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hugely important for the future of libraries, library content, and library services, the question remains concerning what action avenues should be pursued, given the scarcity of basic resources—money, time, talent, and others. “Take a hard look at how you are doing business, assess what resources you have, and consider whether you are well positioned for the challenges ahead” (Inouye 2012). Outlined below are some of the basic action avenues, particularly regarding the disturbing trends with e-content, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive. • Protests and Boycotts: Protests and boycotts traditionally have proven to be effective in the short term, but their long-term implications for an information ecosystem remain suspect. The ability of social media such as Facebook and Twitter to accelerate and expand the short- term impact of protests and boycotts seems to be forcing the issue of the long-term efficacy of these strategies. The ability of mobile populations and crowds to self-organize, share infor- mation, and perhaps converge on specific locations to engage in protests and boycotts seems to be expanding and improving as a result of the mobile revolution. • Talking with Publishers: In 2012 the American Library Association ratcheted up this strategy for addressing disturbing trends in the evolution of the e-content ecosystem. The president of ALA, the executive director of ALA, and others had high-profile meetings with representatives of the major trade publishers, trying to persuade them to sell or lease more of their frontlist e-books to libraries. • Talking with e-tailers: Because the U.S. Department of Justice decided to move forward with its action to sue Apple and five of the Big Six publishers for price collusion centered around the agency pricing model (i.e., where the publishers set the prices and the e-tailer merely acts as the sales agent), this probably will be the death knell for the agency model and a further ero- sion of the power of the large trade publishers. Librarians should be having serious, ongoing discussions with the major e-tailers (Amazon, Apple, Google, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and others). • Appeals to Altruism: Making appeals to altruistic behavior and the almost intangible benefits of libraries for the culture of reading and democratic societies is another action avenue that librarians, libraries, and library-related organizations can pursue. Appeals to altruism may have some positive impact on legislative bodies and charitable foundations but little if any positive impact on publishers, tech companies, and others. • Focus on Content: Libraries began as collections of content, and metadata and information services grew up around and in support of library collections. As the impact of the mobile revolution reverberates through the library ecosystem, the meaning and value of content has become under scrutiny. When it comes to e-books, it is amazing how quickly nonlibrary enti- ties (Amazon, Google, Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc.) have been able to amass and offer e-book collections of more than a million titles. All but the largest libraries and library consor- tia have had a difficult time ramping up their e-book offerings so quickly. • Focus on Services: Libraries may want to focus more on “wraparound” information services than on the provision of basic content per se. For instance, rather than serve as the tax- supported last mile in the provision of bestselling books, perhaps public libraries should con- tinue to develop services that help readers to connect with good books, authors, and other read- ers. Thomas (2012) provides a good overview of the state of mobile library services in late 2011, including Mosio’s move toward patron relationship management, where mobile commu- nication engenders an ongoing relationship between the mobile user and the library. • Focus on End-User Devices: Most mobile devices are intensely personal. They are designed to be accepted and used as personal devices, and most users do indeed develop intensely personal Introduction xvii