Adding a Library Entry

When you want to add a book, paper, podcast, or other reference to the library — either because you're going to cite it in research, or because you want to recommend it on the public library page.

Decide whether it belongs in the repo

The library has a hard rule: in the repo = has a serial. So every entry you add commits to the l-##### namespace and to the library/INDEX.md registry. Items that live only on an external shelf (your reading list, a Zotero collection, a private file share) do not need to be promoted.

Promote an item when:

  • It's about to be cited in an observation, insight, or essay.
  • It's an editorial pick for the public library page.
  • It's a foundational reference you want to preserve in the canon, even before citation.

Pick the next serial

Open library/INDEX.md, find the highest assigned l-#####, and use the next number. Add a row to the index for your new entry (slug, serial, type, brief title) before writing the entry itself.

Write the entry

Create library/<slug>.md using the template in templates/template-library-v1.md. Fill in the bibliographic fields appropriate to the type (paper, book, podcast-episode, etc.) — see docs/schemas/library-entry for the per-type field guide.

People, publishers, publications

If the entry references authors not yet in people/, add their profiles first (or in the same PR). Same for publishers and publications. The library entry's frontmatter references those slugs.

Role flags

Set is-cited and is-featured thoughtfully:

  • is-cited: true — set when at least one observation / insight / essay references this entry in its sources: field.
  • is-featured: true — set when this entry should appear on the public library page as recommended reading. Independent of citation status.

It's fine to add an entry with both flags false — it sits in the registry, ready to be cited or featured later.

Submitting

Open a PR with the new entry, the updated library/INDEX.md, and any supporting people / publisher / publication entries. The Vercel preview deploy lets you check the rendering before merging.