Y'all: Spaces are still available in my @newberrylibrary.bsky.social online seminar for this term! It's a discusson of Chicago poetry, from Sandburg and Brooks to our lucky city's contemporary poetry Renaissance: Coval, Olivarez, Marshall, and Ewing. Check it out: www.newberry.org/calendar/chi...
A hand holds three light yellow seed packets up against a quilt. The seeds are labeled with three varieties for a Three Sisters planting - Seminole pumpkin, Potawatomi pole bean, and popcorn.
A hand holds three light yellow seed packets up against a quilt. They include za'atar, Palestinian kusa squash, and bamyeh okra.
A hand holds three light yellow seed packets up against a quilt. They include Chicago callaloo, cempaxochitl marigolds, and calendula.
Truelove Seeds are back in stock for spring! Truelove works with small growers who are committed to community food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture to offer culturally significant, open pollinated vegetable, flower, and herb seeds.
My colleagues at ACRLog wrote short tributes to the life and work of Fobazi Ettarh @fobettarh.bsky.social. I wrote about her work on disability, which I think deserves more recognition. acrlog.org/2026/03/04/t...
Thanks @ezerrenner.bsky.social for coordinating. #CripLib #VocationalAwe
square light orange graphic with black and neon text that says: “Join Liberation Library’s Steering Committee. Liberation Library is looking for new Steering Committee members. Join us in building meaningful solidarity with young people who are incarcerated across Illinois.” In a bubble in black text it says: “Apply by March 31st at bit.ly/JoinLibLib”. In small text at the bottom of the graphic in black text says: “To learn more about Liberation Library visit liberationlib.org”. In the background are translucent bubbles and hearts and a stack of colorful books on the left side, the Lib Lib logo in black in a heart towards the bottom right.
For Chicago folks: Liberation Library is looking to recruit additional members to its Steering Committee (SC). Apply by March 31st. It's a great group. bit.ly/JoinLibLib
the English major is so important now with the rise of ChatGPT. yes, the humanities are in decline; they’re seen as less useful than STEM, but with the rise of AI, we need people thinking about humanity.
what is the human? what makes us human? what could be more important?
March 2, 2026, Instagram post from adanne.co promoting "The NYC Black-Women Owned Bookstore Crawl," with the participating bookstores listed: Adanne Bookshop, Liz's Book Bar, The Lit Bar, BEM | Books & More, The Little Bookshop, Cafe con Libros, Nefer Bookcafe, Gladys Books & Wine, Sister's Uptown Bookstore, The Free Black Women's Library. There is a color illustration of four quaint buildings in a row. Each building has a sign on it that says "Books" or "Books Shop."
MARCH 2026: The inaugural, month-long #NYC Black Women-Owned Bookstore Crawl, with: Adanne; Liz's Book Bar; The Lit. Bar; BEM | books & more; The Little Bookshop; Café con Libros; Nefer Bookcafe; Gladys Books & Wine; Sister's Uptown Bookstore; The Free Black Women's Library. #bookstores #BlackWomen
Tanaïs has a new novel coming out this year, which you should preorder! #BookSky
"A hypnotically original and lush speculative novel from award-winning author Tanaïs about technology, sex, spirituality, family secrets, and the mother–daughter bond across generations"
Come on social justice-loving librarians, we want to celebrate you!!!
A rectangular graphic shows images of an online catalog manifest for a medieval missal leaf at the Newberry Library at the top and a book bound in a medieval manuscript leaf with musical notation in the lower right. The lower left quadrant has white text on a black and red background that reads, “RBS Impact Story: Cataloging Medieval Manuscript Fragments in Chicago. Rare Book School has been integral to helping Chicago librarians Megan Kelly and Rebecca Flore make the medieval collections in their respective libraries more accessible to researchers.”
RBS has been integral to helping librarians Megan Kelly & Rebecca Flore make the medieval collections in their libraries more accessible to researchers.
Read about their efforts at rarebookschool.org/impact-story-cataloging-fragments-in-chicago
@lisafdavis.bsky.social @newberrylibrary.bsky.social
The More You Know 🌟
Hi, Chicago friends! Are you a story writer? Or story-writing-curious? I'm teaching an in-person class for @storystudiochicago.bsky.social & would love to see you in here! & pls spread the word if you can!
www.storystudiochicago.org/classes/clas...
The research library received a Mellon Foundation grant to expand access to its vast Indigenous collections, including materials related to 300 languages.
The cover of How to Protect Bookstores and Why: The Present and Future of Bookselling by Danny Caine, published by Microcosm Publishing.
A new distributed offering: How to Protect Bookstores and Why by Danny Caine. Fascinating reading for people that want to support bookstores, but also a lot of great stories and experiences shared by people working in the kind of shops we love. $16.00 from: halfletterpress.com/how-to-prote...
I wrote about the loss of @volumesbooks.bsky.social, the encroachment of corporate bookselling in Chicago, and what it means for our literary scene and community overall.
A huge thank you to @literaryhub.bsky.social ❤️
lithub.com/what-we-lose...
A librarian stands in front of large screen that displays digitized Black history material while a room full of event attendees look on.
Big news for #DouglassDay! We officially unveiled a stunning new gallery of Black History materials in Newberry Digital Collections at our event! From our stacks to your screen—check out the new gallery today:
📍 publications.newberry.org/gallery/?g=2...
Screenshot of the Newberry Library Digital Collections homepage featuring a pastel illustration of a polar bear on ice with mountains and a sun; a banner invites browsing the digital collections, with “Browse all” and “Recently added” thumbnails below.
