No Librarians Allowed

Interview with Tim Ribaric from Brock University about library and information technologies and the role of academic freedom in pushing against the constraints placed by Capital on digital scholarly work. We also discuss Kjøsen, Steinhoff & Dyer-Witheford's book Inhuman Power as an examination of Artificial Intelligence, automation, and labour in the contemporary age.

In this episode we continue our ever-ongoing discussions on neutrality, intellectual freedom, and dissent. But first we also explore why photocopiers have not improved in so long and why that matters, as well as reject the idea that a price can be placed on a river (yes, we get into climate change). Finally, we connect intersectional feminism to emotional labour in librarianship. We still don't know how we got to all these topics in a single session.

We begin the year by talking about anticipated guests, domapine fasts, and bringing joy into our lives.

We laugh our way through journeys across the country and continual learning in reconciliation and digital literacy. We also reflect on the idea of serving the profession by giving more, where Sheila introduces the concept of spiritual labour. Finally, we discuss the Metis sash as a symbol and the ultimate technology, and talk about why the term "digital native" is so problematic.

We have a chance to pick a youth services librarian-extraordinaire's brain about integrating digital literacy into children's programs, intergenerational gaming matches, and lacy undies on pigs. This is an episode about why coding in libraries matters, if there is, indeed, a difference between print and digital literacies, and what STEAM programming is all about.

This episide is about two important topics: the question of library values and hiphop. We dive into intellectual freedom, inclusion, and social justice again, though likely not for the last time, and explore two nerdy data visualizations. One is called "So You Want to Write a Fugue?" (https://youtu.be/U85-4EYgZk4) and the other is "The Largest Vocabulary in Hip Hop"(https://pudding.cool/2017/02/vocabulary/).

We attempt to imagine what 'cultivating a bi-literate reading brain' entails, shake our heads at Elon Musk's shenanigans, and question the valorization of the Silicone Valley 120 hour work week. We also talk about the tensions present in discourse of male and female CEO's leadership behaviour and conclude that feminism is good for everyone.

In this summer episode we express frustration with the ALA Statement on Meeting Rooms (amended June 26, 2018; rescinded August 16, 2018), professional values, and the nature of violence. We also read more chapters from Feminists Among Us, edited by Shirley Lew and Baharak Yousefi.

In our first remote-connection interview, we get into deep issues of delivering digital literacy services to newcomers, meaningful learning opportunities in public libraries, The Ignorant Schoolmaster, and what it means to "do digital feminism".

We reflect on the early days of makerspaces - planning service models, selecting equipment, training staff - and on their state 5 years in. What has changed? What issues remain? How do we assess community partner involvement readiness? How do we ensure a diversity of participants? How do we continue to have robot dance-offs? All of these questions are answered by our robot handler and makerspace wrangler extraordinaire, Holly Arnason.