iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Join us at the University of Reading for a mini-festival on the Languages of Children’s Books in the UK’s National Year of 📅 17 Sept 2026 | 10:00 – 17:00 GMT 📍 Uni of Reading & Online ⏰ Booking deadline: 10 Sept for in person | 16 Sept for online tickets

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Creative & performing arts subjects received £16.8 million SPG 2024-25; £12.9 million in 2025-26; £ O million in 2026-27. The University of Creative Arts will thus lose half of its government funding this year; Art University Bournmouth 40.7%, Norwich U of Arts 40.4% and Leeds Arts U 30.3%. 1/2

timeshighereducation.com

Arts institutions hit hard as OfS details teaching grant cuts

University for the Creative Arts loses more than half of its funding after support for creative subjects reduced to zero

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The new cilip website is so horrific that i genuinely thought for a bit that it was an elaborate attempt to steal my data. Is this meant to portray us as a trustworthy profession? Deeply disappointed.

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Ned Potter @nedpotter.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Trying not to get wound up by this use of GenAI on CILIP's website... (Were I overthinking it, I'd think it says: are librarians principled enough to take a stance against GenAI? No. But are they competent enough to use it well? Also no. Ah, but can they proof-read websites? Still no.)

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Lantana Publishing @lantanapub.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Huge congratulations to Patrice Lawrence on becoming the new Children's Laureate! 🎉 "We are living in a divided world where many people feel isolated - we need this now, more than ever." As a publisher of inclusive, diverse children's books, we couldn't agree more. 💛

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The Carnegies @carnegiemedals.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

⏰ One week to go until the 2026 Carnegie Awards! Who will take home this year’s Carnegie Medals? And which shortlisted books will be chosen by young readers as the Shadowers’ Choice winners? Tune in live on Tuesday 23 June at 12pm to find out. Watch live: carnegies.co.uk/stream/ #Carnegies2026

Audience watching a speaker on stage at The Carnegies event with '1 Week To Go' text overlay in a theater filled with book-themed decor.

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The Carnegies @carnegiemedals.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

🚨 Last chance… have your Shadower's voted? There’s still time to share your group’s choices for the #Carnegies2026 Shadowers Choice Awards. Don’t miss the chance to be part of the final results! 🏆 Winner's revealed 23 June 👉 Cast your votes: carnegies.co.uk/take-part/vote

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NLISN @nlisn.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Our next event is tomorrow... and free! Grab a brew and pull up a pew:

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) 🎃🌓 @chronicleflask.katday.com · 28/05/2026

Here’s a thing I have learned in my 51 years on this ridiculous planet: human minds are complicated, and the person you think you will NEVER see eye-to-eye with on Tuesday will, occasionally, come up with a take you find yourself agreeing with wholeheartedly on Thursday. For example:

Kirstie Allsopp @KirstieMAllsopp • 2h
All around the world hundreds of millions of woman are virtually enslaved because of traditions & beliefs, essentially because of feelings, not facts or biology, feelings. Anyone who really thinks the biggest risk to women comes from trans women in M&S needs their head examining.

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samuel mehr @mehr.nz · 20/05/2026

man, university libraries are amazing. you can just ask them to help get some obscure thing and they're like "doing that is actually our job, not only are we good at it but also we are excited to make this happen for you"

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The School Library Association @sla.org.uk · 20/05/2026

Tomorrow night we will hear from Chair of the #IBA Judges, Helen Cleaves and a selection of creators from our 2026 #InformationBookAward shortlist in an online event celebrating the Award. This event is open to anyone with an interest in #childrensbooks: bit.ly/4eWcG8k #factbooks #schoollibrary

bit.ly

Celebrating the Information Book Award 2026

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Dr. Casey Fiesler @cfiesler.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Particularly in the context of (appropriate) crackdowns on LLM-generated papers (e.g., on arXiv) and more and more tales of fabricated citations, two reminders: (1) LLMs do not "cite their sources" (2) Using an LLM to generate, complete, or fix LaTeX code can result in fabricated citations

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Had an excellent time at the FCBG conference yesterday. Great conversations being had about engaging reluctant readers, increasing the visibility of authors and making books really accessible. Was fantastic to catch up with publishers and my YLG friends too!

