Scholarly Communication

In today’s polarized landscape, libraries face two key challenges: the difficulty of turning raw data into narratives that effectively advocate for libraries, and the ethical complexities of representing communities in these stories. In Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact (ALA, 2025), Kate McDowell empowers librarians and information professionals to transform data into ethical, compelling narratives that connect with communities and advocate for their organizations. This book teaches both the practicalities of data storytelling and introduces critical approaches that ensure stories are inclusive, socially just, and impactful. Readers will find the book essential for communicating library value to help secure funding, resources, and community support.  This conversation makes reference to Kate McDowell's webinar about the book; view it here on YouTube. Dr. Kate McDowell is Professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Her interdisciplinary work examines how storytelling plays a vital role in humanizing data analysis and communication. Jen Hoyer is Technical Services and Electronic Resources Librarian at CUNY New York City College of Technology. She is co-author of What Primary Sources Teach: Lessons for Every Classroom (2022) and The Social Movement Archive (2021), and co-editor of Armed By Design: Posters and Publications of Cuba’s Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America (2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Archival Research in Historical Organisation Studies: Theorising Silences offers an accessible account of theorising the archive, contesting the narrow definitions of the archive with a view beyond a mere repository of documents. Scholars Gabrielle Durepos and Amy Thurlow discuss the ways that business archives have marginalized various populations and themes by providing two frameworks for examining the processes that have led to previous exclusions from archives. Ultimately, the authors seek to redress these absences and contribute to a better future. Gabrielle (Gabie) Durepos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business and Tourism, at Mount Saint Vincent University and Amy Thurlow is a Professor of Communication Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. Jen Hoyer is Technical Services and Electronic Resources Librarian at CUNY New York City College of Technology. She is co-author of What Primary Sources Teach: Lessons for Every Classroom (2022) and The Social Movement Archive (2021), and co-editor of Armed By Design: Posters and Publications of Cuba’s Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America (2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers and archivists have spent decades digitizing and cataloguing, but what does the future hold for book history? Network Analysis for Book Historians: Digital Labour and Data Visualization Techniques (ARC Humanities Press, 2025) explores the potential of network analysis as a method for medieval and early modern book history. Through case studies of the Cotton Library, the Digital Index of Middle English Verse, and the Pforzheimer Collection, Liz Fischer offers a blueprint for drawing on extant scholarly resources to visualize relationships between people, text, and books. Such visualizations serve as a new form of reference work with the potential to offer new, broad insights into the history of book collecting, compilation, and use. This volume gives a realistic look at the decision-making involved in digital humanities work, and emphasizes the value of so-called "mechanical" labour in scholarship.  Liz Fischer is an independent scholar and full-time consultant working with GLAM institutions on data and AI. Fischer's current research focuses on applications of network analysis to book history. Liz's general interests include medieval & early modern English book history, craftsmanship, antiquarianism, and digital humanities, and areas of specialty in the DH world include network analysis, collections-as-data, workflow automation, and web development. Check out the Atlas of a Medieval Life: The Itineraries of Roger de Breynton, discussed in this episode! Jen Hoyer is Technical Services and Electronic Resources Librarian at CUNY New York City College of Technology. She is co-author of What Primary Sources Teach: Lessons for Every Classroom (2022) and The Social Movement Archive (2021), and co-editor of Armed By Design: Posters and Publications of Cuba’s Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America (2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Paul A. Thomas

Today I’m thrilled to launch a brand new series for the Princeton UP Ideas Podcast. 20 years ago, Princeton University Press published a short volume with an excellent title: On Bullshit (Princeton UP, 2025). Written by philosopher Harry Frankfurt, On Bullshit was adapted from an essay that explored the meaning, uses, and consequences of bullshit. At just 80 pages, On Bullshit became a favorite of readers, selling over 1 million copies and spending 27 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s not often that a work of philosophy breaks through to the mainstream, but readers of On Bullshit quickly discover why. Harry’s meditation on the meaning of bullshit can be read in one sitting, but the ideas have staying power. After you read Harry’s book, you start to see bullshit everywhere and recognize it’s uniquely pernicious effects on whatever’s left of the public square. Harry wrote his book long before modern social media and AI-generated slop. He was unbelievably prescient, making On Bullshit required reading for today. Harry sadly passed in 2023 at 94 years old, but his ideas live on. In this series, we’ll speak with scholars whose lives and work have been influenced by Harry and his seminal book. To kick things off, I’ll be speaking with Pamela Hieronymi, one of Harry’s former students. Pamela is Professor of Philosophy at UCLA and a leading scholar in the field of moral philosophy. Like Harry, her work has resonated outside the academy. She served as an advisor on the sitcom, The Good Place, which brought philosophical concepts like the trolley problem to a mainstream audience. For the first episode in the series, Pamela will introduce readers to both the book and the man who wrote it. In subsequent episodes, I’ll speak with other scholars who explore Harry’s notion of bullshit in politics, science, and more. If you haven’t read On Bullshit, you should preorder the anniversary edition, which is set to release on August 5th. Now, let’s have ourselves a bull session. Pamela Hieronymi is Professor of Philosophy at UCLA. Watch her lecture on the blame game. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices