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Caroline Ball

@heroicendeavour.eurosky.social
2.8K followers 880 following 14K posts

Open Book Collective, #ebookSOS, WikimediaUK, NLISN. Easily swayed by rainbows, cupcakes, cats, Cheetos, unicorns, and all things sparkly and fabulous.

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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 17h
Today has been spent unpacking yesterday's suitcase from my trip to Austria for #OAT26 & repacking for my holiday to Barbados tomorrow. I am not complaining, I swear - I know how lucky I am to be able to travel for work & to have such an amazing holiday lined up - but HOLY SHIT, do I hate packing.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 18h
Nearly at 100 registrations already - with folks from the UK, US, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Italy! Clearly a lot of interest in this, so why not come along too? #OpenAccess
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 02/10/2026
My partner had never seen the work of genius that is the ‘tea consent’ video, so now I’m sharing it here again, because consent explained through the vehicle of tea is the most British thing ever. And also really fucking important.
youtu.be
Tea and Consent
YouTube video by Thames Valley Police
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Open Book Collective @openbookcollective.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Our annual report for May 25-April 26 is now out! It’s been a year of steady growth, with new library supporters, new publishers, and new faces. Between them our members published 326 OA books in this time, an impressive output that rivals many commercial publishers! obc.copim.pub/six-years-in...
obc.copim.pub
Six years in the making: our 2025–26 Annual Report is here
Our 2025–26 Annual Report: 98 supporting libraries, 326 open access books from our members, new Diamond OA funding, and the OBC's move to independence.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026
Duty free is bad for me. I’m like a kid in a combined toy/sweet shop with my own credit card and no adult supervision.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026
Pilot pigeons! 😍
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026
I kinda want one!
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026
Early morning over the airport. Rise and shine!
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026
Holy shit, TWO injections and she’s still alive? She’s either made of steel or the prison fucked up somewhere big time.
bbc.co.uk
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike taken to hospital after attempted execution, lawyer says
One of her attorneys told the BBC that Pike, 50, was in hospital after two syringes of pentobarbital had been administered.
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Brant Reeves @bireeves95.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Pathetic…..
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 30/09/2026
Homeward bound! Linz, you’ve been great.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 30/09/2026
#FinishedReading: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ An Open Secret: The Family Story of Robert and John Gregg Allerton by Nicholas L. Syrett
goodreads.com
An Open Secret: The Family Story of Robert and John Gre…
In 1922 Robert Allerton—described by the Chicago Tribun…
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 30/09/2026
Currently deciding on breakfast. The Austrians definitely know how to do pastries!
A bakery display counter filled with Austrian pastries, with black price tags in German. On the left are glazed twisted pastries, sugar-dusted buns, and flaky almond-topped pieces. In the middle sit long, nut-filled twists and rows of jam-filled pastry slices. On the right, spelt cinnamon rolls topped with cream, a tray of crumble-topped apple cake, and a golden yellow cake. Visible tags read "Nusskinderl mit gerösteten Haselnüssen, 3,30 €", "Polsterzipf 5 + 1 gratis, 0,95 €", "Dinkel-Zimtschnecke, 3,25 €" and "Dinkel-Apfel-Kuchen mit Streusel, 3,50 €".
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Thoth Open Metadata @thoth-metadata.eurosky.social · 29/09/2026
Workshop materials from #OAT26 are now openly available! The fabulous @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social ( @openbookcollective.bsky.social ) put together a handout and bilingual (EN/DE) discussion cards on sustaining #DiamondOA through collective funding #OER 🎉 doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
doi.org
Collaboration over competition: How can we sustain Diamond OA books and journals through collective funding?
This participatory workshop explores how Diamond Open Access can be supported through open, community-governed infrastructures that are equitable, durable, and responsive to the needs of those who use...
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 29/09/2026
If you’re attending mine and @shawthomas.bsky.social’s #OAT26 session later on ‘Collaboration over Competition’, we’ve made the slides available on Zenodo for pre- and post-viewing - and for anyone who can’t attend!
zenodo.org
Collaboration over competition: what does it look like, in practice?
Slides and speaker notes from a joint presentation by the Open Book Collective (OBC) and the Open Journals Collective (OJC) at the Open-Access-Tage 2026 in Linz. 'Delivered version' is the presentatio...