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Steve @stevetsra.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Be careful folks, today is April Fool's Day, which means that the internet will be rife with misinformation and posts designed to deceive. Don't worry though, tomorrow we will be back to normal, and the internet will be rife with misinformation and posts designed to deceive.

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Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

after much deliberation and giving AI the benefit of the doubt, Wikipedia editors have had enough of AI slop. New policy bans LLM generated content, periodt www.404media.co/wikipedia-ba...

404media.co

Wikipedia Bans AI-Generated Content

“In recent months, more and more administrative reports centered on LLM-related issues, and editors were being overwhelmed.”

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Jaf @jaffne.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

This is also one of the problems for librarianship as a profession. People think we deal with books (object) but in fact we curate information in various formats, which users convert into knowledge through use. Librarianship is NOT all about books.

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Emily Drabinski @edrabinski.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Librarians select, acquire, describe, circulate, and preserve information. Selecting books for a school library is a job that people are trained to do. Censorship is a labor issue, an attack on the agency and autonomy of library workers.

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Note to self: fewer people have heard of the CRAAP test than you *think* have heard of it, even in situations where you think they would know about it. This brings to mind xkcd2501 m.xkcd.com/2501/ I still maintain that current tools for diagnosing mis- and disinformation also work for ai.

m.xkcd.com

xkcd: Average Familiarity

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MILA - Media & Information Literacy Alliance @milalliance.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

MILA and the Deep Truth Project are pleased to host a webinar on 'Deepfakes and AI-generated media: what everyone needs to know'. Mon 27 April, 12:30. All welcome, registration link below. Introduced by Ashmita Rajmohan, founder of the Deep Truth Project www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985914701...

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jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

📚 If you are someone who is not super aware of Advanced Search options, then I guess you should read this if you can stand Substack (which you maybe shouldn't). Also, talk to a librarian (even online) to ask if you're actually looking in the right place. Many databases aren't searchable via Google

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Nik Sunil Williams @nikwilliams.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

My excellent colleague @katiedd.bsky.social has just published this remarkable investigation into rampant book banning in a Greater Manchester secondary school library. 193 books including The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, White Teeth and 1984 Graphic Novel www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...

indexoncensorship.org

School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship

A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women

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Louis Coiffait-Gunn @louiscoiffait-gunn.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

The biggest cause of censorship? Lack of funding. Far more books are never available to children & adults in the first place than are removed (though that's a growing problem too, it's far smaller) www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news... Prison libraries are a right, school libraries should be too

mirror.co.uk

Prison libraries are a right - school libraries should be too say experts

At the London Book Fair, experts including author Juno Dawson discussed why school libraries aren't a legal right, warning that funding cuts and book bans are a threat to children

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World Book Day UK @worldbookdayuk.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Happy World Book Day! Today is all about inspiring children and young people to see reading differently, because reading for fun seriously improves lives. #WorldBookDay #GoAllIn #NationalYearOfReading2026 #WorldBookDay2026

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Louis Coiffait-Gunn @louiscoiffait-gunn.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

CILIP Youth Libraries Group (YLG) annual conference, 12-13 Sep in Oxford #NYoR #GoAllIn www.cilip.org.uk/events/event...

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The Carnegies @carnegiemedals.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Join Nathanael Lessore, Theo Parish & Tia Fisher, hosted by Jake Hope. Shadowing, AI & creativity, copyright with ALCS + a new ALCS competition. 3 March | 12PM | Online Register: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Hm…

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Dr Beth @drbeth.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

I'm enjoying seeing people becoming educated about who the Luddites actually were in response to AI discourse. Not anti-tech, anti powerful folks making others lives worse through tech. Which seems like a pretty good position.

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CILIP @cilip.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Calling booksellers & children’s/YA librarians! 📚 Pen&inc. the free EDI-focused Children’s & YA magazine from CILIP, is now fully digital, open access & completely FREE! Sign up to get all editorial + listings straight to your inbox: ow.ly/a3P150Yi6bC

Pen& Inc front cover. Children playing near a large horse statue at sunset, one holding a red balloon and another riding a scooter beside a white goose.

