The labor librarian

Pictured is a field of blue with text and a picture. The text is on the left side and reads "Employer: Whitman College; Unit Size: 322 Employees; Filed: March 5, 2026; Location: Walla Walla, Washington; Industry/positions: Education. Staff and faculty." On the bottom there is text that reads "Made by @UnionsElections; @unionelections.bsky.social. Logo property of AFT." On the right side is the logo of AFT.

NEW: 322 staff and faculty at Whitman College in Washington are unionizing with @aft.org

It's hilarious that "working class" now applies exclusively to the racist failsons of regional car dealership owners but every unemployed trans person is an "elite".

I truly wish more people would read science fiction and not just watch big-budget adaptations. SF authors have thought about the ethics of the creator vs. the (technological) creation / created ever since Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.

Knowing humans, perhaps long before then.

I grew up Catholic but studied Judaism extensively in my late teens/early 20s (thought for a long time about converting) and I still remember learning this for the first time. As a former Catholic, it blew open my whole understanding of faith (in a good way).

My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it.

Lmao I was living in Seattle when that podcast thing happened. People had ✨thoughts✨.

Paperback edition of There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone

Today the paperback of THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US is out.

It's arriving in a country once again waging war—a country that can spend tens of billions on bombs without blinking, while millions of Americans are one missed paycheck, one rent hike away from homelessness.

Let's take stock of where we are.

Now I’m off to give my dean heads up before I fire off a response to this professor.

Anyway, all those folks working in public libraries out there deserve safe jobs that pay them enough to live. If you want to support libraries, don’t just post on social media about how great libraries are. Fight for the rights of your library staff.

I never had to break up old men fighting over the newspaper but we did have a couple close calls.

And that doesn’t even count the anonymous threatening emails I used to get when I was union president.

I’ve had knives pulled on me over computer use. I’ve had cops threaten to arrest me if I didn’t show them someone’s borrowing history. I’ve had to ban someone for shitting on the floor. You think I’m going to be cowed by your elitist hissy fit? Lol get real.

A good lesson for faculty is that if you’re trying to bully an academic librarian who used to be a public librarian, it’s not going to work out for you.

Going to quote this in my tenure packet.

As someone with chronic anxiety I’m really mad that I’ve spent thousands of dollars on therapy only to have my anxiety be proven right.

Giant fissure in I-5 South asphalt stuck behind heavy Everett traffic

Apocalyptic Earthquake Headed for Seattle Stuck In Everett Traffic: tinyurl.com/nbt6kbkk

As someone with chronic anxiety I’m really mad that I’ve spent thousands of dollars on therapy only to have my anxiety be proven right.

I’m crying, how does a senator from NEW JERSEY do this

Honestly, decent grandpa jobs for someone running for public office.

One was a forklift operator and batting cage manager. The second one started as a farmer before he immigrated to the US, then worked as a hot dog slinger, then was a shift worker for Kodak.

Solidarity to the NYU faculty members as they prepare to strike.

University leadership must offer a deal that meets the moment: Stronger job security, higher wages, and academic freedom protections.

NYU, it’s time to give CFU-UAW a fair contract and also pay your RAs!

Sums up this country

Even worse, I’m head of circulation so technically I sign their checks 😂😂😂😂

Actually got a form email from my own staff once asking me if I wanted to pay to replace the item because it was so overdue 😂.

In my defense I forgot I still had that zine

The worst kept secret in librarianship is that we are actually the worst patrons, especially when it comes to returning things on time.

Teams message from my circulation manager: “I’m going over the lost item list and every person on it is a librarian (including you).”

Sean O’Brien sold workers and unions out to Trump—these Teamsters are running to oust him. “As a labor leader, [O’Brien] should be disqualified…. Donald Trump has done nothing to help the working class, only the people in the Epstein class.”

“As a labor leader, [O’Brien] should be disqualified…. Donald Trump has done nothing to help the working class, only the people in the Epstein class.”

For the first time, we now know how many Black-owned bookstores exist in the U.S. The National Association of Black Bookstores has released the “first comprehensive national report” on the state of America’s Black-owned bookstores.

There has never been an official, comprehensive record of Black-owned bookstores across the United States — until now

“The more fundamental problem of technology is its role in the reproduction of hierarchies and injustices foisted upon most of us by business owners, bosses, and governments.”

@gavinmueller.bsky.social “Breaking Things at Work: the Luddites are Right About Why You Hate Your Job”