A Message from the Editor-in-Chief
Dear Readers, December is often a time to pause and reflect on our experiences of the past year. As the New Year approaches, we tend to ask ourselves: How can we improve? The work performed daily by librarians is multifaceted and in a near constant state of evolution, and the innovative nature of librarians is evident in each submission in this issue. From trying a new open-
source integrated library system (ILS) to exploring augmented reality in an academic library; from teaching modern information literacy skills and the problem of information siloing to describing how historical collections illustrate the resiliency of higher education institutions in past pandemics, these articles highlight the solutions constructed by librarians when crossing uncharted waters. As the authors write in “Fight On, Fight On for Old Jax State”: What did we learn? We learned that pandemics can last longer than we’d like, but we also learned how to change our libraries and modify our roles to serve our communities when they need us the most. We also learned that
modifying our roles sometimes means changing our behaviors and learning how to adapt to new technologies. It must not be forgotten that as information professionals, we learned how valuable—and vital— reliable information is in our technology-driven world, and how words can make a world of difference depending on where they are found and how they are used. We always accept submissions for publication consideration, so please feel free to submit at any time. Authors can expect for accepted submissions to be published within 6 months of the submission date. While ALLA membership is encouraged, it is not required at this time. I encourage you to read our Call for Articles on page 37 and to visit our website for more information (https://www.allanet.org/alabama-
librarian). Thank you for reading this issue. We hope to feature your work in a future issue! Jessica E. Platt Education Doctoral Librarian Alabama State University Editor-in-Chief, The A labama Librarian
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