What if the upgrade cycle no longer defines digital innovation? What if certain technologies and methods are mature? It makes more sense to interpret the popularity of Massively Open On-line Courses as a sign of the stabilization of Internet-delivered content, rather than some ground-breaking innovation that would result in a Khan Academy Google Doodle a hundred years from now. If that’s the case, then institutions like the University of Virginia should be on exactly the opposite course, not trying desperately to catch the latest wave but rather promoting the slow growth of their existing, successful digital initiatives. This could be called “incrementalism” but I prefer the term “slow innovation” and it focuses not on identifying hot, new trends, but deep investment in digital commodities, by which I mean the infrastructure, expertise, and research that utilize the growing stable of mature methods, libraries, and technologies. That’s what the university should do, and the library in particular, which then affords motivated scholars the opportunity to expend their effort on sophisticated, pathbreaking work. How do I know this would work? Take a look at the incredible work coming out of the University of Virginia as a result of its sober and long-term commitment to digital innovation.