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Vanessa Freedman

@vrfreedman.bsky.social
1.2K followers 365 following 98 posts

Hebrew & Jewish Studies librarian at University College London. Co-convenor, Hebraica Libraries Group. Posts are my own views etc She/her

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Reposted by Vanessa Freedman
Nissa Ren Cannon @nissaren.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
As a person obsessed with the ways Google no longer works, I enjoyed this sancho.bearblog.dev/google-weird...
sancho.bearblog.dev
When did Google get so f-ing weird?
I recently had an experience while doing a simple Google search that was so profoundly weird that it stopped me in my tracks. Understanding this Google se...
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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
'I now sense that creative hallucination is fundamental to [AI chatbot technology] design. It is, after all, called “generative AI,” not “analytic” or “bibliographic AI.”' AI Is an Anti-Primary Source Machine — History News Network www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
hnn.us
AI Is an Anti-Primary Source Machine
Real voices from the past are threatened by chatbots designed to amplify — and ultimately become — the loudest voices in the room.
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Association of Jewish Libraries @jewishlibraries.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
AJL has partnered with The Artists Against Antisemitism to create “How Libraries Can Support Jewish Patrons, Communities, and Authors: A Guide to Standing Together Against Antisemitism.” Learn more and download the guide at tinyurl.com/AJL-AAA-Blog
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Sonia Gollance @sgollance.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Yiddish tribute to Dolly Parton, a koved ir ondenk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw3U...
youtube.com
DOLLY PARTON 9 to 5 in Yiddish!.
YouTube video by Zola Usvjzov
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Miranda Keeling @mirandakeeling.com · 24/08/2026
I was in Littlemore Library in Oxford today and I saw this on the wall. I love it, anonymous small person. You are absolutely correct ❤️
In a child’s writing in grey ink: It doesn’t matter where I am the book I’m reading is where I am. (With green grass and a drawing of an open book)
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Lucretia Baskin @lucretiab.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Fallen type at the Huntington, in the library’s Damaged Goods show. @jaymoschella.bsky.social
Full leaf from a book, printed in 2 columns. Below is an exhibition label: 

Three leaves from a Bible Ulm, Germany: Johann Zainer,
1480
This work reveals not only the experimental nature of printing with movable type but also a printer who was so careless that an entire book was written about him.
The leaf here shows a variety of mistakes, including poor inking. The most noticeable offense is the two pieces of type, one in each column, that fell from the form during printing, leaving their imprints on top of the other types.
When handled correctly, the type would have been strung up on wires to hold it in place, which is indicated by the visible hole in the block.
Gift of Lenore Rouse, 2023
Detail of one of the pieces of fallen type Detail of the other piece of fallen type.
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Vanessa Freedman @vrfreedman.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Fascinating thread ⬇️
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Sonia Gollance @sgollance.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
“…our classrooms are not debate clubs or political advocacy training sessions. They are laboratories for encountering ideas.” Rachel Kranson and Michal Friedman reflect on academic Jewish Studies. jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/curious-abou...
jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com
Curious about Jewish studies? Reject insinuations and join our conversations
Jewish studies is an academic subject, not an advocacy organization, and our colleagues hail from many backgrounds.
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Katya King @katyavdgk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Ukrainian publishers call for support after Russian attacks destroy 10m books www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Ukrainian publishers call for support after Russian attacks destroy 10m books
The country risks ‘the collapse of the entire book ecosystem’ following destruction of warehouses in July and August, say Ukrainian publishers
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Sonia Gollance @sgollance.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Zumerfest, London’s new grassroots Yiddish culture festival, is off to a great start! Looking forward to teaching two interdisciplinary workshops based on my literature and dance research and leading some dancing at tomorrow’s ball! @uclhjs.bsky.social @artshumsucl.bsky.social @biajs.bsky.social
Poster for Zumerfest: The London Summer Yiddish Festival, 17th-21st August 2026, East Finchley
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Yugntruf - Kinder-Loshn Publications @yugntruf.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Two Jews, three opinions: An article in the Forward explores the types of Yiddish spoken at our Yiddish Week and what non-Haredi Yiddish speakers think about them.
forward.com
What sort of Yiddish do Yiddishists speak today?
