Dr. Jessica Lepler

Today's release of the Canal Dreamers audio book made me realize that I should pin a thread with links related to the book. Starting with the @uncpress.bsky.social website: uncpress.org/978146969055...

Keeping “low use items” is part of the entire point of fkking libraries!!! This is enraging. Bless Emison and you, Dr Lepler

Some of my colleagues are saving books by the wagon-load. I believe these resources should be held in common & not become the property of individuals. American libraries have democratized knowledge by removing the necessity of individual book ownership from learning. I want the commons preserved.

I had no idea. His poem has just been haunting me the past few days as I stare into the grim reality of a future with 30% fewer books available at my university.

A travesty.

What are we doing to our libraries? Libraries at public institutions are especially vulnerable.

I did my PhD at UNH and all but lived in the library. I'm sure I was the first to take out many of the books in decades. That's kind of what PhD research in the humanities requires.

I recently bought for $9 (including shipping) a volume listing everything documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey up to 1984, because there is no other way to get a list of what has been documented outside of asking NPS. Said volume formerly was in the Framingham State College library

This is shocking! Like (I assume) many other researchers in both #archaeology & #ornithology - I rely on access to "low-use" books for my work. And as a former resident of NH & frequenter of the UNH campus, with friends there, I'm devastated to see this happening. Niche work requires niche texts.🏺🪶

What a novel concept that a library should be used *for books* I'm a UNH alum. The Dimond Library is big enough for the books and plenty of other things.

Just seeing this headline is making my heart beat faster. Why? Future researchers will not have access to so much. Digital is NOT THE SAME.

Please share widely with UNH Alums. Faculty are fighting, but we need help!

Thank you! Please share with other UNH alums.

I am so sorry to hear this, but it makes me wonder about coordination. Did a memo go out to all the librarians telling them to get rid of their book collections? Where is this coming from? This idea cannot have spontaneously sprouted in the brains of all the librarians simultaneously.

@amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Please explain. The students whose library school applications I support with letters of recommendation love books. What is going on? #bookhistory #skystorians

Good gravy. Our much smaller library did a similar cull a few years ago and barely even told us what books were going out the door.

#bookhistory

I asked UNH's archivist to create a file of letters protesting the "weeding" of 30% of the library's books. Future researchers need to know faculty did not let the books "go gentle into that good night" (30+ books on Dylan Thomas to be culled). 🗃️ #skystorians www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-e...

What happened to librarians who believe in books? With seemingly no student consultation, UNH is poised to get rid of 30% of its library books (with more culls planned). This isn't "weeding"; it's deforestation. #keepthebooks #skystorians 🗃️ www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-e...

Sometimes -- even in the middle of a crazy semester -- you get to read the right book in the right place with the right beverage. Thank you for this refreshing morning, Michelle Craig McDonald. @amphilsociety.bsky.social @pennpress.bsky.social 🗃️

And this as actual physical libraries are being "weeded" out of existence. 🗃️

I am so excited to learn that my friend @arielron.bsky.social won the MacArthur! After reading Ariel's amazing work on the history of hay, I stopped confusing the dried plants horses eat (hay) with the dried plants horses sleep on (straw). Phew! Genius indeed.

Congratulations to OAH members Elizabeth Ellis and Ariel Ron on being named MacArthur Fellows! To learn more about Dr. Ellis and Dr. Ron, plus the other 2026 Fellows, please go to https://www.macfound.org/programs/awards/fellows/.

So, what to do? USE YOUR FUCKING BRAIN. THINK: “Would I give this information to someone who wants to make money off my ideas without giving me credit?” Don’t outsource your brilliance to these people. They are NOT good actors. It’s not rocket science; have a drop of self-preservation instinct!

I have an MA student who wants to write a historiography paper on queer history in early America. She loved _Charity and Sylvia_ by @rachelcleves.bsky.social Suggestions? #skystorians, I'm looking at you! 🗃️

New book review: Wilson on Lepler, Jessica M.: _Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of Revolutions_. University of North Carolina Press, 2025. Published by H-Oceans. Read here: networks.h-net.org/node/20161300

This event is TOMORROW! Register through the link below. Looking forward to your questions!

A UMich founder wanted to be the first US diplomat in Central America. He is a character (& quite a character!) in Canal Dreamers. Join me as I talk about the book online on Friday September 18 at 10 AM . @uncpress.bsky.social @clementslibrary.bsky.social 🗃️ clements.umich.edu/event/bookwo...

So grateful for this kind review of Canal Dreamers on H-Oceans! It describes the book as "a well-researched and detailed study" that will be of interest to scholars of diplomatic history, global history and history of science, technology, and the environment. @uncpress.bsky.social #skystorians 🗃️

🌊🌊🌊 New on H-Oceans 🌊🌊🌊 Review from @historyjip.bsky.social (@sc.edu) of _ Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic & Pacific in the Age of Revolution_, by @jlepler.bsky.social (UNH), 2025 @uncpress.bsky.social #oceans‬‬‬‬‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Review @hnetreviews.bsky.social

Hey historians, do any of you know any scholarship on the history of the syllabus in higher ed? I am curious about how this genre has changed over time. TIA! 🗃️ #skystorians

I am exploring the Erie Canal in advance of tonight’s talk. Here’s original lock doors complete with original timber and hardware. So cool! 🗃️

Tomorrow, I get to travel on the Erie Canal and speak at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse about Canal Dreamers. Pinch me! My talk will be live streamed. 🗃️ @uncpress.bsky.social Register here: www.simpletix.com/e/2026-sloan...

Timeline refresh with garden fresh veggies!

For decades, I've been dreaming about canals but never traveled one. Next week, I get to become a canawler! If you are near Syracuse, join me on Wednesday 8/19 at 5 PM as I talk about "Canal Dreamers" at the Erie Canal Museum. @uncpress.bsky.social #skystorians 🗃️ www.simpletix.com/e/history-at...

This is such a good idea! Same here!

Registration is now open for my "Bookworm" webinar with @clementslibrary.bsky.social on September 18, 10-11:30 AM. I can't wait to discuss "Canal Dreamers" with the good folks at the University of Michigan! Registration is free: events.umich.edu/event/149188 @uncpress.bsky.social #skystorians 🗃️

Even if you can't taste them, the sight of the enormous number of raspberries I harvested today from my yard might make your evening a bit sweeter.

Excited to share some seeds from my garden with @drhonor.bsky.social and other @shearites.bsky.social! My lupines bloomed earlier this month. I'm now gathering seeds. I hope to also bring some of last year's bean seeds. What seeds might you share?

"Lepler does a wonderful job," Aaron W. Marrs writes in his new review of Canal Dreamers in the Journal of the Early Republic, suggesting that its historiographical contribution gives us "much to ponder." 🗃️ @uncpress.bsky.social @shearites.bsky.social #skystorians muse.jhu.edu/article/991497

I’m thinking you might need this lupine loveliness today.