This compilation of articles brings together ideas on the changing roles and opportunities for academic library liaisons with faculty. Five institutions share their reorganizations and redefinitions of what it means to be a liaison in today's research library in this issue of "Research Library Issues" ("RLI"). There are many commonalities across the five approaches, as well as differences based on the different contexts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of California (UC), Riverside; the University of Guelph; the University of South Florida; and the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. All articles in this issue share a focus on defining values, ensuring that the library is meeting the current and emerging needs of campus, and engaging in innovative pedagogy supporting the library's role in the educational enterprise. Together these articles offer a road map or possible futures for institutions considering change in the area of liaison. Articles include: (1) What Are We Trying to Build? (Barbara Rockenbach); (2) Leaving Liaison Behind: Reflections on the Last Decade (M. J. D'Elia and Doug Horne); (3) The University of South Florida Libraries' Evolving Service Model: From ROLES to Research Platform Teams (Maryellen Allen and Todd Chavez); (4) Moving from Subject Specialists to a Functional Model (Ann Frenkel, Tiffany Moxham, Dani Brecher Cook, and Brianna Marshall); (5) Iterative Evolution of the Liaison Librarian Role: A Brief Case Study (Jenifer Flaxbart); and (6) Selected Bibliography on Library Liaisons (Rita Vine).