The Story Behind Later Library
The inspiration for Later Library began with my own daily habit as an avid Pocket user. Pocket was where I saved articles, ideas, and insights I wanted to return to later. When Mozilla announced its discontinuation, I started searching for alternatives. What I found was surprising: most tools worked only as private reading lists. Useful, yes—but limited.
As I thought about it more, I realized the real problem wasn’t just about replacing Pocket. It was about how knowledge online is saved and shared. Every day, countless people bookmark and save valuable content—but those discoveries remain trapped in personal silos. To me, that felt like a missed opportunity.
I’ve always believed that knowledge becomes more powerful when it’s shared. That belief sparked the idea of creating a modern Public Library for the web—one where every saved article could live not just in someone’s private collection, but also in a shared repository open to all. A system that respects personal privacy while also fueling collective discovery.
Later Library was born from that vision. It’s a space where individuals can curate their own libraries while also contributing to a communal one. A place where saving content isn’t just an act of personal organization, but a way of strengthening a collective pool of knowledge.
Because in the end, I believe the internet is at its best when it helps us learn—not alone, but together.
The spark
Later Library began as a simple need: a place to save articles worth reading, and return to them without the chaos of endless tabs and lost links. What started as a personal tool grew into a platform focused on thoughtful reading and knowledge building.
Building a shared library
We believe great ideas are meant to be discovered. By contributing to the Public Library, every user helps others learn faster and go deeper. Our mission is to make it effortless to save, organize, and explore the best of the web.
Designed for focus
Distraction-free reading, simple organization, fast search, and sensible categorization—these are the guiding principles behind Later Library.
What's next
We're building browser extensions, mobile apps, richer discovery, and better collaboration features. If you're here early, you're part of the first wave— thank you for helping shape what's next.
About the Founder
I’m Jacob Nelson, and I created Later Library after spending more than two decades building applications from the ground up. Over the years, I’ve worked across every layer of development—designing databases, building APIs, crafting frontends, and deploying products used by real people.
But what has always driven me isn’t just writing code—it’s helping people make sense of information. I’ve always been the kind of person who saves articles, ideas, and insights online, and I knew firsthand the frustration of losing valuable knowledge in cluttered tabs and closed-off silos.
That personal habit, combined with my technical background in tools like React, Angular, Node.js, NestJS, and modern CSS frameworks, inspired me to build something bigger: a public library for the web. Later Library is my way of blending two passions—technology and shared learning—to create a space where knowledge isn’t just stored, but discovered together.
I’m a lifelong learner who believes in the power of collective knowledge. I’m a strong believer in the “wisdom of crowds”—the idea that when people share what they know, it becomes more valuable and accessible to everyone. Later Library is my effort to make that possible: a simple, thoughtful way for anyone to save, organize, and explore the best of the web.