Vanessa Freedman
vrfreedman.bsky.social
Vanessa Freedman
@vrfreedman.bsky.social
980 followers 340 following 63 posts
Hebrew & Jewish Studies librarian at University College London. Co-convenor, Hebraica Libraries Group. Posts are my own views etc She/her
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Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
This post has been in draft a while but it feels particularly timely given the strike over pay that starts tomorrow (27th Oct) at the British Library. If you've ever despaired at the low salaries at the BL now is the time to act in solidarity www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/... #BritishLibraryOnStrike
Support the British Library strikers
More than 300 PCS members at the British Library in London are striking over their poverty wages for two weeks from Monday (27) to Sunday, 9 November and need your support in person and online.
www.pcs.org.uk
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Are you a cataloguer or interested in cataloguing and have a view on whether LCSH is fit for purpose in a UK context? CILIP MDG @cilipmdg.bsky.social are hosting a Worldcafe event (a big meeting basically!) to discuss ideas at Wellcome Library in London Wed 26th Nov www.cilip.org.uk/events/Event...
CILIP: the library and information association
www.cilip.org.uk
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
📣 We're hiring!

Join us for a fixed-term part time role at the Library as our Research and Engagement Officer.

We are seeking a highly motivated and knowledgeable individual with a postgraduate qualification in Holocaust Studies or a closely related field.

Find out more and apply: buff.ly/KuadEMU
Work With Us - The Wiener Holocaust Library
Find out about our employment opportunities
wienerholocaustlibrary.org
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Solidarity to all staff at the British Library! 98% in favour with 75% turn out is an astounding strike ballot result, truly shows the strength of feeling. www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...
. @equinoxpub.bsky.social are charging £350 for the ebook of Judaism in Five Minutes (paperback £23.95) #ebookSOS
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Funding available for Full and Student Members of the European Association for Jewish Studies to pursue archival or library research in 2026/27 - do check out the details here:

www.eurojewishstudies.org/scholarships...

Application deadline 30 November 2025.
Call for Applications: Small Research Grant Programme 2025-26 (first round). Deadline for Applications: 30 November 2025 – European Association for Jewish Studies
www.eurojewishstudies.org
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
A big thank you to everyone who attended our curator-led tour of Spineless Wonders yesterday. Both in person and online. Spineless Wonders is still running until 29 November so there’s still plenty of time to see it!
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
For several years I’ve been collecting examples of Yiddish–language election material for teaching and possible future research. It is unusual to have Yiddish materials coming directly from the candidate, but not terribly surprising from Mamdani. Would be very curious who did the Yiddish text.
Mamdani published an open letter in Yiddish newspapers this week. And now I finally know how to spell "Zohran Mamdani" in Yiddish.
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Scrolling through my 5,000 photos on my phone, trying to organise them into albums, and stumbled on this important piece of journalism from 2022 🤣🤣🤣
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
In 2025 UCL Special Collections celebrates 60 years of collecting small press. This year also marks 50 years of publishing by Coracle Press @coracle.bsky.social

Join us for a birthday bash!

12 November
17:00 - 20:00

Free & open to all / booking essential.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-continu...
We continue to wave a small handkerchief at the world: Coracle Press @ 50
Join us to celebrate 50 years of Coracle Press!
www.eventbrite.co.uk
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
What are the implications of AI for literary translation?

Please join us for this panel discussion co-hosted by
@seeatucl-ssees.bsky.social and the British-Croatian Society to find out more.

🗓️ 30 October at 6pm
📍 UCL SSEES
➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
A semi-regular reminder that all our photos on Flickr Commons are public domain - you don't need to ask us to use them in any way you can imagine! Though we do love hearing about how you've used them, so you can let us know if you want
https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibrary/
British Library
Explore British Library’s 1,073,564 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Had time to pop into the fab @bodleian.ox.ac.uk Treasure exhibition. The “problematic” case was eye opening. I hadn’t heard of this truly awful bible - the parallels today re what power is doing in the name of Christianity shows exactly why we need libraries, historians, & humanities scholars now.
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
This letter, dated 25 September 1546, is proof that sometimes you need to take a second look.

Find out more here: celebratingjewisharchives.org/blog/researc...

📷 The Mysterious Letter • The London Archives

#JewishHistory #JewishStudies #Archives
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Yet another demonstration that AI is not a labor-saving device; it merely displaces the cleanup and mitigation (in realms where care, caution, accuracy, etc., actually matter) onto other people
Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
For those deleting our Academia dot edu accounts (due to their new exploitative TOC) make sure to follow the instructions quoted below or they'll force you to accept the TOC before you can get to the "delete my account" button.

See you all on the open-source alternative hcommons Humanities Commons!
Click on the link to the ToC text, go to your Account - top right (as In sure you know), scroll down and delete away