In this article, the author explores why a school librarian's value should be wrapped up in books. First, reading is a foundational skill, and memories are built around who people are before and who they are after reading a book. School librarians get to be a part of that transformation. Second, books still make up the heart of a physical library,…

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted libraries tremendously and changed the way services were offered to patrons. Dahlgren Memorial Library was no exception and the library strived to find ways to keep their student assistants employed. This article will discuss how the library trained its student assistants to cover the chat system and work on projects…

Remote reference consultations have considerably increased due to the need to provide remote services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducting reference consultations via videoconferencing not only offers many benefits to student researchers; it also presents an opportunity for librarians to embrace a learner-centered teaching mindset when…

Reference services in academic libraries often focus on user education and giving students the skills to perform their own searches. This article describes a new Research Concierge Service established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) in southwest Missouri. The service entails library staff curating a…

The paper aims to discuss ChatGPT and its role in academic libraries. It identifies the key areas where ChatGPT can be implemented in libraries to improve various services and the overall work experience of academics, along with the risk factors associated with ChatGPT. Research finds that ChatGPT can be aided with many library services such as…

Recent articles in the news media have triggered interest in how virtual reality technologies can be applied to academic libraries. Specifically, virtual reality technologies have the potential to be applied to triage reference, reference services, and archives. It is discussed how library users can use virtual reality headsets as well as how…

This article describes the pilot year of a new model for information literacy instruction in first-year composition classes at the University of New Mexico. The flipped classroom model, the Association of College and Research Libraries "Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education," and challenges to library staffing sparked…

Sometimes users need to be asked if they need help. This is difficult with online users, because in-person cues cannot be used to engage when the users need assistance. Proactive chat widgets help to solve this problem as the chat box slides out onto the screen and prompts the user for help. The need for the proactive chat widget was also seen as…

In the spring of 2015, the University of Minnesota Libraries formed the Content Services department, which is comprised of Interlibrary Loan, Publishing Services, and the Copyright Permissions Service. These three service points, as well as additional Library units, work together with campus partners to save students money on their course…