kay slater
@kslater.bsky.social
information worker + critical scholar | DJ | research network @libraryfutures.bsky.social | AI + Planetary Justice Alliance | Chicago, of course
views my own!
letterboxd: https://boxd.it/etsK7
views my own!
letterboxd: https://boxd.it/etsK7
Pinned
kay slater
@kslater.bsky.social
· Aug 27
Project MUSE - Against AI: Critical Refusal in the Library
doi.org
In “Against AI: Critical Refusal in the Library,” I examine LIS as in need of a values-realignment, asking readers to refuse the technosolutionism we are so often offered in place of human-centered possibilities, like taking racism, climate change, and labor rights seriously
doi.org/10.1353/lib....
doi.org/10.1353/lib....
parents: do your kids use bookcovers? like the wrap-around polyester scrunchy ones? or is it exclusively laptop/tablet city?
September 18, 2026 at 4:23 PM
parents: do your kids use bookcovers? like the wrap-around polyester scrunchy ones? or is it exclusively laptop/tablet city?
it’s amazing that someone as sleepy as me has to clock in to work today. amazing
September 18, 2026 at 2:52 PM
it’s amazing that someone as sleepy as me has to clock in to work today. amazing
good morning!
170 - Carnegie, Gramsci, and Libraries feat. Dan Greene
We’re joined by @dmgreene.bsky.social again to talk about Carnegie libraries, which expanded into a larger discussion of consensus, hegemony, and the future of philanthropy/public funding. We also introduce Maoist Dusty Rhodes.
We’re joined by @dmgreene.bsky.social again to talk about Carnegie libraries, which expanded into a larger discussion of consensus, hegemony, and the future of philanthropy/public funding. We also introduce Maoist Dusty Rhodes.
170 - Carnegie, Gramsci, and Libraries feat. Dan Greene | librarypunk
We’re joined by Dan again to talk about Carnegie libraries, which expanded into a larger discussion of consensus, hegemony, and the future of philanthropy/public funding. We also introduce Maoist Dust...
www.librarypunk.gay
September 18, 2026 at 2:04 PM
good morning!
finally, a good use for 3D printing (she is 1 inch big)
September 17, 2026 at 7:26 PM
finally, a good use for 3D printing (she is 1 inch big)
Reposted by kay slater
A lawsuit has been filed against Padlet, alleging they share student data in real time to 160+ third parties (including data brokers, Meta, and Google).
Padlet is heavily used in K-12 as well as higher education with students who have no choice.
Read the complaint: drive.google.com/file/d/1OGPe...
Padlet is heavily used in K-12 as well as higher education with students who have no choice.
Read the complaint: drive.google.com/file/d/1OGPe...
Padlet Lawsuit.pdf
drive.google.com
September 16, 2026 at 8:41 PM
A lawsuit has been filed against Padlet, alleging they share student data in real time to 160+ third parties (including data brokers, Meta, and Google).
Padlet is heavily used in K-12 as well as higher education with students who have no choice.
Read the complaint: drive.google.com/file/d/1OGPe...
Padlet is heavily used in K-12 as well as higher education with students who have no choice.
Read the complaint: drive.google.com/file/d/1OGPe...
Reposted by kay slater
chicago! academics! beneficiaries of an educated society!
sign the community letter urging UIC to bargain in good faith
UIC is unparalleled in providing a world class R1 education for the urban working class; UIC works because we do.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ui...
sign the community letter urging UIC to bargain in good faith
UIC is unparalleled in providing a world class R1 education for the urban working class; UIC works because we do.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ui...
UIC United Faculty - Contract Now!
UIC United Faculty members have been working without a contract since August 16th, 2026. Under cover of the current federal assault on higher education, administrators at UIC and across the Universit...
actionnetwork.org
September 16, 2026 at 2:55 PM
chicago! academics! beneficiaries of an educated society!
sign the community letter urging UIC to bargain in good faith
UIC is unparalleled in providing a world class R1 education for the urban working class; UIC works because we do.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ui...
sign the community letter urging UIC to bargain in good faith
UIC is unparalleled in providing a world class R1 education for the urban working class; UIC works because we do.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ui...
getting ready for job interview for new job at current workplace feels like Gone Girl
September 16, 2026 at 8:11 PM
getting ready for job interview for new job at current workplace feels like Gone Girl
Reposted by kay slater
I *hate* this "digital divide" framing for AI; even libraries marshal it to justify their "AI literacy classes," ensuring all have "access" for self-actualization and economic opportunity. Maybe instead some folks are sufficiently literate, and they're instead choosing *principled refusal*.
The Gates Foundation has pledged to spend at least $1 billion over the next two years to expand global access to A.I. and help “narrow gaps between the richest and poorest rather than widening them.”
