up//root: an *independent* publication

We Here’s projects and programs, created, cared for, and tended by community members, sometimes grow in new directions that no longer need our support. In that spirit, it’s with great pride we share some exciting news from up//root’s editors:

Since 2020, up//root has existed in partnership with the We Here community as a space for BIPOC voices in LIS and archives to critically challenge the structures and institutions which oppress us. We are proud to have published a diversity of submissions, and most recently, 11 creative and critical works in the HOME collection. 

We Here has been a nurturing and supportive place for up//root to realize its vision. Though our time as partners is ending, we remain just as energized and revitalized by the ideas of our community as we envision a future as an independent publication. 

This change comes at the conclusion of the editorial team’s current contract with We Here, and stems from a mutual desire to explore new possibilities in the realm of publishing. While We Here takes a pause to consider how we want to show up as a publisher in LIS spaces, we’re grateful our community will continue to have a place to publish in up//root, which is now an independent publication, administratively and creatively. We Here is proud to have played a part in establishing this incredible BIPOC-led publishing community, which centers radical ideas, conversations and experiences within the context of libraries, archives and the greater information landscape. 

We can’t wait to see what’s ahead.