Linguist Emma Breslow interviewed 30 Yiddish speakers — mostly from New York, Boston, and Montreal — to study their language use
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berserk du soleil @aetataureate.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
today is a great day to turn off autoplay everywhere you can! @librarian.bsky.social (not very active here, mainly on mastodon)! compiled a great resource for switching off intrusive AI/LLM features once you switch this stuff off, you will not miss it for long at all. www.librarian.net/NoToAI/
librarian.net
Removing Intrusive AI from stuff
One of the biggest questions I get at Drop-In Time at the library (besides "what is taking up all my cloud storage?") is how to disable or avoid intrusive AI that shows up where people don't want it. ...
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Andrew Prescott @ajprescott.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Pleased that British Library has reinstated its Ethos thesis service, but disappointed that it does not include the 1000s of older PhD theses available in the earlier version. The effective destruction of this huge research archive is a tragedy: ethos.bl.uk
ethos.bl.uk
Hyku
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Lesley Pitman @lesleypitman.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Well, yes and no. Great news that the Ethos metadata is back, but the full text isn’t, and won’t be. As this announcement says, you need to go a step further to the awarding university’s repository.
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Kirsten the (ex) Librarian @librarykirsten.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I see British Library Pay Discourse is back, so sharing this again.
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The Scholarly Kitchen @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Guest Post — Legitimate but Not Loved: What Academic Librarians Think About AI scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/06/23/g...
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
Guest Post — Legitimate but Not Loved: What Academic Librarians Think About AI - The Scholarly Kitchen
While it’s true that AI may be viewed as "legitimate," it’s far from universally loved. Understanding that distinction tells us something important about how the technology may ultimately be adopted —...
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UCL Institute of Education @ioe.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
If you're looking for somewhere in London to rest and cool off on hot days, here's a map from @london.gov.uk listing venues and spaces to help you beat the heat: apps.london.gov.uk/cool-spaces 🪭🚰💨
Screenshot of the London “Cool Spaces” website showing a dark map of inner London covered with magenta and blue circular markers. Place names such as Camden Town, King’s Cross, Islington, Shoreditch, Westminster and Southwark are visible, with parks highlighted in green and the River Thames winding across the map. The map represents indoor venues across London where people can take respite on hot days.
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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Cool post at the British Library! Barker Postdoctoral Fellow in Born-Digital Archives: 'Co-design a research project for a 12-month funded-fellowship, embedded in our expert curatorial and research teams'. LLMs for Personal Digital Archives ce0752li.webitrent.com/ce0752li_web...
ce0752li.webitrent.com
Powered by MHR
Powered by MHR
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CILIP Metadata & Discovery Group @cilipmdg.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
New issue of 'Catalogue and Index' #C&I June 2026 (no. 215) is a special issue focusing on countdown to the retirement of the Original RDA Toolkit in May 2027 and the transition to Official RDA. Read it at: journals.cilip.org.uk/catalogue-an... #RDA #metadata #discovery #cataloguing 🐈📚
Catalogue & Index ISSN 2399-9667 Periodical of the Metadata and Discovery Group: https://journals.cilip.org.uk/catalogue-and-index/index
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Kate Bevan @katebevan.com · 17/06/2026
this is a brilliant explainer on why you shouldn't use link shorteners (paging everyone at the @financialtimes.com
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The Jewish Chronicle @jewishchron.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
AI regurgitates antisemitic tropes reflecting human bias, study finds www.thejc.com/news/world/a...
thejc.com
AI regurgitates antisemitic tropes reflecting human bias, study finds - The Jewish Chronicle
Israeli researchers discovered that popular chatbots are more likely to associate Jewish people with particular stereotypes, including being more privileged, dominant and hierarchical but less warm and...
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Taylor Institution Library (Taylorian) @tayoxford.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
a topical #TopTipThursTAY for this rainy day: what to do with a wet book! While we hope everyone is careful with Bodleian library books, sometimes unexpected circumstances arise. If a book gets wet, there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce the damage!
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mia ridge @miaout.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
'If you want to give people easy access to an AI-overview-free Google search, send them to this page' udm14.com
udm14.com
&udm=14 | the disenshittification Konami code
A quick way to get an AI-free search without any extra work.
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Adam Shear @adamshear.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Early modern antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jews and English libraries. In a London "News-letter" of 1649, there is a report that "the Jews" were offering 600,000 pounds to buy St. Paul's to turn into a synagogue and another 200,000 for the "Oxford Library." 1/ #BookHistory #JewishStudies
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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Students don’t need help from their educators to keep up with AI. But what we can do is encourage them to question it more. Here’s how: www.timeshighereducation.com/campus… #HigherEd #AcademicSky #EduSky
timeshighereducation.com
How do we teach AI literacy when students already think they’re experts?
