Always run ls ~/off-github/library/indexed/ (and grep for relevant author/topic keywords) BEFORE:
- scoring research-confidence on any TT research programme (Z-items, spec-readiness, paradigm questions)
- recommending book acquisitions from amazon.co.uk
- asserting that a topic is uncovered / has a library gap
Why: 2026-04-22 incident. Scored Z7 FAITH at 45%, Z8 SCOPE at 70%, Z24 MODULARITY at 70% in a Z-research library-coverage assessment table while hallaq-sharia-theory-practice (Islamic law) + bhattacharyya-panda-appropriation-hindu-law (Hindu) + tamanaha-legal-pluralism (comparative) + reid-de-waal-zimmermann-comparative-succession-2/3/4 (Scotland + Switzerland + comparative + civil-law + common-law + Islamic) + torremans-cheshire-north-fawcett-private-international-law-15e (THE canonical conflict-of-laws text) + mcclean-morris-conflict-of-laws + khononov-learning-ddd + kleppmann-ddia-2e + perrin-implementing-data-mesh + sanderson-data-contracts + fowler-dsl were all already indexed in the library (~76 books total as of 2026-04-22). Rich flagged: “it worries me when you forget about the library.” Recalibrated: Z7 → 75%, Z8 → 85%, Z24 → 80% on inspection. Average across 24 Z-items: 73% → 81%.
The library lives at ~/off-github/library/ — OUTSIDE all git repos AND OUTSIDE user memory. Nothing passively surfaces its existence in a session. Without active discipline to check, I systematically underestimate research coverage + recommend redundant acquisitions.
How to apply: any TT session involving INHERIT / DataDrivenDays / md4ai / future TT research. Before scoring confidence or proposing acquisitions: ls ~/off-github/library/indexed/ (76+ slugs) → grep by author-lastname + topic-keyword for the topic at hand. If a scored confidence is ≤70%, explicitly confirm “I checked the library and coverage is genuinely thin” rather than assume no evidence exists.
See also: ~/off-github/library/README.md (workflow entry + paste-in prompts), ~/off-github/library/filing-system.md (library/repo split discipline), ~/off-github/library/research-requests.md (master registry — already lists 24 INHERIT-Z items).