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The purpose of this paper is to review the library’s expanded role into its engagement with the user experience (UX).

Literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

Although UX is constantly expanding its focus, in actively paying close attention to its users’ unique and distinctive requirements, libraries can react more effectively in serving its patrons with a realistic and sensible set of options for the programs and services developed to satisfy the user’s changing needs and expectations.

The value in exploring this topic is to present a snapshot of several of the elements used by libraries in their efforts to understand and react to its patrons’ needs through its strategies deployed in support of the user experience.

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of a virtual private network (VPN) as an additional protective strategy for patrons using library computers.

This study is a literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

Credit must be given to those libraries who have made free VPN services available to their patrons, thus encouraging off-site usage of library resources through this extra layer of authentication in an effort to provide them with a trust level of privacy beyond their standard expectations. Should the library not provide such a service at present, at least an individual can add a VPN to one’s protective bag of tricks to, perhaps, in an effort to place even a limited constraint on those who would do them harm when online.

The value in exploring this topic is to provide some context and potential options for patrons through their use of a VPN.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the use of Open Electronic Resources (OER) as a supplement or replacement for textbooks or entire courses in higher education teaching and learning.

This paper is a literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

Librarians are in a unique position to offer support for faculty seeking to incorporate OER into their courses. In an overall effort to serve as an important option to the mounting costs of education, librarians can offer up their knowledge, skill and training in the development and evaluation of OER.

The value in exploring this topic is to examine the library’s use of OER and their benefits and challenges in a higher education classroom environment.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate examples of the manner by which the academic library breaks down the silos on a college campus.

Literature review and commentary on this topic have been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

On a college campus, the value and impact of the academic library is today more than that of the standard model of libraries in which reference librarians offer available appropriate academic resources; but, the academic library is a place where the teaching and learning model of the standard model meets that of the support model to provide its users the best service by incorporating both aspects of the service.

The significance in exploring this topic is to provide evidence by which the academic library can and does offer a multitude of services that it can serve as the literal and physical center of a college campus.

The purpose of this column is to describe several examples of libraries providing services to their patrons to broaden their impact beyond their four walls.

Literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

Mobility substantiates the claim that library users have certain expectations from their libraries, not the least of which is to maintain a currency with the latest technological advances through its services. Therefore, younger generations brought up on high-tech access to their library materials via an array of services outside the building itself is paramount to a public expecting its links to services anywhere, anytime.

The value in exploring this topic is to examine several real-world scenarios where libraries have provided exceptional services beyond the building to satisfy the ever-expanding expectations of their users.

The purpose of this column is to offer a snapshot of privacy in the library today.

Literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

It is significant that library users understand the disruptive nature of the online environment and its impact on privacy. Library users should welcome the controls and protections put in place while working in an open access environment, so that one does not fall victim to privacy breaches. After all, many years ago, the American Library Association codified that privacy is a “fundamental human right”.

The value in exploring this topic is to communicate that privacy in a library is of paramount concern, and constant vigilance is needed to ensure a library user’s right to privacy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide examples by which the library, in its role as an essential service positioned at the center of a community, offers its services to not only a segment of the community but to it in its entirety.

This is a literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

If it is to remain a viable, productive and trusted symbol of equality and humanity, the library must ensure that, whether it is located in a village, a town or a municipality, the library stands as the center of its community, with its doors swung wide and welcoming to all who enter.

The value in exploring this topic is to offer several examples of evidence indicating that the library is expected to continue in its role as an essential and respected community service, with programs and services accessible to all into the future.

The purpose of this column is to examine artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential relationship to the library.

Literature review and commentary on this topic have been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

The very disruptive nature of any new technology could be viewed as a threat to many institutions, including the library. But with the eventual acceptance and incorporation of AI into its services, it is certainly possible to speculate that this latest technology “intrusion” could also offer many potential positive enhancements into a multitude of library services, many of which are only being examined, considered and piloted in their early stages of development.

The value in exploring this topic is to present a look at the potential of using AI in the library and to open a discussion of its potential benefits.

The purpose of this study is to reflect on the author’s decade as a columnist for New Library World and Information and Learning Science.

This paper provides literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

When a patron approaches a librarian with a question, and the resources are discovered that can aid and support that patron in finding a solution to his or her dilemma, the stock of the librarian rises, reminding the public that with all the changes around the profession since the advent of the internet, the human touch, that face-to-face interaction and personal communication skill, still remains a significant instrument in the librarian’s customer services toolkit.

The value in exploring this topic is for others to acknowledge that which has been gained over time by an experienced library colleague.

The purpose of this column is to consider the strategy of “connected learning” and the library’s inclusion in the process.

Literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

It is the library’s responsibility to serve as an active catalyst for connected learning, and a librarian’s cognizance of the latest and most effective strategies for engaging with students are presented as viable options for extended learning with the overall goal of student success.

The value in exploring this topic is to examine the natural connection between the library and the students, creating the recognition that the library is a trusted institution in the connected learning model.