🎉Me, celebrating the OCLC RLP!)

#AIandLibraries

Backlogs and beyond: AI in primary cataloging workflows - Hanging Together

Facing backlogs, legacy metadata issues, and language challenges, libraries are exploring how AI may offer practical support—while keeping human expertise central.

hangingtogether.org

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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 4d

'Are you a data professional, researcher or practitioner (user) working with data within or across communities and sectors? This survey is for you!' qualtrics.ucl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_...

Via Melissa Terras on a DH mailing list, so GLAMs and arts and humanities work is probably within scope!

Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.

qualtrics.ucl.ac.uk

Reposted by mia ridge

Connected by Data @connectedbydata.org · 4d

📢 Call for Abstracts: Participatory AI Development, Governance and Power at PAIRS26, taking place alongside the India AI Impact Summit in Feb 26! 🚀

www.pairs.site/

Open for papers, presentations or poster abstracts for online or in-person (Delhi) sessions. Deadline: 31st October.

PAIRS: Participatory AI Research & Practice Symposium

Exploring how public voices can shape the future of artificial intelligence.

www.pairs.site

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Melissa Terras @melissaterras.bsky.social · 4d

Job! Postdoc in Digital Cultural Heritage: Data Ethics & Software Ecosystems, on new EU funded grant. 3.5 years, @designinf.bsky.social, Edinburgh. Design ethical processes, & evaluate open source tools for Digital Cultural Heritage Objects, with me! elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Postdoctoral Research Associate (Digital Cultural Heritage Data Ethics & Software Ecosystems)

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Digital Cultural Heritage Data Ethics & Software Ecosystems to join the Institute for Design Informatics, Edinburgh College of Art.

elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com

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British Library @britishlibrary.bsky.social · 7d

Don't miss our free, online Open and Engaged Conference 2025, as part of #InternationaOpenAccessWeek.

This year we're exploring the power, ethics, and responsibility embedded in how cultural heritage is created, shared, and preserved.

Register for free: bit.ly/BLEngagedCon...

A collage of images including a person with headphones on working at a desk, a person weaving straw together and someone in a lab holding a bottle. A open padlock graphic is laid over each image and text reads Open and Engaged 2025. Who owns our knowledge? Monday 20th, Wednesday 22nd, Thursday 23rd October, online conference..

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Daniel Malmer @malmer.com · 6d

As I've said before, no software should be released without asking "what's the worst thing that someone can do with this technology?" and it's totally believable that never occurred to anyone at OpenAI.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 6d

Altman claims the company didn’t anticipate people not wanting their deepfakes to say “offensive things or things that they find deeply problematic,” which sounds like a lie but is also indicative of how they recklessly release tech into the world.

OpenAI wasn’t expecting Sora’s copyright drama

It felt “more different to images than people expected.”

www.theverge.com

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Research Society for Victorian Periodicals @rs4vp.org · 6d

Are you doing #19thC attribution research? Do you have DH skills and nowhere to use them? YOU could be the next editor of the Curran Index! We're still accepting applications thru next week on 15 Oct. Lead this ongoing + fully supported DH project into its next iteration! rs4vp.org/curran-edito...

Lead the Curran Index as Our New Editor – RSVP

RSVP seeks a new Editor or Editors to lead the Curran Index! Applications should be sent to VP Alison Chapman by October 15.

rs4vp.org

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Matthew Kollmer @matthewkollmer.com · 6d

If you, like me, sometimes need to generate thousands of clipping images from Chronicling America, then you may find this post helpful.

It provides my pipeline (code and explanatory text) for programmatically generating newspaper clipping images via the Chronicling America API.

How to Create Newspaper Clipping Images in Chronicling America, Programmatically – Matthew Johannes Kollmer

matthewkollmer.com

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