EDITOR'S NOTES
SoLoMoDa
by Dick Kaser
A year ago, it seemed liked everyone in the tech space, including those in libraries, was fixated on three related trends that soon become so intertwined, they ultimately converged into one big trend, dubbed SoLoMo: Social, Local, Mobile. We’ve covered these topics from various angles in the pages of Computers in Libraries magazine the past couple of years. And with this issue, we make a segue to yet a new extension of the SoLoMo phenomenon: Data. And it’s “Big” this year.
From a librarian’s perspective, the newfound emphasis on data is a great shift in focus because handling data is what librarians are great at. Everyone’s out looking for data specialists, and here you are!
In this issue, we take a look at how librarians are manipulating data to create both mobile and local information services. I’ve got two great case studies for you on how to create responsive web designs that help libraries push out mobile services to devices of any kind.
The issue also discusses how librarians can facilitate the data movement by serving as data curators helping with data discovery, providing metadata, and moving toward semantic records that make search and retrieval more robust.
While the focus of the libtech community may change from time to time, as all things must, it’s good to see us on the brink of a new cutting edge where librarians can do nothing but excel.
As the mathematical equation on this month’s cover implies, the possibilities are infinite.
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