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Emily Zerrenner

@ezerrenner

Academic librarian, ACRLog blogger, MI➡MD transplant, 2021 Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress, Aquarius, crafter. Views are my own.

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11.10.2023
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Latest posts by Emily Zerrenner @ezerrenner

Librarian at the Library of Congress just out here hiding books for decades. 📚

09.03.2026 17:06 👍 72 🔁 22 💬 4 📌 0

I’ve lost track of how many times students have asked if we’re AI on chat.

Students look downright RELIEVED in class when I say it’s a real person on the other end!

07.03.2026 03:49 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
At a glance: The upcoming changes focus on improving navigation in the interface.
Primary navigation is moving to the top of the page with more intuitive organization of features, and users will have the option to keep a left-hand filter panel open during the search process.
This update not only directly addresses feedback from customers and users
regarding smoother access in the new interface, but also allows us more room to introduce new tools without adding disruptive friction or clutter.

At a glance: The upcoming changes focus on improving navigation in the interface. Primary navigation is moving to the top of the page with more intuitive organization of features, and users will have the option to keep a left-hand filter panel open during the search process. This update not only directly addresses feedback from customers and users regarding smoother access in the new interface, but also allows us more room to introduce new tools without adding disruptive friction or clutter.

feeling like shaming works 😌

acrlog.org/2025/10/03/e... (October, 2025)

06.03.2026 14:43 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Very real. I heard this reflected in my dissertation research interviews, not even asking about AI, but brought up by participants re burnout for instruction librarians

05.03.2026 22:57 👍 9 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0
EVERYONE GET more anti ai NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in red text with a white background

EVERYONE GET more anti ai NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in red text with a white background

06.03.2026 03:42 👍 28 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Tribute Post for Fobazi Ettarh - ACRLog With immense sadness, the writers of ACRLog acknowledge the passing of Fobazi Ettarh, library worker and influential LIS scholar. If you are able to contribute, there is a GoFundMe established for Fob...

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

05.03.2026 23:19 👍 108 🔁 62 💬 3 📌 2

🫩

26.02.2026 02:39 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

just let patrick stump hoot and holler on whatever song he wants. it’ll be better for it.

26.02.2026 02:35 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

The audacity of capital f faculty continues to astound me, even in the wake of a student death.

16.02.2026 17:22 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

this weekend really caught up with me, depression-wise. just want to say, it’s so silly how the things that would make me feel better (exercise, eating well, cleaning) are exactly what my brain refuses to do.

15.02.2026 20:32 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

First real classes of the semester today! Trying an activity my colleague does to draw your research process.

12.02.2026 13:33 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

If you need something good in your day: over 70 people have given and mailed me 227 quilt blocks in support of trans pride. That’s nothing short of amazing.

10.02.2026 23:00 👍 13 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

New on ACRLog... I Bought Slop: A Conversation on the Accidental Purchase of AI-Generated Material

"This is a discussion between four librarians about Large Language Model- and/or AI-generated books. It was spurred by the influx of “AI-slop” purchased unknowingly by staff."

bit.ly/4anDWbI

10.02.2026 20:56 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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Honoring Fobazi Ettarh — ThriveLib Many of you already know that our colleague and founding board member, Fobazi Ettarh , has passed away. We want to take a moment to acknowledge her loss and honor what she meant to libraries, our co...

Many of you already know that our colleague and founding board member, Fobazi Ettarh, has passed away. We want to take a moment to acknowledge her loss and honor what she meant to libraries, our community, and her friends and loved ones.
www.thrivelib.com/news/honoring-fobazi-ettarh

09.02.2026 15:13 👍 47 🔁 31 💬 0 📌 1
Preview
I Bought Slop: A Conversation on the Accidental Purchase of AI-Generated Material - ACRLog Editor’s note: This guest blog post is by Natasha Finnegan, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian, Nicole Kulp, Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian, Sara Wheatley, Acquisitions Specialist, and Emil...

I wrote a post with three of my colleagues about the proliferation of AI slop in our library purchasing. I am immensely proud of what we wrote, and I hope it spurs on needed conversations, especially with our publishers and vendors.

09.02.2026 15:43 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Honestly… I’m on my fourth cry *today.*

05.02.2026 03:17 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I am so, so sorry. What a deep and enormous loss for us all. Sending love to all who loved her.

05.02.2026 03:05 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Why don’t we bring Tupperware to a restaurant for leftovers?

29.01.2026 13:34 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

i am convinced that the phrase “AI is here to stay” is a psyop

28.01.2026 03:16 👍 23 🔁 5 💬 3 📌 0

New on ACRLog... Let’s Discuss: How Should We Handle AI in One-Shots?

"I worry that students, never the most enthusiastic one-shot attendees, now feel that library research skills are less relevant than ever." - Eleanor Ball

bit.ly/45qkREp

23.01.2026 16:52 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

New on ACRLog... OpenAlex and values-aligned tools

"For those unfamiliar with OpenAlex, it is essentially a large database of scholarly works and related metadata." - Sam Winemiller

bit.ly/4rj1tlg

26.01.2026 20:24 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Please Don’t Say Mean Things about the AI That I Just Invested a Billion Dollars In “[Nvidia CEO] Jensen Huang Is Begging You to Stop Being So Negative About AI” — Headline from Gizmodo - - — Guys, enough is enough. Bullying is a s...

"Please, just use my evil technology. What’s so wrong with that? Just use it. I’m begging you. I want to continue living my immoral technofascist life without any criticism."

27.01.2026 20:05 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

New on ACRLog... Finding Friends as a New Librarian

"As someone who grew up being scared to present in front of an audience, even in front of family during holiday karaoke time, I never thought I would turn into an ambivert of sorts." - Lisa Shin

bit.ly/3LEYNPB

20.01.2026 15:48 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Publishers Seek to Join Class Action Against Google Two members of the Association of American Publishers, Cengage and Hachette Book Group, have asked a court to allow them to join an ongoing class action lawsuit first brought by illustrators and autho...

"...in the rush to build its Generative AI Gemini product, Google illegally copied millions of books rather than reach licensing deals with copyright owners."

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

20.01.2026 13:45 👍 19 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 1

Exactly... I fear that the work I do in AI refusal spaces ruins my mental health, but it also feels like I *need* to say it.

20.01.2026 14:09 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

If all you're willing to do is say "We're cooked" on a social media site, maybe it is all over.

If you're willing to struggle alongside your friends and neighbors for democracy, then we've got a chance.

15.01.2026 20:38 👍 1238 🔁 221 💬 0 📌 19

My colleagues, the students we serve, some really cool programming we're doing this coming March for Trans Day of Visibility.

15.01.2026 20:59 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Post image

There, we fixed that for you. /7

www.wordsandmoney.com/content/file...

13.01.2026 19:12 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1

The problem is they aren’t requiring it. They’re “asking” publishers to.

13.01.2026 12:59 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

We already have been, tbh.

13.01.2026 11:47 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0