Unexpected ally? Of all the people in the academic information food chain today, my experience has found the librarians to be the most alert and innovative. They are pressed on the one side by the flood of expensive information available and on the other by the urgent demands of faculty and students. For years now, they have seen and talked among themselves and with whomever will listen about ways to use new technology to manage the crisis they suffer. If you need an ally in persuading deans, provosts, and others to move ahead in this area, talk to your campus librarian.