📚Librarians / Library Voices on Substack
🧠Exploring New Frontiers in Scholarly Communication
Infophilia, a positive psychology of information, December 02, 2024, Vol. 2, Issue 51. Updated: December 17, 2024.
📅 Cite this as:
Coleman, Anita S. (2024, December 2). Librarians / Library Voices on Substack: Exploring new frontiers in scholarly communication. Infophilia, a positive psychology of information, 2 (51). First created: December 2. Updated 12/17/24.
🌟 Introduction: A New Frontier in Scholarly Communication
I was motivated by an ALA Members Connect discussion on alternative forms of media and scholarly communication to start compiling a list of Substacks written by librarians and library faculty. Are there any I’ve missed? If so, please share them with me!
📚 Librarians / Library Voices on Substack
I’ve focused on librarian-specific Substacks and haven’t included writings about books, scholarly communication and publishing, AI in Education, or similar library-related topics.
📝 The List of Library Substacks
My list includes the publication title, author (tagged when possible, and the country), launch date, subscription cost details, and frequency when specified. It’s arranged by the order in which each Substack was started. If the publication has not been updated in 2024, I note the last posting date (only the third). Here’s what I have so far:
Infophilia: A Positive Psychology of Information by
. (USA) Launched January 2021, Free and Sept 2023 Paid. $6 monthly or $60 annually or $200 patron per year. Students get 50% discount with an educational institutional email subscription. Free subscribers get weekly previews and occasional full posts. Frequency: Weekly (Saturdays).Ebla to E-books: The Preservation and Annihilation of Memory by Kathleen McCook. (USA) Launched: March 2021. Free.
Encyclopedia of Music Genres by
. (USA). Launched November 2021. Free. Frequency: Last posting date: 21 November 2022. Author note: “The previous entry “Youth Crews,” was the last entry I have in the Encyclopedia of Music Genres. I will undoubtedly come across some new ones and write them up for this Substack newsletter, but they will be infrequent.”- . (USA) Launched January 2022. Free. Pledge. paid support requested. Frequency: Monthly (slowed down recently).
Heterodoxy in the Stacks by Bridget Wipf and multiple authors. (USA) Launched: March 2022. Free.
Engaging and Empowering School Librarians by Elizabeth Hutchinson. (UK) Launched June 2023. Free. Frequency: Weekly (Monday or Tuesday, sometimes more).
Well Sourced by
. (USA) Launched: June / July 2023. Free and Paid $7 monthly or $80 annually or $150 founding member per year.- . (USA) Launched: July 2023. Free. Frequency: Weekly. Currently on hold and the author is thinking of picking it up again.
The AI School Librarians Newsletter by
. (USA) Launched: July 2023. Free. Pledge, paid support, requested.Content Prompt by Meghan Kowalski. (USA) Launched September 2023. Free and Paid $ 5 monthly or $35 annually. Daily (and other frequencies).
- . (USA) Launched November 2023. Free and Paid $ 5 monthly or $60 annually or $100 Founding member per year.
CollaborAItion – Reed Hepler. (USA) Launched: May 2024. Free and Paid get the same: $8 monthly or $80 annual or $240 Founding member per year.
Info Literal by
. (USA) Launched: August 2024. Free. Frequency: Biweekly.Memory Work by
. (USA) Launched: November 2024. Free and Paid. $8 monthly or $80 annual or $ 90 Founding member per year. Free subscribers get public posts.The Philosopher’s Study by Christopher Fleming. (USA) Launched: December 2024. Free and Paid: $ 8 monthly or $80 annual or $240 Founding member per year. Free subscribers get occasional full posts.
🔍Search Challenges on Substack
Substack features a staff picks directory, 29 broad browse categories (topics) such as Culture, Education, Technology, U.S. Politics, Health Politics, Humor, Art and Illustrations etc. and a keywords search for posts, publications, and authors. For example, you can use search terms like "libraries" “information literacy” using the basic Substack search. However, since library-related topics often overlap with other terms and categories, the results can sometimes feel overwhelming—or, as those familiar with information retrieval would put it, lacking in precision and relevance. Additionally, traditional library search techniques, such as Boolean operators or controlled vocabulary, don't appear to apply here, as the platform is optimized for SEO-based retrieval. Given that Substack is designed to simplify online writing for newcomers, enabling more people to access alternative forms of media and reach larger audiences, it's understandable that its search functions are relatively basic (more on all this later). They also reflect the broader trend of adapting to the ever evolving and globally interconnected information ecosystems of the Internet/WWW.
