Where to Start: Reading Path
Why This Path Exists
The Unhinged Librarian site has 45+ essays covering vendor critique, practical tools, research, and frameworks. This reading path walks you through how vendor capture actually plays out. Not as theory, but as a pattern I've watched repeat at OverDrive, Baker & Taylor, Follett, CollectionHQ, and Trellis across 18 years and four sectors.
How long: The core path takes 90 minutes. Each section is standalone if you want to skip around. But in order, it builds a complete mental model grounded in what I saw happen when those shifts from mission to extraction occurred.
What you'll see after: The vendor capture pattern as it unfolded in real time (not abstracted as theory, but through the quarterly meetings where pricing shifted). Why the relationships your library has right now follow the exact same timeline I watched Baker & Taylor collapse on. What people actually do when they work inside one of these systems and develop real judgment instead of just executing policy. Specific decision frameworks from inside the machinery of how these companies work.
The Core Narrative (90 minutes)
What Eighteen Years Taught Me About Library Technology
Start here. This is the personal narrative: why I left OverDrive, what I saw at Sandusky Library, the moment I realized the pattern repeats. It's short, visceral, and establishes the stakes.
You need to understand: I didn\'t start as a critic. I started believing in the mission. The mission shifted. That\'s the pattern.
✓ Read: 8 min | Digest: 2-3 min
Start with Origin Story →Beginning of the End, Part 1: Why Baker & Taylor's Collapse Was Just The Preview
Now we see the pattern in action. Baker & Taylor went from foundational library infrastructure to collapse in one decade. Why? This essay walks through the timeline: Follett acquisition, distribution center closures, staff layoffs, ransomware, bankruptcy.
Key insight: This isn\'t unique. This is the playbook. And it\'s playing out with other vendors right now.
✓ Read: 12 min | Digest: 3-5 min
Read the Case Study →OverDrive, Inc.: How a Library Solution Became a Monopoly
This is the longer case study. OverDrive started in 1986 solving a real problem. By 2026, it owns 90% of the digital library market and charges whatever it wants because libraries can't leave.
You\'ll understand: How the mission shifts at each acquisition (Insight → Rakuten → KKR). How every pricing model is designed to increase extraction. Why "B Corp certified" doesn\'t mean what you think. What happened to Steve Potash when he testified against libraries.
✓ Read: 15-18 min | Digest: 5-7 min
Read the Deep Dive →The Practitioner: AI, Agency, and the Future of Libraries
Now you understand the problem. This is what you do about it. The Practitioner essay gives you a framework for maintaining agency in a captured system.
Core idea: You don\'t have to choose between "engage with AI/tech uncritically" or "refuse everything." There\'s a third option: Build enough understanding to know when a tool serves you and when it captures you. Build your own small tools. Refuse when refusal makes sense. Engage when engagement makes sense.
You'll walk away with: The practitioner loop (a repeatable decision process). What "pop-up tools" are and why they matter. How to maintain judgment instead of being judged by a system.
✓ Read: 20-25 min (long but dense) | Digest: 5 min
Read the Framework →After the Core Path: Where to Go From Here
You now understand how the pattern actually worked at three major vendors over two decades. Once you recognize the timeline (mission phase, growth phase, extraction phase, collapse), you\'ll see it everywhere. What comes next is understanding how it plays out in your specific vendor relationships. The paths below show where to start depending on your role and the decisions you're facing:
If you're a director/administrator
AI in Public Libraries: Field Guide
Decision trees you can use right now. Board scripts and talking points. Contract red flags to spot. Equity frameworks to apply to your specific community. Use these to make your own decisions instead of accepting vendors' claims.
Get the Field Guide →Board Toolkit
Templates and scripts you can adapt for your board conversations. Walk through how to frame vendor decisions for governance. Test your assumptions about what your board actually needs to know.
Explore Board Toolkit →Contract Audit Checklist
Spot the patterns yourself. Specific language to watch for. Questions to ask vendors before signing. Learn to recognize the traps, then decide if you'll accept them.
Check Your Contracts →If you're frontline staff or a practitioner
Frontline Staff AI Guide
You see problems firsthand. Learn how to document and raise concerns effectively. Recognize when you have more power than you think.
Read the Staff Guide →Data Extraction Survival Guide
Learn what data your vendor is collecting and how to audit it. Request removal and negotiate privacy. Apply these tactics to your specific vendor.
Understand Your Data →Beginning of the End, Part 5: Build Your Own Damn Supply Chain
Discover what's actually possible with open tools and local infrastructure. See real examples of alternatives you can implement yourself.
Learn to Build Alternatives →If you're at a small library
One-Person IT Survival Guide
You're wearing all the hats. Learn how to prioritize ruthlessly and make one person actually sustainable instead of burned out.
See Small Library Focus →Small Library Tech Stack Essentials
Build with tools that don't require constant maintenance. Choose infrastructure you can actually manage yourself.
Explore Tech Stack →Terminal Pack: Vendor Exit Toolkit
Ready to leave? Use step-by-step templates to plan your exit and build your transition without starting from zero.
Get the Exit Toolkit →If you want deep research and proof
From Gutenberg to Gouging: 55 Years of Digital Content History
See the full timeline yourself. Track where consolidation happened, who benefited, and how the pattern repeats. Build evidence for your own analysis.
See the Timeline →Ebook History & Research
Dig into digital licensing mechanics and how artificial scarcity works. Understand the economic levers you're up against.
Explore Ebook History →EU AI Act Impact on Libraries
Understand how global policy will shape vendor contracts you'll face. Apply these frameworks to anticipate US policy changes.
Understand EU Impact →If you need practical next steps today
Contract Red Flags
Spot the trap language yourself. Learn to recognize what to push back on before you sign.
Check for Red Flags →Data Removal Guide
Your vendor is collecting patron data. Use this template to request removal and learn what language actually gets results.
Request Data Removal →Consortium Negotiation Tactics
Recognize when you have leverage. Use these approaches to negotiate from a position of actual strength.
Learn Negotiation →Not sure where you fit?
Start with Getting Started → for a more open-ended exploration, or schedule a 30-minute call if you want personalized guidance.