J. Stephen Downie

The Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. Text: Given annually, the award acknowledges individuals or groups who have furthered the cause of intellectual freedom, particularly as it impacts libraries and information centers and the dissemination of ideas. Photo of Robert B. Down on the right and the wordmarks of the School of Information Sciences and Sage Publishing on the bottom.

Sponsored by the #iSchoolUI & @sagepub.com, the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award acknowledges those who have furthered the cause of intellectual freedom. If you know someone who would be a good candidate, nominate them by April 14! ▶️ bit.ly/405D9Yb

Association of Canadian Archivists - Workshop: Introduction to Archival Description in Canada ORG description

Association of Canadian Archivists workshop: Introduction to Archival Description in Canada

Thursday, March 5, 2:00pm EST

This workshop will provide participants with a solid introduction to archival arrangement and description.

More info here: archivists.ca/event-6528080

Digital Humanists and Librarians for me.

Was kinda hoping for Elite Hand Models, but alas.

Students showed me this morning that UIUC has a service where they can run a Jupyter notebook on an H200 backed by 141GB VRAM. Free (for our students). My jaw dropped enough to communicate, I think, that this is not the norm.

The Virality of Racial Terror

Join us for a Digital Humanities Brown-Bag Lunch Roundtable on “The Virality of Racial Terror in U.S. Newspapers, 1863–1921.”

📅 Friday, Feb. 6 | 🕦 11:30 AM–1 PM

📍 The Corner, Main Library (Room 220)

Open to all.

▶️ bit.ly/4toC5we

Top 10 movies to watch if you're a Catherine O'Hara fan | CBC Comedy Catherine O'Hara's best films.

From 2021

The top 10 movies to watch if you're a Catherine O'Hara fan

www.cbc.ca/comedy/the-t...

Professor Emerita and Senior Dean’s Fellow Linda Smith speaking at a podium at the 130th celebration of the iSchool at the American Writers Museum

Happy birthday to Professor Emerita Linda Smith! 🎉 Learn why she is a 'Renaissance scholar of Library and Information Science' in Library Trends 71 (1): A Festschrift in Honor of Linda C. Smith ▶️ bit.ly/3NzGyvF

Snow fort time!

Policy Notice: Implementation of Policy Changes to Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, Supplement 2 The information set out in this notice takes precedence over existing policies and procedures in PAPPG 24-1. It applies for all financial assistance awarded on or after Jan. 22, 2026.

The new NSF public access policy adds software to what must be publicly shared, and must be described in the data management and sharing plan (DSMP)

www.nsf.gov/policies/doc...

Digital Humanities people -- positionally I feel like I could maybe write something useful/interesting here as someone who moved from running a DH program to CTO-ing an AI startup -- any questions you'd conceivably read if I answered them?

Call for Papers | ISMIR 2026 | Abu Dhabi, UAE ISMIR is the largest research venue for scholars, researchers, practitioners, and industries in the field of Music Information Retrieval (MIR)-an interdisciplinary area focused on processing, analyzin...

Call for Papers for ISMIR 2026, Nov 8-12 in Abu Dhabi: ismir2026.ismir.net/authors/call....
Also, if your company is interested in being a Sponsor for the conference, talk to me! (ismir2026.ismir.net/about/organi...)

Local friends & colleagues, our 1st first event @skeuomorphpress.org this spring will be a "Making Artist's Books" workshop with printer & artist Ben Blount, from 3-5 on Wed, February 4th. Spots are limited so please register if you're interested!

skeuomorph.ischool.illinois.edu/making-an-ar...

San Diego’s newest library official is a comic-books veteran, TV producer and library superfan ‘As a kid, libraries were the place where I got exposed to so many different kinds of books and so many great experiences,’ says Chris Ryall, who lives in Scripps Ranch.

www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/05/s...

Took me about an hour to tie the tie.

Really looking forward to this roundtable on "Digital Humanities and Contemporary Book Studies"! It's one of the most exciting research areas out there, in my very biased opinion.

And I *might* even share a hot take about Heated Rivalry...

Probationary (TenureTrack) Faculty Position-Systems Neuroscience in Higher Order Cognitive Circuits - London, Ontario (CA) job with Western University - Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry | 128... Full-time probationary faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the area of neural circuits in non-human primates.

Come join us. Western University invites applications from outstanding early career investigators for a full-time probationary faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the area of neural circuits in NHPs. www.nature.com/naturecareer...

In conversation with Matthew G. Kirschenbaum The inaugural SHARPIES, a global book history festival celebrating work in book history from around the world, will take place from July 7–9, 2026 (although ...

To say I am excited about this would be an understatement. To say I am a little bit terrified would not!

Actually, just really looking forward to it -- and really pleased to see SHARP continuing its accessible practices.

eve.gd/2026/01/10/i...

Friends at MLA, my day tomorrow is booked pretty solid but right now the flight’s looking good & I should be in Toronto around dinner time with no plans this evening—let me know if you’d like to catch up over a later dinner, a drink, etc.

A representation of media: a bright sun's rays shine on dozens of blue tiles of images related to data science and more.

Ringing in 2026 with three new op-ed pieces by #iSchoolUI faculty! Looking for more? Check out our “In the Media” page for links to these works, plus articles, book reviews, and podcasts featuring our researchers! 📃🎧▶️ bit.ly/45B6Nrx

"We are hiring" graphic with a blue finial background

Join the #iSchoolUI MarCom team! We invite applications for the Coordinator of Events, who will be responsible for the development, management, and implementation of iSchool events with a cohesive brand identity. Submit your application by January 16 ▶️ bit.ly/3Z1KuYc

Wait until later this week when I will sport the black bowtie that I finally learnt how to tie!

Time for dinner on the high seas.

If in Canada, you could exchange excess for TimBitCoin.

😎

Cheers for libraries! @illibraryassoc.bsky.social

#DH Awards 2025 nominations open until 2026-02-27. What #DigitalHumanities resources updated in 2025 do you think deserve recognition of some sort?

Nomination categories at:

dhawards.org/dhawards2025...

Any new recommendations for a fine breakfast chardonnay? Sauvignon Blanc for breakfast is so last season. 🥱

Happy New Year from NYC (Rail meets Squire).

Do you think one of the big library-friendly or science-friendly philanthropies would be willing to find a home for it at a public university embedded within large fields of corn?

Que soya, soya 🤔😁?

Rode the motorbikele to Rantoul today on the county roads.

Some gravel that I navigated with style and aplomb (aka panic).

Overall, the cloudy day and the post-harvest fields conspired to instill a most comforting self-reflection.