This article proceeds from the position that obsession with technology is a distraction from librarians' true mission and explores how a constellation of emerging information technologies might empower librarians to reconsider their commitment to the technological treadmill and instead turn to a more humanistic orientation. This article presents an overview of these emerging technologies and a consideration of the implications of those applications in library practices. The core idea is that if the technological infrastructure for information delivery can be made so easy to use that it becomes invisible, librarians and their unique skill set may come into better focus. The technologies in question are the internet of things, the semantic web, and augmented reality. These are collectively known as "smart-world" technologies. When combined they transform an environment from passive and unresponsive to sensitive, associative, and adaptive. This article describes in more detail each of these technologies.