Xanadu - Network

If AI is going to be useful for research, it's going to have to fit into processes that are deliberate - students will need time...

If AI is going to be useful for research, it's going to have to fit into processes that are deliberate - students will need time practicing those processes. If it's not going to be useful, they will need to establish that understanding for themselves - one person's word for it versus the hype machine won't cut it. Either way, that requires some discipline on my part as an instructor to keep our focus on one system and one use case long enough to have a meaningful experience together. 3/3

I'm teaching some sessions for a research capstone course about where AI could fit in the research process, and I'm tempted to veer...

I'm teaching some sessions for a research capstone course about where AI could fit in the research process, and I'm tempted to veer off (from ChatGPT) into other systems (like Elicit). But one of the big ideas is that AI systems are tools and researchers have to decide which tools are worth incorporating into their process. You can't reflect meaningfully if you're bouncing between different systems and different use cases trying to find something to get out of it. 2/3

Instructional thought for the morning:Something I've seen in AI instruction (and felt while preparing my own sessions) is the impulse to...

Instructional thought for the morning:

Something I've seen in AI instruction (and felt while preparing my own sessions) is the impulse to "showcase" a lot of different systems, ask participants to engage with several products, and fly between a series of different use cases. With other types of demonstrations (like disciplinary databases), I'd see this as overloading the session - trying to "cover" too much material in one session. But it's a pattern in LLM demos that's almost standard. 1/3

Rules of the game:
-Grab the nearest book
-Turn to page 42
-Find the 2nd sentence
-Post the sentence in a toot with the hashtag and...

Rules of the game:
-Grab the nearest book
-Turn to page 42
-Find the 2nd sentence
-Post the sentence in a toot with the hashtag and write the rules as a comment to it
-Grab the nearest, not the funniest or coolest book
#page42

"It is therefore both easier and more equitable to condemn a society than to condemn a man." Henri Lefebvre - The Critique of...

"It is therefore both easier and more equitable to condemn a society than to condemn a man." Henri Lefebvre - The Critique of Everyday Life #page42

UspolThe FBI is not doing a background check on some cabinet picks. That's a bit disturbing.Especially when you consider that the FBI...

Uspol

The FBI is not doing a background check on some cabinet picks. That's a bit disturbing.

Especially when you consider that the FBI has likely collected a large file on the activities of all of the people being selected.

I wonder what they're going to do with all that stuff once those people are confirmed.

This is where I've arrived after a summer of studying library history/historical methods.

This is where I've arrived after a summer of studying library history/historical methods.

Progress continues with the #FTIndex with another favorite column of mine: Classical Corner. This issue has short biographies of British...

Progress continues with the #FTIndex with another favorite column of mine: Classical Corner. This issue has short biographies of British Classicists. John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor (1825-1910) was an advocate for vegetarianism and learned Esperanto at the age of 82.

conspiracy theories, birtherismBack at it with the #ForteanTimes this morning, indexing Konspiracy Korner. A blast from the past with the...

conspiracy theories, birtherism

Back at it with the #ForteanTimes this morning, indexing Konspiracy Korner. A blast from the past with the "surfacing" of stories about Barack Obama during his first presidential campaign. It's interesting to remember some of the spaghetti that got thrown at the wall but didn't stick. Sad also to remember what did.

#FTIndex

I'm volunteering with the #ForteanTimes to index their back issues. Today it's stories about lost watches and cellphones being...

I'm volunteering with the #ForteanTimes to index their back issues. Today it's stories about lost watches and cellphones being rediscovered inside fish. Strange Days indeed.

#FTIndex

#Collectionbuilder was so easy to get set up, and the tutorials were very informative. They gave me a lot of confidence to tinker under the...

#Collectionbuilder was so easy to get set up, and the tutorials were very informative. They gave me a lot of confidence to tinker under the hood and learn web development.

But for my test project I choose a collection of 500+ objects. So I've gone from "excited about created digital collections" to "caught in data entry purgatory". See you on the other side!

I want to dispel the anxieties around AI's destruction of the art of poetry. I've spent my whole life and career as an artist in a...

I want to dispel the anxieties around AI's destruction of the art of poetry. I've spent my whole life and career as an artist in a world where the "death of poetry" was always taking place - there's no reason AI should be the nail in coffin.

The value of poetry has, in my estimation, been in the way it connects people, across space/time/culture. Whether AI or other computer generated methods facilitate or hinder that connection is what's at stake, and how these tools should be evaluated.

For me, #poetry happens when someone makes meaning while entangled in the poem. When I write poetry, I'm less interested in what I'm...

For me, #poetry happens when someone makes meaning while entangled in the poem. When I write poetry, I'm less interested in what I'm trying to say and more in what someone will hear in my poem.

So computer generated poetry (including #LLM )seems like a perfectly reasonable fit. The meaning-making was always in the audience's hands, it's the poet's work to bring the audience's attention to it, to facilitate it. Computers can be a useful tool in this shared activity and in crafting the language.

6 months ago I started the MLS, and with my current schedule I'll have it completed by the end of 2023. So that's a big thing to...

6 months ago I started the MLS, and with my current schedule I'll have it completed by the end of 2023. So that's a big thing to look forward to in the #Newyear .

But I'm also excited to write more #poetry , read more #books , and spend more time relaxing at the #library . I hope you all find something good in the year to come. #Newyears

I've been thinking about rumor panics particularly in #libraries (school and public) and found Jeffrey S. Victor's "Satanic...

I've been thinking about rumor panics particularly in #libraries (school and public) and found Jeffrey S. Victor's "Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend" especially helpful.
https://archive.org/details/satanicpaniccrea00vict

While the slanders directed at libraries today are distinct from the satanic panic of the 80s/90s, there are many strong parallels (like the way so called "experts" peddle grifts, or social stressors leading to scapegoating). One of my favorite reads this year. #books #books2022

This story was linked at the end of @molly0xfff 's newsletter, but I thought it would be good to share here:"The question of who...

This story was linked at the end of @molly0xfff 's newsletter, but I thought it would be good to share here:

"The question of who and what journalism is for is directly related to questions of who can be a journalist... The solution to the current crisis in journalism isn’t simply to save jobs, but to willingly and intentionally democratize the means of journalistic production."

https://www.cjr.org/special_report/journalism-power-public-good-community-infrastructure.php

I'm the sort of person who immediately thinks "This would be a great way to present in-world lore for #cyberpunk #ttrpgs !" as...

I'm the sort of person who immediately thinks "This would be a great way to present in-world lore for #cyberpunk #ttrpgs !" as opposed to, you know, library stuff.

On break from school, I started digging into #CollectionBuilder to try my hand at static website...

On break from school, I started digging into #CollectionBuilder to try my hand at static website creation.

https://collectionbuilder.github.io/

Anyone have experience using this for digital collections?

FoodFor the cookie exchange tonight: peanut butter sandwich cookies.

Food

For the cookie exchange tonight: peanut butter sandwich cookies.

🎊 #introduction 🎊 I'm an instructional services librarian at Lycoming College offering reference and instruction to our students.I...

🎊 #introduction 🎊

I'm an instructional services librarian at Lycoming College offering reference and instruction to our students.

I love reading about conspiracy theories, medieval history, and cybernetics. Autodidacts are my favorite people. I play #ttrpgs #netrunner #mahjong and #pokemon . I write poetry and translate #dante .

I've been lurking on the Mastodon during grad school and have loved the resources and connections.