Interview with Librex founder Ryan Schiller

Ryan Schiller is a junior at Yale studying mathematics and global affairs. He founded Librex (https://librexapp.com/), a mobile app for iPhone and Android, with Arthur Azvolinsky, a senior at Yale studying mathematics and computer science. Librex is an anonymous discussion feed for colleges — much like Bored@Baker for those old enough to remember. Librex launched at Yale in September 2019 and expanded to Dartmouth on March 5. In the first three days since its launch, over 800 Dartmouth students have signed up for Librex.

Q1: What motivated you to start Librex?

A1: When my friends and I would talk about issues happening on campus, we felt like we were at risk of being judged by our peers. If we spoke up in class, we worried that our reputations would be ruined for expressing how we really feel. I believe that a liberal arts education works best when students feel comfortable saying what they think. I want critical conversation to have a home on college campuses.

Q2: Have you heard of Bored@Baker? What are your thoughts on it?

A2: From talking to the students at Dartmouth, it sounds like it was a vibrant community on campus. We differ from Bored@ in a few ways. First of all, Librex is a mobile app. Also, we have community moderation, content guidelines, and a matching system. f a post reaches a certain threshold of student reports, it is automatically removed. The only rules for posting are no spam, no sweeping statements about core identity groups like race, gender, and sexuality, and no negative gossip about students. Otherwise, anything goes. Also, we have a matching system where any student can reach out to chat anonymously with someone who commented or posted.

Q3: What is the most intriguing post you have come across so far? How has the general reaction been to Librex?

A3: This girl at Yale met this boy while standing in line at one of the food places on campus. She never got his name, but she posted about him on Librex. The boy reached out, and they agreed to meet up. The Librex community decided to come out to support them, and we had an impromptu Librex get together of about a dozen students.

Q4: Can you use Librex to see what’s up at Yale? [Asking for a friend]

A4: We keep the college communities private, so the Yalies can’t snoop!

Q5: Is Librex truly anonymous?

A5: We connect your blitz to a randomised ID at signup. The only reason we would track your blitz back to the randomised ID is if you threatened a student. Barring this circumstance, Librex users remain anonymous.