Miraculously, the end of the fall semester fast approaches. But before looking to spring, academic librarians will have to reflect on the past few months. With a full semester amidst a pandemic under their belts, what worked and what didn’t? Sarah Copeland’s library at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga is open to students, albeit with a number of restrictions. Stacks are closed and computer lab space is at a minimum, though hand sanitizer abounds. At California State University San Marcos, Lauren Magnuson tackles an entirely virtual fall semester, which includes a ramped-up patron driven acquisition approach and contactless lockers for print pickup. This month, we have the opportunity to dig into two divergent libraries’ plans, execution, and learned lessons during the COVID-19 fall semester. In this first episode, Copeland and Magnuson explain how their own institutions prepared for their re-opening plans, whether by specialized task force or a necessary all-hands-on-deck line of attack. They also come to find surprising similarities in their patrons’ needs—who knew today’s students would miss print books? Taylor and Francis group