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Author Archives: Mike Ridley
Library AI Blog
As I mentioned before, I’m currently a Visiting Scholar in the Ryerson University Library, hanging out in their Collaboratory. The central part of this appointment is to advance aspects of artificial intelligence/machine learning in the Library. Working with Library staff, … Continue reading
Posted in AI, Libraries
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Ryerson and Vector
Sometimes opportunities simply fall into your lap. Maybe we need to be prepared for them; maybe they just surprise us. Recently I was appointed to two research positions: Visiting Scholar (2019-2020) at the Collaboratory of the Ryerson University Library and … Continue reading
Posted in AI, Libraries, PhD
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“So What?” The Podcast about LIS Research & Why it Matters
Last year we started a podcast. Simple, right? Well, sort of. The basic idea was this: library and information science research is far less known (and utilized) than it should be. By practitioners, by journalists, and by the general public. … Continue reading
Posted in Radio, So What? Podcast
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Retirement
Today, after an over 45-year association with the University of Guelph, I’m retiring from the University. I first came to Guelph as a student in 1972, returning in 1979 as a newly minted librarian. After some years away at the … Continue reading
Posted in AboutMike
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168:01 – A Library Rising from the Ashes
The remarkable Aga Khan Museum in Toronto currently has an equally remarkable installation. Entitled “168:01 – A Library Rising from the Ashes”, this piece from Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal is about building libraries as an act of resistance. For those … Continue reading
Posted in Libraries
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My Biblio Fetish
I have a fetish (doesn’t everyone?). If you know me, this won’t come as a surprise. Miniature books worn as lapel pins. I have over a dozen and have given away dozens more. Most of them are stamped with the … Continue reading
Posted in AboutMike
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Naming Algorithmic Concerns
What’s in a name? Everything of course. Naming creates identity but it also shapes affect. Take algorithms. The literature on algorithmic concerns about fairness and discrimination is vast and growing. The term “algorithmic bias” is most commonly used to describe … Continue reading
Posted in AI
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Libraries as AI Model Repositories
Libraries and librarians have a critical role to support and enable explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). Calls for transparency and oversight of the opaque and potentially biased machine learning and deep learning systems have increased as the extent and influence of … Continue reading
Posted in AI
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On Not Travelling to the United States
In 2016 when several US states passed what have become known as the “bathroom bills” prohibiting transgendered people access to appropriate facilities, I joined in on the outrage. I tweeted about not to travelling to North Carolina and other states, … Continue reading
Posted in AboutMike
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Books and Screens and the Reading Brain
Last week I participated in the Books and Screens and the Reading Brain conference held at Vilnius University in Lithuania. The lead organizer was the EU COST action E-READ network and it drew attendees from across Europe. I was the … Continue reading