Gates Foundation Pledges $1 Billion to Combat A.I. Inequality
Bill Gates, the foundation’s chairman, has been vocal about the dangers of artificial intelligence. The donation will be invested in A.I. projects to bridge social inequalities.
nyti.ms
September 16, 2026 at 1:15 AM
I *hate* this "digital divide" framing for AI; even libraries marshal it to justify their "AI literacy classes," ensuring all have "access" for self-actualization and economic opportunity. Maybe instead some folks are sufficiently literate, and they're instead choosing *principled refusal*.
public information at work at your local public library! learning about the Taken By Taxes project + how private buyers can scoop up property being foreclosed on in IL: www.injusticewatch.org/projects/tak...
@cb-312.bsky.social @emelpos.bsky.social @injusticewatch.org @raceandequityproject.org
@cb-312.bsky.social @emelpos.bsky.social @injusticewatch.org @raceandequityproject.org
September 15, 2026 at 11:48 PM
public information at work at your local public library! learning about the Taken By Taxes project + how private buyers can scoop up property being foreclosed on in IL: www.injusticewatch.org/projects/tak...
@cb-312.bsky.social @emelpos.bsky.social @injusticewatch.org @raceandequityproject.org
@cb-312.bsky.social @emelpos.bsky.social @injusticewatch.org @raceandequityproject.org
Reposted by kay slater
"wow, everyone knew this already" is such a cynical, annoying and unfortunately extremely common response to tech news. assuming your privacy is being violated and proving that it is are two very different things, and the latter is the result of hard work and rigorous reporting
September 14, 2026 at 3:41 PM
"wow, everyone knew this already" is such a cynical, annoying and unfortunately extremely common response to tech news. assuming your privacy is being violated and proving that it is are two very different things, and the latter is the result of hard work and rigorous reporting
Reposted by kay slater
Watch the full video now:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0x...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0x...
Fighting for the Future of Libraries (With Jennie Rose Halperin)
YouTube video by 404 Media
www.youtube.com
September 14, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Watch the full video now:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0x...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0x...
Reposted by kay slater
@emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social sat down with Jennie Rose Halperin to talk about how generative AI is destroying library collections, and how digital marketplaces like Amazon are being inundated with AI slop which makes it harder for independent publishers. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0x...
September 14, 2026 at 3:09 PM
@emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social sat down with Jennie Rose Halperin to talk about how generative AI is destroying library collections, and how digital marketplaces like Amazon are being inundated with AI slop which makes it harder for independent publishers. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0x...
yes, and—checking out that book ensures perpetual access!
going to the library and checking it out ➡️ increasing its circulation ➡️ when library runs the numbers years later during routine weeding (process of deciding to keep or donate/discard to make space for new books) ➡️ it stays in circulation!
going to the library and checking it out ➡️ increasing its circulation ➡️ when library runs the numbers years later during routine weeding (process of deciding to keep or donate/discard to make space for new books) ➡️ it stays in circulation!
You know what gets a library perpetual access to a book??? Purchasing the physical book. I guarantee the publisher won’t come steal it back!!!
"In 2022, Wiley removed over 1,300 ebooks from academic library collections; [they said] perpetual access is not an option for subscribed content. In 2025, Clarivate,... announced they would stop offering libraries perpetual access licenses for ebooks and primary-source digital collections."
September 13, 2026 at 3:45 PM
yes, and—checking out that book ensures perpetual access!
going to the library and checking it out ➡️ increasing its circulation ➡️ when library runs the numbers years later during routine weeding (process of deciding to keep or donate/discard to make space for new books) ➡️ it stays in circulation!
going to the library and checking it out ➡️ increasing its circulation ➡️ when library runs the numbers years later during routine weeding (process of deciding to keep or donate/discard to make space for new books) ➡️ it stays in circulation!
computer. enhance
best library conference merch from @theonion.com’s Archival Fellow (+ fellow UIUC grad) Adam Beaty
best library conference merch from @theonion.com’s Archival Fellow (+ fellow UIUC grad) Adam Beaty
September 13, 2026 at 2:34 AM
computer. enhance
best library conference merch from @theonion.com’s Archival Fellow (+ fellow UIUC grad) Adam Beaty
best library conference merch from @theonion.com’s Archival Fellow (+ fellow UIUC grad) Adam Beaty
Reposted by kay slater
Looking forward to reading more of this. Here's a direct link to the article.
www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2026/no-soft...
www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2026/no-soft...
No Soft Cops, No Saviours: Abolitionist Notes Against Social Work in Libraries – In the Library with the Lead Pipe
www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org
September 12, 2026 at 3:45 AM
Looking forward to reading more of this. Here's a direct link to the article.
www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2026/no-soft...
www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2026/no-soft...
Reposted by kay slater
We're looking for an attorney with 1-5 years of experience that includes transactional work and a passion for libraries, open access, and digital rights. If that's you, click below to apply!
www.libraryfutures.net/apply-to-be-...
www.libraryfutures.net/apply-to-be-...
Apply to Be the Library Futures Staff Attorney
www.libraryfutures.net
September 11, 2026 at 5:33 PM
We're looking for an attorney with 1-5 years of experience that includes transactional work and a passion for libraries, open access, and digital rights. If that's you, click below to apply!
www.libraryfutures.net/apply-to-be-...
www.libraryfutures.net/apply-to-be-...
