Liberty Festival London, IMLS Grants, Google Photos, More: Saturday ResearchBuzz, December 6, 2025
NEW RESOURCES
City of London England: New online archive launched to celebrate more than 20 years of the Liberty Festival and the UK’s disability arts scene. “Now, for the first time, materials relating to the festival’s history are available in one place, offering a rich resource for audiences, researchers, and future cultural innovators. The digital guide is accessible by design, including features such as screen reader support, zoom, font size adjustment, transcripts, subtitles, alt-text, audio d…
Liberty Festival London, IMLS Grants, Google Photos, More: Saturday ResearchBuzz, December 6, 2025
NEW RESOURCES
City of London England: New online archive launched to celebrate more than 20 years of the Liberty Festival and the UK’s disability arts scene. “Now, for the first time, materials relating to the festival’s history are available in one place, offering a rich resource for audiences, researchers, and future cultural innovators. The digital guide is accessible by design, including features such as screen reader support, zoom, font size adjustment, transcripts, subtitles, alt-text, audio description, along with multilingual capabilities available through Google Translate – ensuring that everyone can experience the stories and artworks that have shaped this vibrant cultural movement.”
TWEAKS AND UPDATES
American Library Association: ALA welcomes reinstatement of all federal IMLS grants to libraries. “Today, the American Library Association (ALA) greeted an announcement by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that it had reinstated all the agency’s grants, including those to libraries and library organizations across the country. The grant reinstatements come as a direct result of a November 21 federal court decision in a lawsuit brought against President Trump by 21 states.”
9to5 Google: Google Photos 2025 Recap rolling out with stats, Gemini, more. “Debuting last year, this recap takes advantage of the existing Memories carousel at the top of the Photos tab. Google pairs your 2025 pictures and videos with fun graphics and cinematic effects. Stats will highlight your top people, places, celebrations, and total photos taken, while there’s a new selfie count.”
Waze Blog: Drive with “SpongeBob” on Waze. “The world’s favorite sponge is jumping in as a navigator for an open-road adventure! To celebrate the upcoming release of ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ in theatres December 19, SpongeBob is bringing his nautical charm, quick wit, and bursts of positivity to your daily drive.”
AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD
The Bulwark: MAGA Influencers Take Heat Over Qatar Junket. “While the right’s feuding is certainly funny, the fight over the Qatar trip points to something larger. As Qatar and Israel increasingly grapple with one another for the loyalty of Republican personalities, even the most ridiculous MAGA influencers appear to be worth fighting over—and splashing out on.”
TechSpot: xAI employee praised by collegues for working 36 hours without sleep. “In an era where we’re told to have a work-life balance and not grind ourselves to death, it’s depressing to see xAI employees publicly cheer a colleague for working 36 hours without sleep. Unsurprisingly, his boss, Elon Musk, who demands we live and sleep at the office while simultaneously having more babies, gave his seal of approval.” I do not believe we can make karoshi great again.
The Bulletin (Belgium): Jette station cat gets reviews on Google. “A railway station cat in Jette has been listed as a landmark on Google Maps, achieving a rating of 4.9 out of five stars with more than 50 reviews from users…. With a 4.9 star rating, Grijsje scores higher than nearby King Baudouin Park (4.5), Schievelavabo restaurant (4.2) and the local Delhaize supermarket (3.9).”
SECURITY & LEGAL
Associated Press: EU hits Elon Musk’s X with 120 million euro fine for breaching bloc’s social media law. “European Union regulators on Friday fined Elon Musk’s social media platform X 120 million euros ($140 million) for breaches of the bloc’s digital regulations that they said could leave users exposed to scams and manipulation.”
Denver Post: Cambodia seeks records from family of late Denver Art Museum consultant Emma Bunker. “The Cambodian government has formally requested records from the family of the late Emma C. Bunker, a former Denver Art Museum consultant who helped museums around the world acquire looted Southeast Asian antiquities.”
RESEARCH & OPINION
SF Gate: The time has come to declare war on AI. “AI is evil. It’s a bunch of crappy products engineered to wage war on mankind itself, and not in cool sci-fi ways. It’s a banal evil, same as so many of the other evils that you and I have encountered over the years. But it’s a growing one.”
NBC News: AI chatbots used inaccurate information to change people’s political opinions, study finds. “But the study also said that the persuasiveness of AI chatbots wasn’t entirely on the up-and-up: Within the reams of information the chatbots provided as answers, researchers wrote that they discovered many inaccurate assertions.”
OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL
Axios: Nina Simone’s childhood home restored in North Carolina. “The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund announced in November that restoration work on Simone’s childhood home in Tryon is complete, following a nearly decade-long fight to protect the site.” Good morning, Internet…
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