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I remember thinking of my grandparents, who were born in the late 1800s, and wondering what it was like to have been alive at the turn of the century. It seemed like such a novel concept. My history books often used the phrase “at the turn of the century” and I wondered if the people living at that time recognized that historic aspect of their lives.

Now that I am living at the “turn of the century,” I still wonder at that phrase but do not have the perspective of history to stand back and look at what future historians will mark as the significant aspects of the century.

However, I can look at just how quickly technology has moved along in my own lifetime. My children do not know a world without microwave ovens, color TVs, cell phones, the Internet, jet planes, space exploration, and the World Wide Web.

My 12-year old expects to log onto our computer and get the information she needs for her research papers from the Web. Here lies a challenge for teachers and librarians: we must help these young people see the richness of information that is available and teach them to critically evaluate it.

As we approach the end of this century, it is a good time to take stock of the multitude of changes in librarianship and continue to gear up for the changes to come. ACRL takes its stock for the year in its Annual Report (page 915).

I look forward to the advent of the next century and wonder what things they will marvel about in 2100 as they reflect back on the turn of the century in 1999-2000.

—Mary Ellen K. Davis Editor-in-chief medavis@ala.org