Mel Chivers

Librarians and library workers: “We’d like seamless access, security for our patrons’ information, plus more things to try with APIs and macros.”

Vendors: “Okay, but what if instead we gave you and your patrons a glorified Clippy who just made shit up most of the time and sucked up gobs of power??”

Not good enough to take 20 days to count special votes

But recognising Palestinian statehood is not a race

Feel like our priorities on what's urgent may be a bit skewed

Got angry at Winston and this spineless government. Had a little cry. Wrote to my local (nat) MPs again pleading that they use their position of power to reconsider this cowardly position. #nzpol #symbolicgestures

Reti earmarks $70m of new agency's budget for AI commercialisation grants

new zealand government reaching new heights of stupidity

next year our public dollars will go more to AI grants ($70 million) than all investigator-initiated basic science combined ($56 million in the Marsden fund)

A poster in black and gold - the colours of Ray Chung’s Independent Together lot - on a white ground, asks Wellington voters to engage in a bit of critical thinking before casting their vote in the local elections. Do you believe in fairy tales? Didn’t think so Don’t believe candidates who claim they can freeze rates without cutting essential public services. Don’t vote for their shIt!

#nzpol What the poster says.

When the Scoreboard Becomes the Game, It’s Time to Recalibrate Research Metrics - The Scholarly Kitchen Today's guest post discusses research metrics and their relationship to research integrity, inclusivity, and long-term impact.

When the Scoreboard Becomes the Game, It’s Time to Recalibrate Research Metrics - The Scholarly Kitchen

Feeling relevant in Aotearoa with the introduction of #TREF

And let's not even talk about the state of non-science research funding...

Text reads: "I don't thinki of it as my own publication. But obviously the way metrics and citations work, that doesn't matter."

This great quote from our 2023 report on one of the many reasons why relying on metrics for research evaluation is problematic dx.doi.org/10.15663/UoW...
#PBRF #TREF

Text reads: We’re not writing for scope and scale, we’re writing for quality of a knowledge system, we’re writing because we want to bring that [Indigenous] voice forward. Now, if I was going to be really tactical, I would abandon all of that and just write for scale and write to have the broadest citation marketplace appeal—so as many consumers of my work would be interested in citing it. So, to me, that’s a fundamental tension in the way that citations are used to grade a scholar’s quality of work.

Reading back through the article my team published last year in light of the PBRF/TREF news #ReducedToANumber
doi.org/10.31273/eir...

Don't worry there will be additional mystery metrics for the disciplines where citations don't show excellence! Because everything can be reduced to a number right?!

Thanks! 💜 Not going far, still research support but from our research office instead of the library.

Last day working in Te Iho o Te Manawataki... last day working in a library (for now). New job starts Monday!

A colour photo of a moody night-time view of Wellington city, seen from Brooklyn. City lights twinkle across the harbour and hills under a heavy, clouded sky. Branches frame the foreground, adding a quiet, contemplative feel to the illuminated urban landscape.

As night falls this May Day, we remember: rights were won by standing together.

From Te Tiriti to the workplace, unity matters.
Maranga ake for workers, for whānau, for a future where people come before profit.

Pō mārie, e te whānau.

#MayDay2025 #UnionStrong #OneTermGovt
#NZPol

Craig Murdoch & I wrote this after interviewing editors from @tuwhera.bsky.social journals.
The message is clear: investing even a small percentage of the budgets that go to the commercial publishers could sustain a shared OA infrastructure for Aotearoa.
www.iastatedigitalpress.com/jlsc/article...

Photo of view from the summit of Te Aroha

Walked up a maunga yesterday. So good but wow my legs hurt today!

The NSA's "Big Delete" Today, the National Security Agency (NSA) is planning a "Big Delete" of websites and internal network content that contain any of 27 banned words, including "privilege," "bias," and "inclusion." The "...

1. EXCLUSIVE

Today, the NSA is planning a "Big Delete" of websites and internal network content that contain any of 27 banned words, including "privilege," "bias," and "inclusion," a NSA source tells Popular Information.

The massive purge is creating chaos, taking down "mission-related" work

Really excited to deepen my understanding of Indigenous data over the next two days! www.waikato.ac.nz/news-events/...

Groundbreaking botanical discoveries on Captain Cook voyage were thanks to Indigenous people New book reveals that Pacific islands inhabitants helped European scientists identify hundreds of plant species

Is anyone surprised by this?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

Baulking over the cost of my bike service and then remembering how much more it would cost to have a second car!

Sweaty Mel with mountain backdrop

Climbed up Maungatautari today - so lovely to be out in the ngahere. Feeling physically tired and recharged

Watching my 7yo wake up and immediately pick up her book brings me joy 😊

Flapper

Lost some skin this morning but I still got to the top! 🧗‍♀️ 💪
#bouldering

Passionfruit on vine

Winning in the garden!