Lesley Pitman

In memory of Pete, we have launched the Pete Duncan Memorial Fund, which will support PhD students at the School. Donations can be made via peter-duncan-2026.muchloved.com

Krokodil?

Tell me about it.

Not everywhere. It’s up to the teachers and head teachers to change it back to be about books, reading and the joy a good story brings. #WBDisaboutreading

Seeing lots of outrage at this, but it’s fine with me. We live in a complex world, and I want our representatives to be able to deal with more than one issue at a time. War is important, but so are public health campaigns. I attend a local exercise class every week, and see how it transforms lives.

A slide from the CILIP Members Fest Event outlining CILIP's International Strategy. This stages "We are part of a global profession, united by our common values and skills. As the UK library and information association, we are committed to playing an active and engaged role in the international community. Goal 7 - We will continue providing support to the global library, information and knowledge community in times of natural or man-made disaster. https://www.cilip.org.uk/general/custom.asp?page=International." The CILIP lLIG Logo and CILIP Members' Fest logo can also be seen.

Romana Delaporte talking on at this Zoom event about the work of Cultural Emergency Response (CER). The text reads "CER funding organisation. Fast, flexible financial support to locally-led heritage protection. Established in 2003 by the Prince Claus Fund. Since 2022 independent NGO. 565 projects in 85 countries." The slide also features an image of people working on a pyramidal structure using some scaffolding fashioned out of wood.

A slide from Romana's take on "Emergence Response: emergency grants and coordination mechanism." The text says: "Emergency grant mechanism: Quick and flexible grants. Applications can be submitted all year round. Eligibility criteria: urgent, first aid activity, locally led, inclusive and living heritage. Ex. Evacuation, salvage, stabilization, improvement of storage conditions. Grants range from 5,000 - 35,000 EUR. Action plans for large scale disasters -> Joined funding Ex. Lebanon (2020), Ukraine (2022-2023), Syria/Türkiye (2023), Palestine (2024)" A community working together on a building project which also incorporates artwork can also be seen on the slide.

Another slide from Romana's talk, titled: "#2: Decentralised Response Systems: Regional Courses & Networks." The text says: "Since 2017, funders awarded over 1,400 grants worth around 400 million USD. 66% of funds flow through wealthy-country or international organisations. Including regranting: >75% bypass local communities. How to improve access to funding? Funding Manual: coming soon. How can we support our network when a response is needed? Development of Mobility grants." The slide also includes a world map at the top right with many location pins across many continents showing where the funds are used. There is also a chart at the bottom right comparing "most challenging" (blue) and "most time-consuming" (red) aspects of application writing. The two highest pairs of bars are for "Review and analysis of the guidelines" (red is highest) and "Planning and organizing the budget for a project." (blue is highest). Other categories include communicating heritage, developing an activities plan, and demonstrating team expertise.

A big thank you to Romana from Cultural Emergency Response (CER) for shedding light on some critical, locally-led, work happening in conflict zones. A truly enlightening #CILIPMembersFest26 session. Thanks to all those who attended today too 👏

A recording from the event will be made available soon.

Looks lovely! Beautifully poached eggs, and that isn’t easy.

The National Year of Reading celebrates the ‘joy’ of books. But let’s not forget they can also be deeply troubling, too | Charlotte Higgins Encounters with great art can be absorbing, unsettling and even painful. How has this been tamed into ‘reading for pleasure’, asks Charlotte Higgins, the Guardian’s chief culture writer

Yes - reading is not just for joy and pleasure, but also for pain and knowledge.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I find the Observer magazine of no interest now. Apart from Eva Wiseman there is never anything I want to read. A shame.

It is as bad as it sounds, and freedom to read folks have been anticipating this now for years.

Make your phone calls. Send your emails.

Jokes on you, Oxford Street had been pedestrianised for years. It just now we're telling the drivers

A ghost sign reading Woolworths, above a black hoarding.

