Men, we need to talk

Time to dust of the old blog, because there’s some shady shit going down. The leaked SCOTUS draft was enough to bring me out of my pandemic-induced ennui, so let’s go. First, if you haven’t already done so, please look up your local abortion fund at the National Network of Abortion Funds. Organizations need money more than anything, because when Roe is overturned, 26 trigger states will immediately limit or eliminate access to abortion. Women of color, poor women, and young women/girls will need help either obtaining pills for medical abortions or will need transportation and lodging in states that […]

From Legos, to staff meetings, and back again

I think a lot about work-life balance. I have to, what with working full time and raising a son with no familial support system. And last week, I failed miserable at the balancing act. My library is currently conducting a search for a high level position, for which I am on the search committee. This work has proven itself to be both eye opening (academic libraries are doing some really cool things!) and eye crossing (reading dozens of cover letters and CV’s makes my head spin!) but one thing is consistent: it is time consuming. Last week, we had a […]

My librarian spidey-sense is tingling

I learned the other day that Pinterest, the mecca for brides, DIYers, and natural mothers, is no longer providing results for searches on variations of the word “vaccine.” Why? The aforementioned “natural mothers” typically reject standard vaccination for their children, and due to the absence of scientific support of this, those natural mothers often create their own communities, both online and off. Pinterest is one of those communities, and allows users to share visual “proof” of the harm of vaccines along with advice and support. This is a powerful mechanism, and the natural mothering community has embraced it. Hard. Pinterest, […]

Changing of the Guard

I’m teaching a brand new class this term, and I was surprised by its popularity. It’s a first year seminar, in the brand new Digital Culture and Information minor. Lots of shiny new stuff. Including my students. It’s been a while since I exclusively taught first year students; I often deal with seniors writing honors theses or doing capstone projects, or students in higher level courses. I haven’t had a dedicated class for first years since my last position. So it strikes me, sometimes, how thoughtful first year college students are these days. Perhaps my students are self-selecting (in fact, […]