Lorcan Dempsey

Prof. Ken Fleischmann to Lead the iSchool as Chair Designate and Interim Dean Effective February 1 of this year, Prof. Ken Fleischmann will take the reins as incoming leader of the iSchool, leading the unit into its next phase. Fleischmann is a trusted and familiar face at the…

" [...] UT’s proposal, currently under consideration by the UT System Board of Regents, to connect the iSchool with the departments of computer science and data science in a new “center of excellence” housed in the College of Natural Sciences."  buff.ly/Z1iFru0

Anthropic’s launch of AI legal tool hits shares in European data companies Pearson, Experian and others fall sharply after startup unveils software to automate a range of professional services

'European publishing and legal software companies have suffered sharp declines in their share prices after the US artificial intelligence firm Anthropic revealed a tool for use by companies’ legal departments.' buff.ly/YseaqJ5

Anthropic's Claude is now the, yes, ‘Official Thinking Partner’ of Formula 1 team, Williams. buff.ly/qsvHE1S

English professors double down on requiring printed copies of readings | Yale Daily News share.google/lfEW5Jpk1FVE...

Opening Keynote: Lorcan Dempsey Libraries, librarianship and cross-LAMination   Libraries are dynamic social organizations. Their position and role are being re-negotiated and co-created within…

The video from my Charleston presentation about libraries, education and career preparation > Opening Keynote: Lorcan Dempsey buff.ly/GKbIiS9

Is this really the world's safest font? Volvo Centum will arrive this year.

'Volvo Centum is a bespoke typeface "designed to make reading faster, attention sharper, and the driving experience calmer."' buff.ly/PGcFfiz

Home Problem 1 - Overwhelming traffic from badly-behaved bots

'There is an emergent "arms race" between those designing badly-behaved bots and those attempting to defend against them.' buff.ly/iiISc3I via CNI

"In that same century, we see the first appearance of the heart-shaped, or cordiform book (from Latin cor “heart” + form “shape”), the most famous example, dated to the 1470s, being The Chansonnier Cordiform, a beautifully decorated manuscript songbook."

Fonts | 2025 | The Web Almanac by HTTP Archive Fonts chapter of the 2025 Web Almanac covering performance, design, and development trends for typography across the web.

In a little discussed aspect of Google's role, it dominates font distribution on the web. A small number of Google fonts are the most heavily used > Fonts | 2025 | The Web Almanac by HTTP Archive buff.ly/RK8RuJq

Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are paying up for ‘enterprise’ access to Wikipedia Another source of revenue for the Wikimedia Foundation.

Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are paying up for ‘enterprise’ access to Wikipedia buff.ly/ap2Kj4A “It is in every AI company’s best interest to support the long-term sustainability of Wikipedia, because Wikipedia and all the other projects that we support are so core to their business,”

Microsoft is closing its employee library and cutting back on subscriptions Employees are expected to use new AI tools instead

Microsoft is closing its employee library and cutting back on subscriptions - "part of Microsoft’s shift to a more modern, AI-powered learning experience through the Skilling Hub.” buff.ly/37ItgcT

Library to be named in honour of murdered student A new library at the University of Galway is to be named in honour of a student who was murdered soon after she completed her studies there in 2006.

"A new library at the University of Galway is to be named in honour of a student who was murdered soon after she completed her studies there in 2006." buff.ly/gTKq3Y5

YouTube video by British Library Wild About Jane Austen: The Woman Behind the Novels

To mark Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, we hosted Wild About Jane Austen: The Woman Behind the Novels, an event exploring Austen as an ambitious, politically aware writer.

Watch the full event on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4_V...

#BritishLibrary #Libraries #JaneAusten250

2026 Polar Libraries Colloquy | Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Ohio State is in the process of revising websites and program materials to accurately reflect compliance with the law. While this work occurs, language referencing protected class status or other…

I wonder is it possible to gatecrash some sessions of this, coming to Columbus this year > 2026 Polar Libraries Colloquy | Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center

The End of the American University as We Knew It And the Models Likely to Replace It

"This is what the traditional university becomes when it stops pretending to be for everyone: an elite finishing school for the wealthy and exceptionally talented poor who win full scholarships." buff.ly/dDjb36H

The worst of times: Trouble at the British Library Cyber chaos, striking staff and a crisis of leadership. Claudia Cockerell investigates a national treasure’s year of reckoning

Overview of ongoing issues at the British Library by The Standard > The worst of times: Trouble at the British Library
Cyber chaos, striking staff and a crisis of leadership. Claudia Cockerell investigates a national treasure’s year of reckoning

Columbus Metropolitan Library employees submit cards for unionization effort More than 600 library employees including librarians, customer service specialists and others, wants better working conditions and more input on library policies.