Substack has been adding and expanding these Topics and over a hundred categories are expected to be added soon.
💡 Why This Curated List Matters
I was genuinely shocked when I saw some librarians dismissing Substack, not understanding how it differs from Twitter or why it matters for our field. Writing, after all, is deeply connected to reading—and Substack offers a powerful ad-free platform for librarians to engage, reflect, collaborate, and share in ways that traditional outlets don’t. Take, for example, the librarian with disabilities who is using Substack to write fiction—this is exactly the kind of diverse, creative expression that Substack fosters. Or the retired associate editor of American Libraries who created the equivalent of a print encyclopedia.
Is Substack perfect? No. But it’s an ad-free platform that now boasts over 4 million paid subscriptions—and if we as part of the educated middle class, want to shape the Creator Economy, Purpose Economy, and Passion Economy—empowering human potential and equipping our global knowledge societies and digital cultures with the kind of values we hold dear, such as intellectual freedom—we must tap into the promises it holds and stave off the perils!
Substack is more known for its politics and literary writings, but the platform also offers librarians a unique space to claim their niche and make their expertise and relevance more visible in public intellectual spaces in this age of disinformation. More than any other professional group, librarians are vested in literacy, from reading literacy and writing literacy to information literacy. Information literacy includes AI literacy, Antiracism Information Literacy, Digital Literacy / Citizenship, Media literacy, News Literacy, and is growing as a discipline. Furthermore, with new features like Substack Notes (their social media, more on that later), which offer a more interactive, casual way to share quick thoughts and engage with a community, Substack is becoming a richer space for connection and impact. This curated list is here to help librarians cut through the noise, offering a focused, manageable way to tap into this exciting frontier of authentic and scholarly communication, creativity, and personal storytelling.
Substack democratizes the patronage models of the Tamil Sanghams (legendary assemblies of Tamil poets and scholars in Madurai, South India) and the more familiar European Renaissance literary salons, and access to knowledge. Curious? Check out the short history I’ve shared on my About Infophilia page (towards the end in the Alternative Forms of Scholarly Communication section).
🚀 Moving Forward: A Call to Build the Directory
Here's to building a vibrant Substack directory of library voices. Thank you for your contributions and support.
Notes
When I shared this work on the ALA Members list, Kathleen McCook pointed out that what I am doing here is related to two movements she experienced as a young librarian — the underground press and alternative free press — and recommended a reading. That reading solidified, for me, the connections of Substack to the Fifth Estate. I too encourage reading Laurie Charnigo "Prisoners of Microfilm: Freeing Voices of Dissent in the Underground Newspaper Collection" in Progressive Librarian (2012). Her Fifth Estate Rising section about the underground press in the Vietnam era is a fun read, if nothing else.
Substack, as part of the Fifth Estate (alternative viewpoints and media history that may not align with mainstream society), reflects the rise of independent media that has often emerged around the world, in response to the concentration of power in traditional (legacy media) institutions. Substack continues this tradition. In fact in the 2006 Kurtz v. Phoenix Newspapers case, blogging was recognized as a form of media capable of challenging traditional power structures, much like the underground press fought to provide alternative narratives. Today, platforms like Substack create new spaces for expression, highlighting independent responses to ongoing challenges such as rising inequality, the erosion of trust in institutions, and the influence of the military-industrial-academic complex (MIAC). Whether this revolution will be fair, equitable to writers and readers, and sustainable, remains to be seen.
Dip into a short history of how readers and writers connected —Tamil Sanghams, European literary salons — towards the very end here to understand how they connect. Substack enlarges these to a digital global audience.
Coleman, Anita. (2023, October 20). From Infomorphs to Connectomics: Connectome literacy for citizens and librarians. Infophilia, a positive psychology of information, 1 (6).
Posted first in Notes 11/21/24.
Thank you @John Hartranft
Thanks for including me!