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Thriving on technology's edge.

Article Excerpt
When CIL's editorial leaders crafted Vol. 29's themes, they were challenged to think about what might be happening in library technology some 12 months into the future. That's a constructive exercise in itself. It also serves as a reminder of the fast pace at which new technology appears these days. For this issue, writers and readers were invited to think about "Web 3.0"--which undoubtedly sounded entirely possible last summer. Yet our Web 2.0 universe keeps spinning out small, sleek, and beautiful ideas that capture the imagination. Many innovations focus on mobile technology these days, and digital librarians are making a mark in that domain (see CIL, May 2009 for myriad examples). In my opinion, Web 2.0 is still cooking, and the bold agents among us have set up a cooking tent on the cutting edge of not only the web but also what lies beneath and beyond.

With that in mind, here are four recipes for success on the cutting edge--hopefully reassuring to those who are bungee jumping into the future and perhaps inspiring (or cajoling) for those who stand at the edge, facing the unknown.

Follow the User, Become the User

We hear this a lot: Follow the user. Yet in today's networked and mobile age, they who would teach must also learn. So allow me to revise that pithy phrase by reminding us that we too are users and are thoroughly immersed in technology. Those of us who are fortunate enough to work directly with members of the Net Gen receive constant clues as to what users want. But the college campus is not the only idea lab for monitoring Web 2.0...

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