@merriemont.bsky.social
Archivist and adjunct professor. I'm fond of reading, hiking, tea, and independent journalism. All opinions are my own.
’Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world.
Passion. Spellcheck just slows you down when you care enough to post something.
30.10.2025 01:20 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Digital news sites being bypassed by AI summaries will make this even worse.
25.10.2025 15:12 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory. www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
23.10.2025 17:17 — 👍 674 🔁 387 💬 21 📌 72KING EDWARD
Now, messenger, what letters or what news
From France?
POST
My sovereign liege, no letters
all these are but subtile deceits, not actually inherent in substances, but only laid on from without
Tickets for San Diego Comic-Con may be long sold out, but there are still plenty of ways to join the fun. All things pop culture take over the city with panels, themed cafes, fashion shows and colorful cosplayers filling the Gaslamp Quarter.
www.daylightsandiego.org/no-badge-com...
Today’s Daily Cartoon, by Ali Solomon. #NewYorkerCartoons
Get more cartoons and other funny stuff in your inbox: www.newyorker.com/newsletter/h...
the mightiest elephant is but a terrier to Leviathan
Pope Leo’s first US episcopal appointment, San Diego’s Bishop-designate Pham, a Vietnamese refugee, invites priests and faith leaders to “stand in solidarity”with migrants at courthouse on June 20, as they make court appearances.
11.06.2025 23:53 — 👍 14639 🔁 3631 💬 177 📌 236
Of 14,777 unique articles on the NYT's homepage over the 310 days from 1/1/24 to Election Day, 293 articles–almost one a day–focused on Biden’s age compared with just 27 articles focused on Project 2025, a ratio of 10.9 to one mediabiasdetector.seas.upenn.edu/blog/new-yor...
24.05.2025 12:34 — 👍 1510 🔁 714 💬 69 📌 97
The power to define news has largely shifted from media gatekeepers to the general public, according to a new Pew Research Center study. www.niemanlab.org/2025/05/news...
16.05.2025 19:05 — 👍 16 🔁 18 💬 2 📌 0
We have a new fellowship meant for an early-career data reporter to work at @propublica.org for two years on issues related to the federal government: job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...
02.05.2025 14:23 — 👍 82 🔁 42 💬 1 📌 1
IRE Data Journalism Bootcamp. Fellowships. One-year IRE membership or renewal, complimentary bootcamp registration, travel stipend (amount varies on fellowship)
Interested in attending IRE Data Journalism Bootcamp in August? The deadline to apply for fellowships is coming up on Tuesday, May 6! www.ire.org/training/fel...
The August Bootcamp is focused on R and will take place in Columbia, Missouri.
![UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
^
KEITH SONDERLING, Acting Director,
Institute of Museum and Library Services, et al.,
Defendants.
Civil Case No. 25-1050 (RJL)
MEMORANDUM ORDER
May 1, 2025 [Dkt. #13]
This matter initially came before the Court on plaintiff American Library
Association's ("ALA") and plaintiff American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO's ("AFSCME") motion for a preliminary injunction ("PT"). See Pls.' PI Mot. [Dkt, #13]; Pls.' Mem. in Supp. of PI Mot. ("Pls.' PI Mem.") [Dkt. #13-11.
Plaintiffs sought a decision on the PI by May 4, 2025, as defendants intend to execute a
"mass termination of [Institute of Museum and Library Services] staff' on that day. Pls
PI Mot. at 1.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreig5evcrfkwsw2usse2xvhf66zcug76ufhuzui3smou5ycmjh5hf4m@jpeg)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, et al., Plaintiffs, ^ KEITH SONDERLING, Acting Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services, et al., Defendants. Civil Case No. 25-1050 (RJL) MEMORANDUM ORDER May 1, 2025 [Dkt. #13] This matter initially came before the Court on plaintiff American Library Association's ("ALA") and plaintiff American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO's ("AFSCME") motion for a preliminary injunction ("PT"). See Pls.' PI Mot. [Dkt, #13]; Pls.' Mem. in Supp. of PI Mot. ("Pls.' PI Mem.") [Dkt. #13-11. Plaintiffs sought a decision on the PI by May 4, 2025, as defendants intend to execute a "mass termination of [Institute of Museum and Library Services] staff' on that day. Pls PI Mot. at 1.
I. CONCLUSION For the reasons set forth above, the Court will GRANT IN PART plaintiffs' motion for a TRO. The Court will not, at this time, issue a TRO providing all of the relief sought by plaintiffs. Instead, the Court will issue a narrow TRO preserving the status quo as of this Order. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that defendants Keith Sonderling, Institute of Museum and Library Services ("IMLS"), Amy Gleason, U.S. DOGE Service, U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, Russel Vought, and U.S. Office of Management and Budget (together, the 5 Case 1:25-cv-01050-RJL Document 36 Filed 05/01/25 Page 6 of 6 "agency defendants") shall not take any further actions to dissolve IMLS or its operations; it is further
ORDERED that the agency defendants shall not place any additional IMLS staff on administrative leave; it is further ORDERED that the agency defendants shall not terminate the employment of any IMLS staff; it is further ORDERED that the agency defendants shall not further pause, cancel, or otherwise terminate IMLS grants or contracts or fail to fund such grants or contracts for reasons other than grantees' or contractors' non-compliance with applicable grant or contract terms; and it is further ORDERED that by May 6, 2025, the parties shall submit a joint status report (1) informing the Court whether the parties require any supplemental briefing on the preliminary injunction and, if so, proposing a briefing schedule; and (2) stating whether the parties consent to the Court extending this temporary restraining order until the Court issues a ruling on the preliminary injunction or the case is otherwise resolved. SO ORDERED. RICHARD J. LEON United States District Judge
BREAKING: Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, issues a TRO blocking the Trump administration from "dissolv[ing]" the Institute of Museum and Library Services, placing any more employees on administrative leave, or terminating any grants in the coming days.
02.05.2025 01:28 — 👍 6439 🔁 1648 💬 50 📌 73Take care of yourself!
16.04.2025 03:17 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0@insidehighered.com
09.04.2025 02:10 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0It will go as well as the 1965 "A-Team" government program that recruited high school athletes to work on farms to reduce U.S. reliance on immigrant agricultural labor.
05.04.2025 16:03 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0It's a small loss among so many, but entering the National History Day contest in high school led directly to my adult career as a researcher and archivist. The loss of funding makes me sad.
04.04.2025 01:16 — 👍 9 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
I wrote about how librarians and data archivists are backing up the federal information that's being changed or deleted from government websites —and what it means for journalism.
Via @columjournreview.bsky.social and @towcenter.bsky.social
www.cjr.org/the_media_to...
Did your child lose their book collection in the Los Angeles fires? Are you a teacher at a school that lost its library or your classroom library? Whether you need one book or a whole library, we can replace your books. 📚
Everyone else, please boost this post so we can connect with those in need. 🙏