Students don’t need help from their educators to keep up with AI. But what we can do is encourage them to question it more. Here’s how
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Vanessa Freedman @vrfreedman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/sa...
megaphone.org.uk
Save the Institute of Orthopaedics Library!
Digital systems cannot replace specialist expertise The Orthopaedics Library is a highly specialised service, supporting staff and students in clinical orthopaedics, musculoskeletal sciences, rehabili...
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Dr C Weissenberg @drcweissenberg.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Was at an event in London last night on training to use archives to help people find family members killed in the Holocaust. There’s to be a deep-dive into trauma-informed practice in this context. I have a few years of experience with this because of Kitchener but will be good to formalise it.
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Sonia Gollance @sgollance.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
The Sir Martin Gilbert Learning Centre is recruiting a School Partnerships Manager. The mission of this UK educational charity is to educate young people about who Jews are and the contributions they have made to society. @biajs.bsky.social @uclhjs.bsky.social www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/sir-mar...
charityjob.co.uk
School Partnerships Manager | Sir Martin Gilbert Learning Centre | CharityJob
Apply now for School Partnerships Manager. , £38,000 - £44,000 per year, find a career with meaning today
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Sonia Gollance @sgollance.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
The London Yiddish Shpilers has its first two performances next month! You can book now for the 'Yiddish Theatre Reboot'. 23 June @ The Courtyard Theatre 24 June @ JW3 @jw3london.bsky.social www.seetickets.com/event/yiddis... www.jw3.org.uk/whats-on/lon... @uclhjs.bsky.social
Poster saying: The London Yiddish Shpilers presents a Yiddish Theatre Reboot, with details for the show at the Courtyard Theatre
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Vishanti @missdiedra.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Providing ALT text is a mitzvah, as it is written: ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל "Don't put stumbling blocks before the blind." 🚨Settings > Accessibility > Require alt text before posting 🚨
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The Wiener Holocaust Library @wienerlibrary.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Our thoughts are with the victims of the horrific attack in Golders Green this morning. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in London and around the country during this deeply distressing and worrying time, and thank CST and Shomrim for their support and vigilance.
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The Wiener Holocaust Library @wienerlibrary.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Amid rising threats against Jews in the UK we were pleased to be able to contribute to the latest BBC Panorama. Lord Daniel Finkelstein spoke from our Reading Room, in the institution founded by his grandfather, about a torrent of antisemitic abuse he has faced recently from far right trolls.
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Ned Potter @nedpotter.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
So what do we know about GenAI? 1) It erodes cognitive functions, including problem-solving, criticality, and memory. There's an MIT study (summarised at time.com/7295195/ai-c...) among many articles documenting 'cognitive offloading'. (We'd lose fitness too, if we got a bot to exercise for us) 🧵
The study divided 54 subjects—18 to 39 year-olds from the Boston area—into three groups, and asked them to write several SAT essays using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s search engine, and nothing at all, respectively. Researchers used an EEG to record the writers’ brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.” Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.
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Rob Dale @robdale.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQZ684/l...
jobs.ac.uk
Lecturer (Teaching) in Holocaust Education at UCL
An opportunity for an academic position as a Lecturer (Teaching) in Holocaust Education is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.
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Kate Crowe @kcrowe.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
*chants* clean, bare hands!
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Vanessa Freedman @vrfreedman.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
www.insidehighered.com/news/student...
insidehighered.com
How Libraries Shape AI Literacy on Campus
At institutions like Bryn Mawr College, libraries are emerging as AI sandboxes where students and faculty experiment with the tools and learn responsible use.
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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Faculty are right that AI output is mediocre. They’re wrong about why, writes Nicholas Creel ow.ly/pxN350Yxu3I
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UCL Press @uclpress.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
We were honoured to gather to celebrate the life and work of Dr Paul Ayris, Pro-Vice Provost, @ucllccos.bsky.social, and UCL Press founder, and to mark the launch of his book Thomas Cranmer’s Register. Read more about the event and Paul’s extraordinary contributions: uclpress.co.uk/celebrating-...
uclpress.co.uk
Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr Paul Ayris
Celebrating the life and legacy of Dr Paul Ayris and the launch of his open access book Thomas Cranmer’s Register while recognising his lasting impact on UCL and open science.