Screenshot of the Newberry Transcribe homepage with a purple handwriting background; a large panel reads “Newberry Transcribe — Unlock history!” with buttons for “Learn more” and “Browse manuscripts,” and a row of project tiles below.
📌 Where to find us:
🔍 Browse our digital collections -- thousands of rare maps, manuscripts, postcards, and more, all free and online collections.newberry.org
✍️ Help us transcribe historical documents on Newberry Transcribe (no experience needed, just curiosity) nt.newberry.org
Has anyone studied how researchers and academics use library catalogues? I'm struggling to find any literature on researcher (not student) information needs and information seeking behavior. Any leads?
My focus is rare books/archives/special collections, but I'm looking broadly right now.
Flyer for the Twin Cities Zine Fest on Saturday February 7th from 10 am to 4 pm at Minneapolis Central Library. There is a fun Bug Girl illustration where she reads a zine in a fluorescent green nest. Words to the side read "Charming chatter and printed matter".
If you're near Minneapolis on Saturday, please consider coming out to the Twin Cities Zine Fest, where we'll have 80+ zinesters sharing their #zines & free workshops! tczinefest.org/tczf-2026/ #TCZF2026
If you're elsewhere, please send good vibes, we could use some fun.
The image shows a close-up of an off-white canvas or fabric bag. Centered on it is an oval patch with a purple background and a red border. Inside the oval, in playful white lettering, it reads: “It’s pronounced ‘zeen’.” Small yellow sparkle/star icons appear around the text
Because someone asked for it, I made "It's Pronounced Zeen" totes!
Every tote sale goes directly to the Disability Justice Microgrant Fund.
wildramppublishing.com
A poster for the Chicago Public Library's Family Archives Day. Under this heading the poster asks What is an archive? How do I learn more about my family history? What do I do with all this STUFF? At the bottom it gives the details: Saturday, February 7 1-3:30pm Carter G Woodson Regional Library 9525 S Halsted To the bottom right is a picture of a particularly dyspeptic-looking Carter G Woodson with a speech bubble over his head that says "You must give your own story to the world."
The Ridge Historical Society is sending its 2 biggest nerds to this event tomorrow to infodump on the unsuspecting public. I will also be running a presentation that uses my own family archives to talk about how now more than ever it is incredibly important to preserve & tell our stories ourselves.
It would be difficult to overstate the influence of Fobazi Ettarh's work on a generation of library workers. Sending love to all in her orbit.
Join me in supporting her family in this difficult time.
www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Book under the microscope.
Chart with a scientific instruments border and iron gall damage in the text.
Booked for the Evening?
Tonight we'll premier my favorite new acquisition, a 17th c. surveying manuscript with a Galileo link! My Conservation colleagues will explain the plan to deacidify and support areas with iron gall ink damage...
It's not too late to join us!
www.newberry.org/calendar/boo...
Remembering Fobazi Ettarh by reading her brilliant work. I read about vocational awe in my last year of library school & she provided the vocabulary I needed to describe some of my observations & experiences as a BIPOC worker. She will be missed. www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocatio...
With sorrow, we announce the passing of FOBAZI M. ETTARH 1989 - 2026. Fobazi changed so many lives with her friendship, love, and brilliance. She was so loved, and leaves behind a powerful legacy. We thank Fobazi's community for their support over the last several months of her illness. A private burial will be held for family. We will be in touch with further information about a future Celebration of Life event, as well as ways to support Fobazi's family and legacy.
Red, hand-drawn flyer with a collage border made of black-and-white newspaper clippings. Large black marker text reads “DePaul Zinefest.” Below it: “Open to the public!” and “@depaulzinesters on IG.” Event details read: “Saturday, January 31st, 12:30–6:00 PM.” Location: “DePaul University Student Center, Room 120 AB, 2250 N Sheffield Ave.” Small cut-out images of animals, including penguins, a polar bear, a spider, and a mouse, are scattered around the edges
Chicago! Come on by DePaul University for DePaul Zine Fest on Saturday from 12:30-6:00pm. I'll be tabling with a whole bunch of new zines.
From Black Zine Fair and Sojourners 4 Justice on Instagram: post featuring old-school computer graphics of books on a bookcase. Text says: “Black Zine Fair. Save the date: May 9, 2026. Open call for exhibitors, workshops, and volunteers until February 9, 2026.”
Black Zine Fair 2026: Open call for exhibitors, workshops, and volunteers until FEB 9. “If you have never made a zine, only made a few zines, or made several zines and never tabled a zine/art book fair before, we really want you to apply!” docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #BlackZineFair #BZF2026 #NYC
This year's Chicago Poetry Center silent auction is live! So much good stuff here, including a few items from yours truly: manuscript and individual poem consultations, a Chicago book bundle. CPC is the realest poetry org out there; help them thrive!
www.accelevents.com/e/cpc2026ann...
A collage of historic images has the title "Dante, Disco, and the Declaration" above it, encouraging people to register for Adult Education Classes.
Registration for our Winter/Spring term of Adult Education is now open! The Newberry provides thought-provoking classes led by passionate, expert instructors. cc: @sjventurino.bsky.social @rogersparkman.bsky.social @dawnsardellaayres.bsky.social www.newberry.org/learn/adult-...
There are a number of efforts to preserve old footage and stories from the Chicago hardcore, emo and punk scenes of the 90s and early 2000s that are very exciting. One is The Fireside Tapes Youtube channel with early Midwest emo shows from the Fireside Bowl.
www.youtube.com/@thefireside...