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BookTrust @booktrust.org.uk · 18/02/2026

All children deserve to see themselves in books 💙 We've picked out some of our favourite middle-grade books which show, and celebrate, LGBTQ+ characters and families! Explore the list: bit.ly/4qH42wA #LGBTHistoryMonth

A collage of colourful book covers. White text on a teal background says books with LGBTQ+ characters for ages 8+

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

It's so important for teachers to have a rich (and current!) base of children's literature to draw from. I know we work hard during initial teacher training to instill as much as we can, but there's a need to capture and sustain that momentum through cpd afterwards.

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

I had a wonderful time at @waterstones.bsky.social in Reading for the launch of @hollywebb.bsky.social's new book A Girl's Guide to Spying. Thank you for inviting me! (I'm definitely going to look more into the history of girl guiding now!)

A biscuit with the cover of a girl's guide to guiding on it

Holly Webb and Sarah Stuffins discussing the book in Waterstones

Holly Webb talking about a Girl's guide to spying

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BookTrust @booktrust.org.uk · 11/02/2026

Books that acknowledge or explore mental health issues can be so powerful 💙 Take a look at our recommendations for books that support mental health awareness for ages 8 and over. bit.ly/46lOMhx #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek

A collage of colourful books. White text on a dark blue backgrounds reads: books to support mental health awareness for ages 8+

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(Mar)Chella Ward @luxmea.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

It’s UK Public Lending Right time again which means it’s time for my semi-regular reminder that spending your money on books is NOT the only way to support your favourite authors. We DO get paid when you take books out of the library. It’s free for you and good for authors and readers everywhere! 📚

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The Carnegies @carnegiemedals.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Meet our South East judge for #Carnegies2026, Charlotte Dormer! With experience as a school librarian and now supporting trainee teachers at the University of Reading, Charlotte is passionate about sharing the magic of books with young readers! ✨

Graphic announcing Charlotte Dormer as the 2026 South East Judge with a bright orange and yellow background.

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The Carnegies @carnegiemedals.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Announcing the longlist for the #Carnegies2026 Medal for Illustration!🏅🎨 Featuring lively colours and immersive mediums, these 19 works beautifully portray themes of identity, relationships, nature, and life’s journey. 📚🌟 carnegies.co.uk/2026-longlists-anno…

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Us judges are so proud of these lists! So many congratulations to the authors and illustrators on both longlists!

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 02/12/2025

“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas” Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.

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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 03/12/2025

Definitely one to read. The manufactured momentum and language of inevitability around AI very much seems to me a deliberate strategy aimed at eroding and undermining library agency - so it's critically important we don't let it!

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Thank you all for choosing a fantastic list for me to read this winter!

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

There is a lego based crisis going on in my friendship group right now because we all want the Lego USS Enterprise but none of us can justify spending £350 on it. But we all *really* want it.

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Richard J @preachypreach.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Ahah. Whoops

We have been made aware that several titles in the Spy Dogs, Spy Pup, and Spy Cat series by Andrew Cope contain a weblink at the back of the book that no longer directs people to information about the books. Instead, the link now leads to inappropriate and unsafe material, containing pornographic content with no age restrictions.

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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 06/10/2025

Yale researchers didn't stop there. They also identified what people most need to know to catalyze action and support climate policy; and it's not about global temps, ice sheets, or ocean currents. What people most need to know about climate change is that (1) others care, and (2) there is hope.

climatecommunication.yale.edu

Understanding six “key truths” about climate change predicts policy support, discussion, and political advocacy

Social norms and collective efficacy are strong predictors

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Deanna Kreisel 🌱 @doctorwaffle.substack.com · 02/10/2025

In honor of National Poetry Day, the greatest parody rewrite of all time:

Screen cap of parodic version of William Blake's "The Tyger" that begins:
Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
(Not sure if I spelled that right)
What immortal hand or eye
Could fashion such a stripy guy?
What the hammer that hath hewn it
Into such a chonky unit?
Did who made the lamb make thee,
Or an external franchisee?

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Charlotte Dormer @cnkdormer.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

You know those weeks where it was Monday and you blinked and it's the end of Friday and you *still* haven't finished that report because you were busy teaching/answering student queries/running library tours/fixing reading lists/writing sessions etc. Anyway apparently it's only the end of *week 1*

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CILIP @cilip.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

We agree but add this: the #GreatSchoolLibraries campaign highlights that all children need a school library because adequately funded, staffed school libraries deliver enhanced & independent learning as well as reading & curriculum support & contribute to building lifelong readers. #Staffed

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