Some local news > A supermajority of Columbus Metropolitan Library workers on Friday submitted signed union cards to the State Employment Relations Board to begin the union election process. buff.ly/ZLHSBR7

Font choices, value and ecosystem. National Library examples Typefaces and fonts are functional. However they also contribute in other ways - to brand, to atmosphere, to feeling. This is a brief introduction to aspects of the typeface ecosystem. I combine this…

Fonts are in the news! I am surprised that libraries have not taken more of an interest given the design, values, identity, cultural expressiveness and business issues they raise (albeit in small ways). An exploration of ecosystem and choices from a while ago buff.ly/sfBJVu8

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2025): Pennyslvania Libraries: Research & Practice | Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice ISSN 2324-7878 (online)

Interested to come across this community based diamond access publication. I wonder how many regional library publications of this type there are? > Vol. 13 No. 2 (2025): Pennyslvania Libraries: Research & Practice buff.ly/tBVSJhb

British Library staff 'feel huge disconnect' from leadership - Arts Professional Union representatives picketing the British Library say the legacy of the organisation’s 2023 cyber-attack has disproportionately affected workload.

Nice placard - "things are bad when a conservator loses their patience' > British Library staff 'feel huge disconnect' from leadership - Arts Professional buff.ly/dT9tRI8

Sorry, the explainer is dead "Remember when we told journalists to write more explainers? Yeah, sorry about that."

'The winning content? Hyperlocal news, breaking news (as it happens), scoops, notable first-person narratives, and investigative journalism. AI can’t or won’t summarize this information because it’s too recent or too unique.' buff.ly/Q2CXrYg

Netflix to Buy Warner Bros in $83 Billion Deal The deal to acquire the Hollywood giant’s television and film studios as well as HBO Max will bulk up the world’s biggest paid streaming service.

'The acquisition would also complete the conquest of Hollywood by tech insurgents.' Netflix to buy Warner Bros. buff.ly/32trr8V

Zig quits GitHub, gripes about Microsoft's AI obsession : Zig prez complains about 'vibe-scheduling' after safe sleep bug goes unaddressed for eons

Zig quits GitHub, gripes about Microsoft's AI obsession buff.ly/MI6SKYP

A voice out of the dark of time; the once and future LIS discipline. New blog post by myself and @lynrobinson.bsky.social. theoccasionalinformationist.com/2025/11/25/a...

How weight-loss drug Mounjaro is making Ireland the world’s fastest-growing economy In the News podcast: Surge in Irish exports almost entirely driven by shipments of Mounjaro ingredients

Extraordinary numbers about tax revenues and impact on irish national economy of one drug > How weight-loss drug Mounjaro is making Ireland the world’s fastest-growing economy www.irishtimes.com/podcasts/in-...

Nice overview. Thank you for generous comments.

Libraries, librarianship and cross-lamination: notes on education and career preparation for libraries This presentation was the keynote at the Charleston Conference. It discusses the education and career preparation of libraries. It discusses the current library service environment, the broad…

I enjoyed speaking at Charleston recently. Here are my slides > Libraries, librarianship and cross-lamination: notes on education and career preparation for libraries buff.ly/NHtpkIq

ASU launches ASU London, bringing global reputation for innovation to the UK | ASU News Arizona State University is creating ASU London, expanding its presence in the United Kingdom with a U.K.-accredited higher educational institution.Building on the success of The Engineering & Design…

'Arizona State University is creating ASU London, expanding its presence in the United Kingdom with a U.K.-accredited higher educational institution.' buff.ly/3hPgAr9

Does Britain value culture any more? Ask the striking workers at the British Library | Zadie Smith The dispute over pay at this great national institution gets to the heart of our misplaced priorities, says novelist Zadie Smith

Facilitating our work is a great army of library staff, who are also cultural workers. Without them, the library does not function, the books do not get read, the culture does not come to pass. buff.ly/riUOc4I

Ohio State to hire 100 new faculty with AI expertise The Ohio State University has announced a major Artificial Intelligence (AI) Faculty Hiring Initiative that will add 100 new tenure-track faculty with expertise in AI over the next five years. The…

A key component, the AI Fluency initiative, was announced in June and ensures that every student, beginning with the Class of 2029, graduates fluent in applying AI within their field of study.