Reposted by kay slater
Some of you know that I co-founded Liberation Library in 2015 with great comrades in Chicago. The org is volunteer led and has continued it's amazing work. They are trying to raise $15,000 to send books to incarcerated children as a back to school fundraiser - mailchi.mp/cc51694705fc...
Stack the Books for Back 2 School
mailchi.mp
September 10, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Some of you know that I co-founded Liberation Library in 2015 with great comrades in Chicago. The org is volunteer led and has continued it's amazing work. They are trying to raise $15,000 to send books to incarcerated children as a back to school fundraiser - mailchi.mp/cc51694705fc...
Reposted by kay slater
ART IN THESE TIMES October 2-4!
events free and open to all:
exhibition of political art
neighborhood party
bookbinding workshop
poetry reading
theory reading group on Ranciere's The Paradoxes of
Political Art
join us!!
#falloffreedom
CHICAGO!!
interccect.com/2026/09/10/a...
events free and open to all:
exhibition of political art
neighborhood party
bookbinding workshop
poetry reading
theory reading group on Ranciere's The Paradoxes of
Political Art
join us!!
#falloffreedom
CHICAGO!!
interccect.com/2026/09/10/a...
Art in These Times: an InterCcECT exhibition
ART IN THESE TIMES affirms art’s special obligation to refuse authoritarian assaults on free thinking and creative making. Spotlighting works that circumvent familiar gestures of political ar…
interccect.com
September 10, 2026 at 2:08 PM
ART IN THESE TIMES October 2-4!
events free and open to all:
exhibition of political art
neighborhood party
bookbinding workshop
poetry reading
theory reading group on Ranciere's The Paradoxes of
Political Art
join us!!
#falloffreedom
CHICAGO!!
interccect.com/2026/09/10/a...
events free and open to all:
exhibition of political art
neighborhood party
bookbinding workshop
poetry reading
theory reading group on Ranciere's The Paradoxes of
Political Art
join us!!
#falloffreedom
CHICAGO!!
interccect.com/2026/09/10/a...
Reposted by kay slater
What do we owe each other? This is what we must attend to.
September 9, 2026 at 1:02 AM
What do we owe each other? This is what we must attend to.
Reposted by kay slater
Having all my rights systematically dismantled by serial dehumanizers who can’t stop saying shit like ‘The computer answers my questions I think it’s real’
September 8, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Having all my rights systematically dismantled by serial dehumanizers who can’t stop saying shit like ‘The computer answers my questions I think it’s real’
Reposted by kay slater
it's always computer and never any of the other actual intelligent brilliant life forms we share this earth with like crows or blue whales
September 8, 2026 at 4:49 PM
it's always computer and never any of the other actual intelligent brilliant life forms we share this earth with like crows or blue whales
this happened when i worked at wendy’s!!!
when i worked at sbux in high school they kept scheduling me for like 35 hours a week and i kept saying i can't work this schedule i have to go to school. turned out they were hugely overscheduling kids to avoid giving enough hours to the adults that they would've qualified for health insurance
I spoke to a member of the SBWU boycott committee about the call to boycott Starbucks. As a reminder, boycott Starbucks! www.weareravenous.com/starbucks-wo...
September 8, 2026 at 7:14 PM
this happened when i worked at wendy’s!!!
Reposted by kay slater
🌱 "The Ecologies of Algorithmic Machines" is almost ready.
This book draws on over three years of research into the supply chains of AI, offering a historical analysis of its materiality and environmental-making regimes while challenging the dichotomy between nature and algorithmic machines.
This book draws on over three years of research into the supply chains of AI, offering a historical analysis of its materiality and environmental-making regimes while challenging the dichotomy between nature and algorithmic machines.
September 8, 2026 at 2:55 PM
🌱 "The Ecologies of Algorithmic Machines" is almost ready.
This book draws on over three years of research into the supply chains of AI, offering a historical analysis of its materiality and environmental-making regimes while challenging the dichotomy between nature and algorithmic machines.
This book draws on over three years of research into the supply chains of AI, offering a historical analysis of its materiality and environmental-making regimes while challenging the dichotomy between nature and algorithmic machines.
“[These] works seem to lack an attendant curiosity about [the tech industry’s] mechanics....some of these projects read like repackaged versions of the public-interest journalism from which their writers clearly took inspiration.”
good afternoon to lit crit!
thedriftmag.com/everything-i...
good afternoon to lit crit!
thedriftmag.com/everything-i...
Everything in Moderation | Tech Fiction’s Discontents
By Lora Kelley. The recent slate of content moderation fiction might depict a world that no longer exists.
thedriftmag.com
September 8, 2026 at 6:40 PM
“[These] works seem to lack an attendant curiosity about [the tech industry’s] mechanics....some of these projects read like repackaged versions of the public-interest journalism from which their writers clearly took inspiration.”
good afternoon to lit crit!
thedriftmag.com/everything-i...
good afternoon to lit crit!
thedriftmag.com/everything-i...