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Copim @copim.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
View @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social @shawthomas.bsky.social slidedeck on #CopimCommunity Zenodo 👉 zenodo.org/records/2291...
zenodo.org
Collaboration over competition: what does it look like, in practice?
Slides and speaker notes from a joint presentation by the Open Book Collective (OBC) and the Open Journals Collective (OJC) at the Open-Access-Tage 2026 in Linz. 'Delivered version' is the presentatio...
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026
I like to think that initiatives like the @openbookcollective.bsky.social are a really key part of the process of moving from this capitalist model of academia towards something that is more diverse, democratic, participatory, community-led, more about knowledge as a public good for all. #OAT26
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026
I think I possibly accidentally (honestly!) had dessert for breakfast. Oops?
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026
Tonight’s dinner locale with Tom from @ojcollective.bsky.social and Toby from @thoth-metadata.eurosky.social - just doing a test-drive before Tuesday’s #CopimCorner!
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Thoth Open Metadata @thoth-metadata.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026
Did you know that we will also be jointly running an #OAT26 workshop Monday afternoon (3 - 4.30pm) that looks at how we - as the multiple communities engaged in #Diamond #openaccess - might best support community-governed nonprofit infrastructures for #OAbooks and journals?
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Kimberley Johnson @kimberleyjohnson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
But I need to smile more.
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JW Mason @jwmason.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is the master key to deciphering contemporary debates about free speech. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/se...
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026
I’m always excited by international travel - right up to the point that I actually do it, you know? Then I’m reminded how much of it is just crowded spaces, too many people & nowhere to sit, crying babies and getting your shins destroyed by other people’s suitcases and walking sticks and toddlers.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026
Airport prices really are outrageous, aren’t they? Close to £20 for two Pepsi Max, two bags of crisps and a Twix! Feel like I’ve been mugged.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 26/09/2026
#FinishedReading: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Beasts of the East: The Rise and Fall of America’s Eastern Wilderness by Andrew Moore
goodreads.com
The Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America's …
A celebration of the extraordinary lost natural wonder …
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 26/09/2026
Headed off to Linz today for the OA Tage conference! My first time in Austria, so I’m really looking forward to it. (Both the conference and the linzertorte!)
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Susie Dent @susiedentwords.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Word of the day is ‘librocubicularist’: one who loves nothing better than reading in bed. (Not easy to say, but I’m glad to know it exists).
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Alice Bennett @aliceponderland.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Absolutely this - I’d like society to treat definitely living things with respect and rights before we worry about the artificial ones.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 26/09/2026
I’m on the hunt for a new office chair - does anyone have any recommendations that won’t make my wallet cry? I hear a lot about Herman Miller Aeron chairs, but oof, expensive! I need something particularly well suited to a petite woman, lower height, with a mesh back (I run hot) and forward tilt.
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Le Monde in English @english.lemonde.fr · 25/09/2026
Amnesty International calls for ICE to be abolished
lemonde.fr
Amnesty International calls for ICE to be abolished
In a report titled 'We Had Whistles, They Had Guns,' the NGO documents widespread human rights violations committed by ICE in the United States.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 25/09/2026
I mean, sure, you could pay what is no doubt millions of dollars to big commercial publishers - OR you could pay a fraction of that into a collective funding model that will benefit everyone, inside and outside of big institutions... 🤷‍♀️
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 25/09/2026
The dream… 😂
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Open Book Collective @openbookcollective.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Which of your researchers have published with OBC presses – and where are their books being read? We're building an open Impact Dashboard with @ojcollective.bsky.social to provide exactly those answers! The first release is due before the end of 2026. A first look: obc.copim.pub/coming-soon-...
obc.copim.pub
Coming soon! An update on the OBC Impact Dashboard - Open Book Collective
We’re delighted to bring you an update on our Impact Dashboard project. The Impact Dashboard will give access to relevant data about books published by OBC member presses, without the need to consult…
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 21/09/2026
Still looking for librarians to complete our survey on how your library actually makes the decision to support OA initiatives - any country, any initiative. 📚
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 24/09/2026
I think England and maybe Chile are the only countries with a fully privatised water supply - and there’s a reason for that! Corporate capitalism has no business being anywhere near a basic human right like access to clean water.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 24/09/2026
One of the best things about working from home is having time for a nice long bath before work. 🛀 🫧
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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Mmmm, feel the judicial diversity.
