Tom Scheinfeldt

It’s a good question. But scientists don’t hesitate to add dozens of authors to their papers. Maybe all of them?

World’s first AI-designed viruses a step towards AI-generated life Scientists used artificial intelligence to write coherent viral genomes, using them to synthesize bacteriophages capable of killing resistant strains of bacteria.

Think maybe these guys should have a humanist on their team?

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Sourcery Pricing Part 2: Cost Comparisons - Sourcery Now that we have some context for why Sourcery requests in Boston and New York cost $65 (which, if you missed it, we talked about in a previous blog post HERE), let’s take a step back and see how Sourcery’s...

Sure, $65 isn’t nothing. But when Metro North and LIRR and NJ Transit cost $30 (plus your entire day) to get into the city, Sourcery starts to look like a pretty good deal … even for “local” collections.

#archives #research

sourceryapp.org/2025/10/07/s...

ChatGPT and the end of learning My students kept using ChatGPT. I couldn't make them stop.

“In the same way that a 6-year-old learning basic addition would never be allowed a calculator, a college junior learning their field of study should not be outsourcing critical thinking to ChatGPT.”

www.theargumentmag.com/p/chatgpt-an...

How Researchers Can Access Historical Documents Faster! - Sourcery Archival research is the foundation of historical and social inquiry. Primary sources, from government papers and organizational records to personal letters, diaries, and even train tickets, allow…

Some great tips on remote archival research from @sourcery_app grad student, Mohammad Edalati

sourceryapp.org/2025/09/28/h...

Pretty disheartening to finally receive panel reviews on an IMLS proposal submitted in 2024 and not know whether the excellent scores weren't quite excellent enough or whether it was tanked for ... other reasons. #libraries #museums #digitalhumanities #dh

OH: “The biggest lie of grad school is that your job is to be smart. Your job is to be a project manager.”

Sourcery Research Ambassador: Meet Maddie! - Sourcery 👂Have you heard? We’re recruiting 5 Sourcery Research Ambassadors to help us test new features and expand into the Washington, DC metro area! If you’re a humanities researcher and are in need of...

“Over the summer, Maddie was able to use Sourcery to compile the final pieces of research for the third chapter of her dissertation. These materials have allowed her to move forward on her project earlier than expected and offered new research leads…”

sourceryapp.org/2025/09/23/s...

Home - Sourcery Open Source Not for Profit Community Driven Any archive, any time Get Started Request documents through Sourcery Need archival documents for your research but can’t make the trip? Want to streamline…

Need something at NYPL? BPL? Or somewhere else in New York or Boston? Try Sourcery! (use SOCIAL10 for 10% off your first request)

buff.ly/rN7YOj5

The struggle is real

In

Why $65? - Sourcery So you’ve collected all the information for your Sourcery request, you’ve filled out the necessary fields, and you’re ready to hit “submit” and get your documents. Now it’s time to pay the bill: $65.…

Sourcery requests cost $65?!?

Yes, because we pay a living wage

buff.ly/4sLXvr4

If I was currently researching in DC-area archives, I would sign up. You may know some grad students, or someone in between jobs, who have their LC researcher cards, or are immersed in collections at one of the Smithsonian Libraries, who might be interested.

The New England Option in Action – Found History by Tom Scheinfeldt

In January, shortly after the inauguration, I floated the idea of The New England Option, a thought experiment about a regional, rather than national, approach to politics.

Today it’s happening.

foundhistory.org/2025/09/the-...

Join Our Team! - Sourcery Help Sourcery get better and get paid doing it! We’re currently recruiting for two positions: Are you an early career archivist or librarian? A current MLS/PhD/MS/MA student or recent graduate? Or may...

We’re hiring! We need people to get documents in DC and people who need documents in DC to help us with testing Sourcery ahead of launching in our third city.

sourceryapp.org/2025/09/17/j...

“A university is a series of individual faculty entrepreneurs held together by a common grievance over parking." -Clark Kerr

Never gets old.

#highered

Nothing gets traction but outrage

‘The Studio’ Makes Emmys History as the Most Awarded Comedy Ever, Seth Rogen Ties for Most Individual Wins in One Night Apple TV+’s “The Studio” has made Emmy history with the most wins for a comedy series.

The surest way to win an award in Hollywood is to make a show about Hollywood. The Studio is … fine. But by no means is it great.

variety.com/2025/tv/awar...

It seems like the new conventional fitness wisdom is that HIIT (high intensity interval training) is really good for you. This is something any swim coach from 1970 could have told you.

The Reboot of Digital Humanities Now Discover the latest work from across the field and around the world

New issue of my newsletter: "The Reboot of Digital Humanities Now" — Discover the latest work from across the field and around the world newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...

You're being rude. Put away your phone. New manners for a post-smartphone society

Social media gets the bad rap. But the phone is the root of the problem.

www.theargumentmag.com/p/youre-bein...

Briefly Noted for September 9, 2025 – Found History by Tom Scheinfeldt

Briefly noted for September 9, 2025: Teaching the power symbol; the Imperial War Museums and AI transcription; an ambitious roll-your-own project; and should humanities courses be harder?

#dh #histsci #histtech #ai #humanities #higher ed

ICYMI: Sourcery is all new and filling requests at archives in New York and Boston. Get scans of the documents you need without the planes, trains, and automobiles from Sourcerers paid a living wage. Use REFERRAL10 and mention I sent you for 10% off your first request.

buff.ly/p22qQoc

Transitions – Found History by Tom Scheinfeldt

Big things to announce! Greenhouse Studios and i3 (a unit of the UConn Provost’s Office) are joining forces to better meet the challenge of scholarship in the digital age. I’ll be returning to teaching and research—and taking a long-overdue sabbatical!

More here: foundhistory.org/2025/09/tran...

Google Gemini has been trained too well on my Internet presence. I asked it to suggest some plants for my yard, and it produced what it called, “a scholarly yet accessible garden design” 🤪

Interesting. Nothing from UConn yet.

Home - Sourcery Open Source Not for Profit Community Driven Any archive, any time Get Started Request documents through Sourcery Need archival documents for your research but can’t make the trip? Want to streamline m...

The all new Sourcery is here! Request scans from any archive in New York or Boston and our team of Sourcerers will get them for you!

Get yours now!

sourceryapp.org

(Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. coming soon!)

Summoning the equanimity to write the final report for a federal grant that was cancelled without explanation is a special kind of bureaucratic absurdity.

Can we stop calling them “newsletters” already? They’re blogs, OK?

Briefly Noted: AI links for back-to-school – Found History by Tom Scheinfeldt

Here are a few start-of-semester links that are helping me think through AI’s role in education, research, and cultural heritage.

buff.ly/XAikSZu

#AI hashtag#highered hashtag#teaching hashtag#libraries hashtag#archives hashtag#museums