shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use In the Library with the Lead Pipe – An open access, peer reviewed journal?

Not disclosed - inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org

Worth it. If you work in or study libraries, read it — it's free, open access, and librarian-run. If you're shopping for library software or tooling, this is commentary, not a product, so look elsewhere.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 14 public sources. This page is a free academic journal, not a commercial product, so there are no ratings, paid tiers, or company customers to evaluate.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useJournal website; nothing to score.
  • Feature depthNot software — no features.
  • Support quality
  • Security postureNo findings, but no security page either.

Pricing

$0

Reader access

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Librarians and LIS researchers
  • Library-school course reading lists
  • Authors wanting open peer review
  • Practitioners wanting long-form library commentary

Not for

  • Anyone buying library software, an ILS, or a CMS
  • Teams needing vendor support, SLAs, or uptime guarantees
  • Non-library audiences — content is LIS-focused
  • Buyers expecting analytics, integrations, or an account to manage

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

July 2026 outage traced to host iBiblio; site restored after editorial staff intervention.

medium

Single-host dependency means links can break; archive anything you cite.

low

No security page or vendor-style assurances; a volunteer-published site, not an enterprise vendor.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open access, no subscription
  • Open peer review model run by a librarian editorial team
  • Appears on university reading lists (University of East Anglia)
  • Represented in the Library Publishing Coalition community

Cons

  • It's a journal, not software — nothing to deploy or integrate
  • Site suffered a July 2026 outage
  • No public security page
  • Librarian-run, so no vendor support or contractual guarantees

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 8 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x3review x4news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free, peer-reviewed LIS content.
  • Ease of use. Journal website; nothing to score.
  • Feature depth. Not software — no features.
  • Support quality: 3/5. Staff replied publicly to outage inquiry.
  • Security posture. No findings, but no security page either.
  • $0 Price Fully open access, no paywall
  • Open Peer review Open peer-reviewed journal
  • Librarian-run Publisher Founded and run by librarians; hosted on iBiblio

Pricing

Reader access

$0

  • All articles open access
  • No account required

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Readers value the open peer review and librarian-led commentary, and the visible friction in the sources is a temporary site outage the staff addressed publicly.

“UPDATE: One of the editorial staffers responded to my inquiry! It sounds like the site's host, iBiblio, is ...”
Reddit, r/Libraries
“In the Library with the Lead Pipe is back up! Normal links should ...”
Threads, @jaenarae
Full analysis

Based on 14 public sources. This page is a free academic journal, not a commercial product, so there are no ratings, paid tiers, or company customers to evaluate.

Free, librarian-run open-access journal — great LIS reading, but it's not software you can buy or deploy.

Methodology

Based on 14 public sources. This page is a free academic journal, not a commercial product, so there are no ratings, paid tiers, or company customers to evaluate.

Sources

  1. In the Library with the Lead Pipe – official siteinthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org
    official
  2. About — open access, open peer-reviewed journal run by librariansinthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org
    official
  3. ITLWTLP Outage? — Reddit r/Librariesreddit.com
    review
  4. Site back up announcement — Threads @jaenaraethreads.com
    news
  5. UEA Talis reading list inclusionrl.talis.com
    review
  6. Library Publishing Coalition blog — editorial board representationlibrarypublishing.org
    review
  7. Open Access Journal directory listingopenacessjournal.com
    official
  8. Stories of Open: Opening Peer Review through Narrative Inquiry — ACRLacrl.ala.org
    review

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