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xv Preface: A Word of Caution Modern technology was designed to empower us and set us ­free. So why do we often feel more like its slaves than its masters? —­Michelle Weil and Larry Rosen1 Too often library board members, stakeholders, customers, and some staff members ­will ask why ­aren’t we using a par­tic­u­lar technology (you can pick the hot technology de jour) in our library. And many libraries, unfor- tunately, immediate go about the pro­cess of acquiring and trying to learn to use the new technology, without a clue of how the new technology ­will benefit the library’s customers. Such an approach has been described by Michael Stephens as “technolust”—­the creation or adoption of technolo- gies simply for their own sake, based on the assumption that ­there is ­great demand for them.2 Michael goes on to suggest that other states exist in which a library might find itself—­technostress, technodivorce, technoshame, and technophobia. Not surprisingly, the author does not recommend embracing “techno- lust,” but rather takes the view that any tool, including information tech- nologies, is a means to an end. As Stephen Covey is apt to remind us in his books and seminars, “Begin with the end in mind.” Have a clear understand- ing of how a specific technology ­ will be of real value to the library’s custom- ers. Technology decisions should be grounded in real insight into the ­actual characteristics, needs, and be­hav­iors of vari­ous groups (often called market segments). Moreover, it is also impor­tant to understand how library pro- grams, ser­vices, and collections ­ will likely assist the larger organ­ization achieve its goals and objectives. Char Booth in her report Informing Innova- tion: Tracking Student Interest in Emerging Library Technologies at Ohio University illustrates the real­ity of technolust in one library setting as well as detailing how library staff members achieved a greater understanding of ­ those whom they served.3 It may be that a specific technology, such as a social media site, is already being frequently used by a specific customer segment of the library. If the library ­were to embrace a new technology that is already being heavi­ly used and the library is able to add content or context from which the users of the technology ­will clearly benefit, then the new technology is likely one the library should embrace and utilize.