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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
England is a made up thing. It has no basis in the ineluctable laws of nature. Its extent is defined by Edward II getting his arse handed to him. Athelstan conquering York. The Welsh of Cumbria were incorporated, the Welsh of Gwynedd were not. It is a political idea, an aspiration - not taxonomy.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 24/09/2026
Looking forward to reading this!
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Professionally Nosy @professionallynosy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My Rage Against the Machine/Les Mis mashup is complete. This is my interpretation of the quilt guild’s summer challenge “quilt with your interpretation and/or feelings towards our current ‘democracy’” all hand stitched.
Quilt hanging on a card catalog. Neutral background with navy cursive appliqué “Do you hear thr people sing?” The background is embroidered in red starting light and getting bolder the lyrics to “killing in the name” the quilting effect is a focused sunburst from the center.
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Open Book Collective @openbookcollective.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Next week we're in Linz for OA Tage - the big gathering of the German-speaking OA community. Caroline (@heroicendeavour.eurosky.social) will be speaking about the importance of collaboration over competition, alongside colleagues from OJC and Thoth. If you're there, please come and say hello!
Open Book Collective speaker card for Caroline Ball, Community Engagement Lead, with a photo of Caroline and the OBC logo. She is speaking at OA Tage 2026 (#OAT26), Johannes Kepler University, Linz, in two sessions. Talk one — a workshop, "Collaboration over competition: How can we sustain Diamond OA books and journals through collective funding" — Monday 28 September 2026, 3–4.30pm, Room 003B. Talk two — "What does collaboration over competition look like, in practice?" — Tuesday 29 September 2026, 3.30–5pm, Lecture Hall 16. Contact: Bluesky @openbookcollective.bsky.social, LinkedIn /company/openbookcollective, openbookcollective.org, caroline@openbookcollective.org.
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 21/09/2026
Still looking for librarians to complete our survey on how your library actually makes the decision to support OA initiatives - any country, any initiative. 📚
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 21/09/2026
"Wikipedia is the most widely used reference work in history and one of the most valuable training resources available to the generative AI industry; and yet that same industry is systematically undermining the conditions that make Wikipedia possible." 👏
link.springer.com
Towards a practice of knowledge commoning: academics’ ethical duties to defend Wikipedia in the age of generative AI - AI and Ethics
Wikipedia is the most widely used reference work in history and one of the most valuable training resources available to the generative AI (genAI) industry; and yet that same industry is systematicall...
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Starfire’s Deranged Neocon Foreign Policy Podcast @irhottakes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It’s very simple. A reality TV host became dictator because he turned down a role for Sharknado 4 and that’s why the king of outer space, who cheats at Diablo, got to kill Africa. Now the economy is controlled by a sex cult that has something to do with Harry Potter fanfic because of robots.
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Imani Gandy @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 20/09/2026
I just honestly can't get over that Save Women Sports, an anti-trans group could only find five trans athletes competing K through 12. Five. The NCAA president testified a year and a half ago or so that there were less than 10 college level trans athletes. What the fuck are we doing, people
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 21/09/2026
Can I alter the user agreement to clarify that I will no longer pay for the content? Since we’re altering contracts now, apparently.
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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Honestly FFS. All context, all organics, anything of any archaeological significance gone. Just like that. But hey, it's shiny, eh? This has to stop. 🤬 This is why: bigbookoftorcs.com/2024/09/11/d... #Archaeology #Detecting #Treasure 🏺
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026
Urgh, seeing so many people using AI-generated photos to advertise products on Vinted now. First image identikit glossy, shiny, impossibly leggy women modelling the clothes, and only then real photos of the actual item. They should ban using any photos that aren’t the real thing!
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026
This article is interesting - I wonder whether something could be set up between @thoth-metadata.eurosky.social‘s API and Wikidata? Seems like a win-win for both - enhance the visibility of the OA books, enable their reuse, improve Wikidata coverage gaps…
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com
Bridging the Gaps: Integrating Bibliographic Metadata Into Wikidata for Literary Corpora | Journal of Open Humanities Data
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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026
This is why I think there should be more sports events where professional athletes compete across Chad and Karen and Muhammad and Sonia, because it’s hard to judge just how insanely talented these athletes are when they’re competing against other insanely talented people.
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