Short answer: it's worth a few free hours before it's worth any money. Here is how to test whether reading is worth it for you, using the 265 free entries the library already holds.
An essay on how AI exposes the cultural debt embedded in org charts, leadership habits, and unexamined processes.
Why I recommend it: This piece nails why AI adoption is less a technology problem and more a culture-and-power problem. Essential reading for anyone leading a team through change.
Every year, HR Executive spotlights 100 professionals who are making a real difference in how the world works and how technology supports it.
Why I recommend it: A useful starting point for anyone building an inclusive hiring or HR tech practice. Follow these voices to stay ahead of how technology is reshaping work.
LinkedIn article from Michelle Coulson on identifying remote positions, asking the right questions in interviews, and building a career while working from anywhere.
Why I recommend it: Remote work is still a differentiator, but not every "remote-friendly" job is what it seems. Coulson gives practical signals to look for before you accept.
A simple worksheet for building repeatable stories for behavioral questions.
In plain terms: This guide explains how to use the STAR method to answer behavioral job interview questions. You can use the step-by-step instructions and examples to prepare clear, structured stories about your past work experience.
From the site: Use the STAR interview method to craft simple but impressive answers to the most common interview questions—especially ones that begin with “Tell me about a time…”
Why I recommend it: Write six stories. They will cover about 80% of the questions you get.
A Substack essay from the Side Work newsletter built on direct conversations about pay, showing what people in different roles actually earn and how they talk about it.
Why I recommend it: Real numbers from real people beat any salary calculator. Use it to set a floor before your next negotiation, and notice how plainly these folks discuss money.
A step-by-step checklist for a headline, about section, and skills that get found.
In plain terms: This guide offers a step-by-step checklist for improving your LinkedIn profile. Use it to update your headline, about section, and skills so recruiters can easily find you.
From the site: The Talent Blog is your source for tips, strategies, and inspiration to help you hire and develop talent
Why I recommend it: Recruiters search by keywords. Put the job title you want in your headline.
A communal blog where working mathematicians — professors, PhD students, sceptics and enthusiasts alike — write about what AI is doing to their field: authorship, what counts as understanding, where papers will go, and whether the job changes. Recent pieces include Martin Hairer on why he joined the AGMAI advisory group and Jonny Evans on the choices ahead. Submissions are open to anyone in the field, any length.
Why I recommend it: Free to read and free to write for. Worth reading even if you never touch mathematics: it is one of the few places where a whole profession is arguing in public about what AI does to its craft, in its own words rather than a journalist's. These are individual opinions, not findings — the value is the range of them, and the disagreement is the point.
Partnership on AI's open library of guidance, frameworks, and case studies on responsible AI: synthetic media, labor and the economy, AI safety, fairness, and inclusive AI development.
Why I recommend it: When you need a credible source instead of a hot take, cite these. The labor and economy work is the most useful set for career conversations about automation.
A free explorer for new arXiv research with plain-language paper summaries, topic pages and video overviews, so you can follow AI research without reading raw papers.
From the site: Your first stop to discover and learn about new arXiv research. Detailed paper summaries, video overviews, and more — no prompting required.
Why I recommend it: The fastest way I know to keep up with AI research when you are not a researcher. Free to browse.
Free reading app from OverDrive that borrows ebooks, audiobooks and magazines from your local public library with a library card. Works in a browser or on iOS, Android, Kobo and Kindle (US libraries only), with offline downloads, CarPlay and Android Auto support, holds, and tagged reading lists.
Why I recommend it: This is how you read the paid books on this site without buying them — most business, career and technology titles are in public library collections. What you need is a library card, which is free where you live. The catch is availability, not price: your library chooses what it licenses and popular titles come with waiting lists, so place holds early rather than expecting a book on the day you want it.
Free talks, videos, and teaching from Marcus Sheridan, author of They Ask, You Answer — answering customer questions honestly as a content and sales strategy for small businesses.
Why I recommend it: The whole method is: answer the questions your customers actually ask, including the awkward ones about price. Cheapest marketing strategy there is.
Turns books and documents into scrollable, bite-sized learning cards with AI summaries and quizzes.
From the site: What is AI smart scrolling? ScrollEd pioneered AI smart-scrolling technology that transforms books into scrollable, bite-sized learning cards with AI summaries and quizzes. Learn faster in 5-minute sessions.
Why I recommend it: The free tier is limited: demo content only, no file uploads, and ads. Pro is $6.99 a month (currently offered free for three months to early members), so treat the free plan as a look around rather than a usable reading tool.
A curated, public Notion library of practical AI how-tos: tools, prompts, and step-by-step workflows organized so beginners can pick a task and follow it through.
Why I recommend it: A good starting shelf if AI still feels abstract — pick one workflow, run it end to end, then come back for the next.
A reading layer over Wikipedia: cleaner article pages, hover previews, timelines, and a chat that answers only from the Wikipedia article you are reading and the articles it links to, with every answer linked back to its source.
Why I recommend it: Useful precisely because it refuses to answer from anywhere but Wikipedia — you can check every claim. Still Wikipedia underneath, so treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
A long-running technology news publication with careful, technical reporting on computing, science, policy and security — deeper than most tech headlines and clear about what is known versus claimed.
From the site: News and reviews, covering IT, AI, science, space, health, gaming, cybersecurity, tech policy, computers, mobile devices, and operating systems.
Why I recommend it: One of the few tech outlets that reads a filing or a paper before writing about it. Free to read, with an optional paid subscription that removes ads.
Engineering and technology news site covering AI, energy, space and hardware, free to read with an optional paid ad-free tier.
From the site: Explore Interesting Engineering for cutting-edge articles, news, and insights on technology, innovation, and the future of engineering worldwide.
Why I recommend it: Broad and fast-moving, sometimes breathless. Fine for spotting stories, worth checking the original source before repeating one.
The Verge's technology section: daily reporting on the companies, products and policies shaping the industry.
From the site: The latest tech news about the world’s best (and sometimes worst) hardware, apps, and much more. From top companies like Google and Apple to tiny startups vying for your attention, Verge Tech has the latest in what matters in technology daily.
Why I recommend it: Free to read and readable. Good for keeping current on the companies you might interview with.