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Hidden Treasures @seethetreasures.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Have you caught up on our latest Archivist in the Spotlight blog yet? Join Cassy Sacher, Senior Librarian @leobaeckcollege.bsky.social on the journey of creating their new reading room. Read it here: celebratingjewisharchives.org/blog/archivi... #ICYMI #Archives #JewishCulture #Libraries #Blog
celebratingjewisharchives.org
Archivist in the Spotlight: Building a New Home for Jewish Learning with Cassy Sachar - hiddentreasurenew
In the fourth part of our ongoing Archivist in the Spotlight series shining a light on the people preserving, sharing, and celebrating […]
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Prof. Allie Alvis 🌷 @book-historia.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
On the heels of the Ephemera Society of America conference, it’s ✨a new episode of Bite Sized Book History✨ all about ephemera! youtu.be/vHHTP36GUzc?...
youtu.be
Ephemera: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow | Bite Sized Book History
YouTube video by Book Historia
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Jane @localnotail.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Bless the librarians of Aberystwyth University for sending this blog out to their students: "Wait a Minute…What If I Don’t Want to Use AI?" #LibrarySky
wordpress.aber.ac.uk
Wait a Minute…What If I Don’t Want to Use AI?
AI is everywhere right now. It writes summaries, explains theories, fixes grammar, and recommends playlists.But here’s the thing nobody says out loud: you’re allowed not to use it. Whether you feel…
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David Prosser @davidprosser.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
A lovely evening at UCL celebrating the life of Paul Ayris and the publication of his new book. Tinged with sadness as we know how much he would have loved the party uclpress.co.uk/book/thomas-...
uclpress.co.uk
Thomas Cranmer’s Register
Discover Thomas Cranmer’s Register (1533–1553), a pivotal Reformation document revealing England’s break from Rome and the rise of Protestantism. This open access book offers unprecedented access with...
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Suzanne Paul @suzpaul.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
A really interesting post on libraries and archives’ responses to AI.
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Jewish Women's Archive @jwaonline.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
The University of Cambridge unsealed the papers of Anglo-Jewish author Amy Levy, who was a trailblazer for writing about Jewish identity during the Victorian era. Who owns a woman’s story once she is gone? And who should be allowed to read her personal writings? Zia Saylor for JWA: buff.ly/kIj1bZi
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Vanessa Freedman @vrfreedman.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Thread ⬇️
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CILIP Metadata & Discovery Group @cilipmdg.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Our first #MetaFutures session is on "From Questions to Queries: Using AI to surface metadata in library search" with Lucy Campbell & Keven Jeffery​ of San Diego State University (SDSU) Library @sdsulibrary.bsky.social
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Ausiàs Tsel @ausiastsel.com · 09/03/2026
I spent 4 months trying to answer a simple question: has this book been translated into my language? Turns out no one tracks this. Not ISBN registries. Not Amazon. Not Google. Not libraries. So I built a tool that crosses four databases to piece it together. zenodot.app
zenodot.app
Zenodot — Find book translations across languages
Discover book translations across languages. A documentary tool for readers worldwide.
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Xavier Lasauca Cisa @xavierlasauca.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
The Perils of Using Generative AI to Perform Research Tasks: Editors’ and Publishers’ Viewpoints, via @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/03/09/g... #AI #AI4researchers #IA
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
Guest Post - The Perils of Using Generative AI to Perform Research Tasks: Editors’ and Publishers’ Viewpoints - The Scholarly Kitchen
Today's guest post offers a review of a panel of publishers and editors discussing the pros and cons of using Generative AI, along with ethical and policy implications.
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CILIP @cilip.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
The British Library is seeking an exceptional individual to become the next Chief Executive. This is a rare opportunity to lead a national institution of global significance and shape its future #Libraries #LISjobs ow.ly/Htex50YrIL8
Logo with the words 'Information Professional Jobs' on a dark blue background, highlighting career opportunities in information professions.
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Sonia Gollance @sgollance.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Looking forward to speaking on a Yiddish theatre panel (w/ Isaac Bashevis Singer’s granddaughter) hosted by Jewish Renaissance prior to the 15 March performance of ‘Yentl’ by the Kadimah Yiddish Theatre at the Marylebone Theatre. @artshumsucl.bsky.social www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/events/the-y...
jewishrenaissance.org.uk
The Yiddish Yentl — Jewish Renaissance
Join us for a theatrical outing to the show that sold-out Sydney Opera House, including pre- and post-show discussions with the director, members of the cast and special guests…
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