Howdy, y'all.

I meant to send out this first OTL newsletter several many months ago. I intended many things months ago, but went a bit too hard a bit too soon with this whole idea, while also navigating a big work transition and a pandemic-battered body. So I have had to slow the pace to allow that body to catch up with my brain a little bit, but the idea and enthusiasm remain strong! I want to create a shared space for people who care about how knowledge is shared to connect and think out loud together. For now, that looks like the occasional post (see below for the latest) and a little of my own thinking about publishing in the shape of this newsletter. There are many ways for you to get involved, but I've put them all at the bottom so you either have to read or scroll! Muahahaha!

p.s. This newsletter will soon be for subscribers only, but I'll post the first couple so people know what they'll be missing. You can subscribe for free to get a semi-regular wrap-up newsletter, or contribute to a little project with big ambitions and get the full newsletter experience.

Zines are objectively the coolest kind of publishing.

You know how when you're working on something it starts showing up everywhere? My world is full of zines right now! They're the best. I started making one with some collaborators a while back and am now working out how to publish it through "normal" scholarly communication channels (see post linked below for more). The potential I see for more of this format in the scholarly(-ish) communication space keeps growing. There's so much room for creativity, while remaining really accessible and easy to get started with. In my growing collection of knowledge-oriented zines (to be documented here one day), you can see how people have embraced the creativity and kept it grounded with comprehensive references, all within the bounds of a single sheet of paper. Concise, engaging, shareable, and, dare I say, fun - these are things we need more of when sharing knowledge. Go support your local zine makers, and become one yourself!

Other cool things I've collected recently.

I have a whole bookmarks folder labelled "Cool Things* I Have No Time to Look At". So for this section, I'm going to look at some of them!

What Can’t ChatGPT Say?
LANGUAGE AS PLEASURE! LANGUAGE AS PLEASURE! LANGUAGE AS PLEASURE!
supercyberliciouserin rose glass

I actually saw Erin present this one live at the Civics of Technology conference - check out the other sessions, too.

Resistance, Rebellion, Refusal: 7 Tips from Librarians for Navigating “AI” — Civics of Technology
This is a special conference-themed blog contribution from Michelle Reed , Hayley Park , Justin White , and Mike Nason Communal resistance to artificial systems Join the Resistance Today and Tomorrow
Civics of TechnologyDaniel Krutka

Another treat from that same conference.

You Are Reviewer 2 by Matthew Murray 🦇
A solo d6-based “game” to discover why you’re so bad at giving academic feedback & why none of your colleagues like you.
itch.ioWaufl

It's a zine! It's a game! It's an insightful critique of academic review culture!

Nostalgia for Physical eBooks
exploring the alternate history of a fantasized medium
Arthur J. BostonArthur Boston

MORE CREATIVE WRITING IN SCHOLCOMM, PLEASE.

Vignettes décoratives dans le goût du jour : 30 planches coloriées à la main par Henri Gillet; préface de G. Umbdenstock. - NYPL Digital Collections
NYPL’s Digital Collections is a living database featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, video, and more unique research materials.
NYPL Digital Collections

One of a million examples of why libraries and books rule - tattoo inspiration, anyone?

ICYMI.

Here are a few recent pieces from OTL, with big thanks to those who agreed to be profiled. If you want to spotlight your work in a similar way, get in touch!

In Profile: Neo-Censorship in U.S. Libraries, with Michelle Reed
Neo-Censorship in U.S. Libraries: An Investigation Into Digital Content Suppression is a painfully timely report into digital censorship in the United States, released by Library Futures in February 2025. It is an essential documentation of how our knowledge infrastructures are threatened, eroded, and deployed to ideological ends. Library Futures’s
Outside the LinesZoe Wake Hyde
In Profile: On Gathering, with Katina Rogers
On Gathering: Exploring Collective and Embodied Modes of Scholarly Communication and Publishing is a special issue of the Journal of Electronic Publishing (JEP), released in January 2025. The process of bringing it together has been unique, from the themes explored, to the shape of the works included, to the experience
Outside the LinesZoe Wake Hyde
An Attempt Is Made: Publishing a Zine Through Scholarly Channels
As far as I’m concerned, pretty much anything can be considered scholarship. I like books, journals are fine, but if someone wants to use a podcast or a zine or a meme to communicate about their area of expertise, that should count for just as much. Yes, yes, peer
Outside the LinesZoe Wake Hyde

Stuff You Can Do.

  1. Write something so I don't have to.
  2. Read something so I don't have to. Then write about it. (Seriously, I'll buy you a book you want to read that's vaguely related to this whole schtick if you write a review of it for OTL.)
  3. Come say hey on Discord. You can always reach me there.
The answer is yes. Do some scholarship with us! It'll be fun, I promise!

*Full disclosure, I swear much more in my folder naming taxonomy than this implies.