Editorial

Weekly business and news magazines increasingly treat information technology trends as major sources of information and popular culture. When BusinessWeek, Newsweek and Time cover open source software; video games and arcades; outsourcing; competition in the cell phone and telecommunications industry; data security; classroom technologies and distance education;information censorship; changes in cable, television, and expanding entertainment industries; software architecture and chip manufacturing; search engine developments and hosts of other contemporary issues. What this suggests is how pervasive information technology is in our work and personal lives. There are so many new products and applications which enhance what we want to do with greater flexibility, power, and become more ubiquitous as they become more mainstream. However, the downside is that one needs to always consider implications of "moving up," and what the new technologies require besides a learning curve. Recently, the need to replace a television required having to reconsider space as the new plasma and LCD screens have a different space dimension and can not just serve as a substitute where the former television was plugged in.

Thus, in this issue we address some of these challenges with interesting articles and coverage. There is an extensive conference report of information technology as it was rolled out and examined in meetings, discussion groups and programs at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting held in January in San Antonio, Texas. Major celebrations took place around India throughout 2005 on the golden anniversary of the Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centers (IASLIC) and a climax with the 25th All India Conference when this last event of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations took place in late December in Kolkata. The main theme of the Conference was the LIS Profession in India and is described in a thoughtful conference report by Dr Harish Chandra.

The feature articles in this issue include a continuation of the Gadgets and Appliances piece that ran in the March 2006 issue. There seems to never be an end to this opportunity to present new products entering the marketplace and how they can be utilized in innovative ways. Another submission is on the comparative new roles for "digital natives" and "digital immigrants"and the challenges and opportunities it presents in changing communication patterns and, educational and learning settings. The final submission is an exploration of how thin clients have emerged with greater functionality in workstations and overall effectiveness in their basic utility in library operations.

We hope that you use the Diary, New Books, New & Noteworthy columns to look forward to the spring calendar in the northern hemisphere and the upcoming circuit of library meetings and a chance to reconnect with colleagues and gain vision and new ideas. We hope that you will share your reading interests with us and bring us along on your journey of creativity in library technology.

Julia Gelfand(jgelfand@uci.edu)Colby Riggs(cmriggs@uci.edu)Co-editors