When I moved to Tooting Broadway a long time ago there was an M&S and a Woolworths opposite the station. Then Primark and Wilko took their place. Now Wilko has gone, M&S is coming back, and before it opens in the Wilko building we have a fleeting reminder of the much missed Woolworths. #ghostsigns

Just back from an exercise class. The trainer has us standing on one leg with our eyes closed. Try it, if you haven’t. The hardest thing we did the whole hour.

Did it do me any harm? Not for me to judge, but I was exposed to a lot of different perspectives at an early age, which must be good.

I read everything when I was growing up. I had self educated parents who had done exactly the same. Nobody to stop them, so nobody stopped me.

Good luck. I hope it works for you. We need all the options we can get.

I think they make it with gluten free wheat. It’s very good if you are coeliac, but not sure otherwise.

That sounds hard. I would struggle without cheese and nuts. They are a core part of my diet now. And yes, croutons! Funny that I forgot the actual bread.

A quick moan about salads while I make one for my lunch. Lunches on the go are hard if you are gluten free. Surely I can just buy a salad? No. Now that so many people are plant based it has become the norm to bulk out salads with pasta, or couscous, or bulgur wheat. Often there are no safe salads.

Academia.edu - Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers Academia.edu is the platform to share, find, and explore 50 Million research papers. Join us to accelerate your research needs & academic interests.

FYI, Academia.edu has changed its terms of service to give an irrevocable worldwide license for anything uploaded to its site to be used for generative AI. I do not consent to this and have pulled all my papers.

A war foretold: how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them Drawing on more than 100 interviews with senior intelligence officials and other insiders in multiple countries, this exclusive account details how the US and Britain uncovered Vladimir Putin’s plans ...

Absolutely amazing piece by @shaunwalker7.bsky.social on what we now know about the period running up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s a rich piece worth reading in full, but here a few bits that are striking 🧵
www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Librarianship and future research needs seems to cover it pretty well. I wonder what they think librarianship is if it doesn’t include all of the above, and more.

The CEO role is being advertised as well. I hope they go for someone with serious library experience. Running this great national library will need someone abreast of all the big strategic questions and familiar with, and sympathetic to, the needs of users and staff.

Job description British Library Advisory Council- Chair The British Library is entering a bold new era. As one of the world's leading national libraries, we hold over 170 million items and support millions of people across the UK and beyond with research, learning, and inspiration. This is a pivotal moment to join us as we begin an ambitious new chapter, expanding access, strengthening engagement, and shaping our future as a modern national library for the digital age.

OK so I know I carp on a bit about the British Library, but only because I think it’s important. They want a new Advisory Council Chair - surely someone here would be excellent in helping them get back to their core purpose of serving the research community?
ce0752li.webitrent.com/ce0752li_web...

Seeing John Sergeant on the Blair documentary last night reminded me that he has a direct connection to @uclssees.bsky.social that I suspect nobody remembers now. His mother was secretary to Bernard Pares and his father was interested in doing a PhD with Pares, so they met there.

If you want to go to #WLIC26 in Busan this year, applications are now open for the Alan Hopkinson IFLA Conference Award 2026, from CILIP International Library and Information Group (ILIG) www.cilip.org.uk/members/grou...

Reform-run council says free library scheme for refugees ‘is not value for money’ Party withdraws all Lancashire libraries from City of Sanctuary UK programme that supports new arrivals to UK

They’re just being bastards for the sake of it now, aren’t they?

Reform-run council says free library scheme for refugees ‘is not value for money’

Party withdraws all Lancashire libraries from City of Sanctuary UK programme that supports new arrivals to UK

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Reform-run council says free library scheme for refugees ‘is not value for money’ Party withdraws all Lancashire libraries from City of Sanctuary UK programme that supports new arrivals to UK

Libraries should be for everyone. That's why our Library of Sanctuary scheme is totally free. We do this work on a shoestring so no library ever has to think twice about joining...

Please help us support even more libraries 👉 www.justgiving.com/charity/city...

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Now what about Mandelson?

I can’t imagine the degree of disconnect between that sense of innate privilege and his current circumstances. It must seem unbelievable. And no, I don’t feel in the least sorry for him, but it is extraordinary. And it is precisely the cause of his downfall, of course.