https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com Library tech, vendor nonsense, and tools you can actually understand. Written by a librarian with expired NDAs. en-us Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/the-hold-screen/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/the-hold-screen/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/what-your-library-pays-overdrive/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/what-your-library-pays-overdrive/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/rated-books/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/rated-books/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/overdrive-amplify/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/overdrive-amplify/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT OverDrive's new Amplify service turns the reading behavior libraries generate into analytics it sells to publishers. Here's what OverDrive itself says it does, and the questions your library should ask. https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/librar-labs/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/librar-labs/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT What Librar Labs is, who built it, where the money came from, and what schools should know before signing a contract with a YC-stage AI library startup. Downstream of Elissa Malespina's reporting. https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/who-owns-libby/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/who-owns-libby/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/baker-taylor-libraryone/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/baker-taylor-libraryone/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/follett-shinyhunters-claim/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/follett-shinyhunters-claim/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT ShinyHunters listed Follett Software as a victim on April 30, claiming 4 million records. It's unverified, and Follett hasn't said a word. Here's what that does and doesn't mean for a school library, and what to do about it now. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/library-workers-quiet-exit-class/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/library-workers-quiet-exit-class/ Mon, 18 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT A practitioner-historian's read on a 150-year structural condition that shaped library worker labor, plus what seven years of reddit data confirm. Walks the lineage from ALA's 1876 founding through the 1968-75 missed labor wave to today's quiet-exit pattern. Uses Fobazi Ettarh's vocational awe framework to explain why the structural absence of field-wide labor power has been culturally tolerable for so long. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/?update=2026-02-27 Thu, 27 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT Major site refresh: expanded header navigation (Tools and Articles now in the nav), grouped footer with 20+ links organized by topic, Field Guide hub expanded from 6 to 14 cards in labeled sections, About page rewritten and tightened, voice consistency pass on four pages, visible publishing dates on all articles, and citation improvements across the site. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-accountability/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-accountability/ Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT You've signed a contract. The system is live. Now: how do you know if the vendor is actually keeping their promises? Part 5 covers performance monitoring and accountability. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-ai/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-ai/ Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Your vendors control most of your AI. Not all AI vendors manage it responsibly—or transparently. Part 4 covers AI-specific vendor evaluation. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-support/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-support/ Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT When something goes wrong—and something will—does the vendor have an obligation to help? Part 3 covers SLAs, support quality, and escalation procedures. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-contract-terms/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-contract-terms/ Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Can you actually leave? Part 2 covers the exit traps hidden in vendor contracts and how to negotiate your way out. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-stability/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/evaluating-vendors-stability/ Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Is your vendor financially healthy enough to last your contract? Part 1 covers vendor stability evaluation, market position, and team continuity. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/ai-docs-wrong/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/ai-docs-wrong/ Sat, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Nine things the Claude documentation actually means — decoded for the rest of us who have real work to do. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/follow-the-dollar/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/follow-the-dollar/ Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Trace one ebook from library budget to private equity profit. The 4x markup, the expiration trap, the platform cut, and where every dollar actually goes. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/the-practitioner/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/the-practitioner/ Sat, 31 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Twenty years of scars distilled into a practitioner playbook: vendor leverage tests, micro-app tactics, AI ethics, and how to keep the power to walk away. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/digital-divide-library-problem/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/digital-divide-library-problem/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Library tech decisions actively exclude marginalized communities. The digital divide isn't about patron devices - it's about how we design our systems. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/ai-surveillance-vulnerable-patrons/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/ai-surveillance-vulnerable-patrons/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT How AI tools can harm marginalized communities. Privacy impact assessments for vulnerable populations and vendor contract language. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/hiring-equity-tech-roles/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/hiring-equity-tech-roles/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT How library tech hiring locks out BIPOC candidates. Job description audits, interview rubrics, and retention strategies for diverse tech teams. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/rural-digital-equity/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/rural-digital-equity/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Rural libraries face the worst digital divide but get least vendor support. Resource matrices, vendor negotiations, and funding access strategies. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/ai-adoption-is-not-your-salvation/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/ai-adoption-is-not-your-salvation/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A growing majority of libraries are adopting AI (Clarivate 2025), but the research is brutal: only 26% accuracy on subject headings. The real crisis is staff burnout, underpayment, and a looming talent exodus. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/the-library-workforce-is-breaking/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/the-library-workforce-is-breaking/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Job satisfaction dropped 20 points in 2 years. 50% of state library leadership is retiring now. The exodus is driven by underpay, organized book challenge attacks, and toxic workplace culture. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/eu-ai-act-libraries/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/eu-ai-act-libraries/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Deep-dive on EU AI Act compliance with practical checklists, vendor questions, and what's required for your library systems by August 2026. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/colorado-ai-act-libraries/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/research/colorado-ai-act-libraries/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Step-by-step guide to Colorado's AI Act compliance with impact assessment templates, vendor negotiation tactics, and the enforcement reality. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/vendor-trench-coat/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/switch-your-vendor/vendor-trench-coat/ Tue, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT That integrated library platform? It's five acquired companies duct-taped together. Here's how to spot Frankenstein software before you sign. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/board-cybersecurity-budget/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/board-cybersecurity-budget/ Wed, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Translating technical security needs into language boards understand and fund. https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/frontline-staff-ai-guide/ https://www.unhingedlibrarian.com/ai-for-your-library/frontline-staff-ai-guide/ Wed, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT The training you should have gotten. A practical guide for library staff on AI systems, patron privacy questions, security red flags, and emergency procedures. https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/you-cant-run-a-library-like-a-business/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/you-cant-run-a-library-like-a-business/ Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Businesses count widgets, not life events. So why are healthy libraries cutting staff to look lean? https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/run-it-like-a-library/ https://unhingedlibrarian.com/research/run-it-like-a-library/ Sun, 07 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT The opposite of running a library like a business is not a leader who's proud not to understand money. It's a bilingual one.