Navigating our Back Catalogs
Urania, Muse of Search Engines, helps folks find 'oldies but goodies'
‘My stars! Clio! I haven’t seen you in ages.’
‘It’s been ages.’
‘Far too long.’
‘What’s new with you?’
‘Well, as you can see, I’ve got a new job.’
‘I heard. You gave up on astronomers and navigators to inspire …’
‘Indexers! Librarians! The authors of search engines!’
‘How’s that going?’
‘Splendidly. The basic idea remains. I help the folks who help folks find things.’
‘That’s why I’m here. The historian I inspire has run into a problem.’
‘What sort of problem.’
‘Well, the back catalogue of his two Substacks has been growing like kudzu. It weighs in at … believe it or not … something like two thousand posts.’
‘Does he have a card catalogue for them?’
‘I’m afraid not. Mel, Thalia, Calliope, and I have been making some aggregators for him. But those can only go so far.’
‘I see. He wants readers to use the search features of Substack?’
‘Precisely. And that’s where you come in.’
‘So … I should tell readers about the little magnifying glass on the masthead. The one just left the Subscribe button.’
‘That’s right. Something tells me that you’d start with the magnifying glass.’
‘Well, I always keep one close to my heart!’
‘And then, you could explain The Gateway, which organizes articles by subject.’
‘Just like Topics and Themes.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Finally, you can remind them that most posts that feature pictures of us - the repurposed Muses - provide express lanes to articles of particular types.’
‘Like the one in which Thalia and Mel were …’
‘A little bit Country … and a little bit Rock-and-Roll.’
‘I love that song! One day, just for fun, I’m going to index the entire oeuvre of Donny and Marie.’
‘Finally, you can point out the archive feature on both The Tactical Notebook and Extra Muros.’
‘This sounds like fun, and right up my alley. When do I begin?’
‘Begin, Dear Urania? You’ve already finished the job!’
Related Reading
