Open: The Philosophy and Practices that are Revolutionizing Education and Science

Recognizing that higher education settings vary considerably, librarians at Gettysburg College sought to better understand textbook spending behaviors and the effects of costs on our students. We adapted the Florida Virtual Campus 2016 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey to suit the context of our small, private, liberal arts college. Most students spent $300 in Fall 2019. Financial aid awards did not cover the cost of required books and course materials for most students receiving aid. Negative effects were more pronounced for first-generation students and Pell Grant recipients, who were more likely to not purchase required books, to not register for a course due to cost, and to struggle academically. Some reported negative effects beyond their academic lives, as well. We recommend adoption of Open Educational Resources as an equity-minded practice that addresses this academic success barrier.

/pdf/inequitable-impacts-of-textbook-costs-at-a-small-private-1udrao2nto.pdf

Inequitable Impacts of Textbook Costs at a Small, Private College: Results from a Textbook Survey at Gettysburg College

ABSTRACT With the rising costs of tuition and textbooks, Open Educational Resources (OERs) are becoming increasingly important. The university library, in collaboration with faculty, is a natural leader of OER initiatives at institutions of higher education. Cleveland State University's Michael Schwartz Library embraced this leadership role by assisting a faculty member with developing an OER, which involved balancing the workload between librarians and the faculty member, determining successful modes of communication, taking advantage of graphic design skills, and more. The success of this initial collaboration has led the Library to expand its support of OER initiatives on campus.

/pdf/developing-an-open-educational-resource-leading-campus-oer-7el4lvh78i.pdf

Developing an Open Educational Resource: Leading Campus OER Initiatives through Library-Faculty Collaboration

This article presents a case study for transitioning library-led open-educational resources (OER) initiatives away from labor-intensive activities to a model where library personnel focus on project management responsibilities. This shift from labour-intensive activities, such as workshops and training sessions, led to more collaborative partnerships with faculty and students to produce OER projects. In particular, we focus on labour implications for the various stakeholders involved and the sustainability of these initiatives. We describe several initiatives undertaken by the Ohio University Libraries to encourage open educational resource adoptions and projects, including a grant-funded initiative to provide support services for faculty creating OER. That funding, which was awarded to enhance undergraduate education, has been used to support the development of five OER projects that have directly involved students in the creation of those materials. We provide an overview of the various ways in which students have become involved in OER creation in partnership with faculty and librarians and discuss the impact these partnerships have had on student-faculty-librarian relationships and student engagement. Among these projects are an Hispanic linguistics open textbook created using only student-authored texts, student-generated test banks to accompany existing OER materials for a large-enrollment art history course, and several other projects in which hired student assistants are helping faculty to develop content for open textbooks. This article helps to address a gap in the literature by providing transparency regarding the personnel, costs, and workflow for Ohio University Libraries’ OER initiatives and addressing potential areas of concern surrounding student labour.

/pdf/opening-up-educational-practices-through-faculty-librarian-2gzn0g6qou.pdf

Opening up Educational Practices through Faculty, Librarian, and Student Collaboration in OER Creation: Moving from Labor-intensive to Supervisory Involvement

This article presents an analysis of key trends affecting the academic publishing industry. It reviews funding and sales, scholarly collaboration networks, developments in OA, and monograph publishing. These key areas were identified in an earlier article that asked whether academic publishing was evolving or going through a revolution. The review of funding and sales presented here shows a mixed market with growth being challenged as library funds and purchase choices affect expenditure. Scholarly collaboration networks were previously identified as a major threat to traditional publishing, and a review of this area demonstrates that greater sharing of content is empowering librarians and academics to take a stronger stand in publisher negotiations. OA continues to be debated, and a review of responses to Plan S (the most coordinated policy to date) demonstrates conflicting views within academia, funders, and publishers. OA has yet to revolutionize the existing business models. Similarly, monograph publishing remains slow to evolve, although there are increasing initiatives to adopt more open, and online, models. The conclusion of this review is that libraries are likely to be the key promoters of change in the publishing environment and are more influential than other players in forcing evolution.

The future of academic publishing: Revolution or evolution revisited

INTRODUCTION Liberal arts colleges (LAC) are arguably ideal environments for the use of open educational resources (OER) given their shared emphasis on innovative pedagogy and individualized learning. However, library-led OER initiatives at LAC have just started to make progress. LAC librarians have very few models or sources of advice to which they can turn when planning OER initiatives suitable to their particular institutional context. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS In this article, librarians describe their experience promoting and supporting OER usage at three small, private LAC, each at a different stage in developing formal programs to assist faculty interested in adopting and creating OER. The authors discuss strategies employed, obstacles encountered, and lessons learned, providing practical advice for achieving OER success in the LAC environment. NEXT STEPS The authors believe practical advice for the LAC context will benefit librarians at various stages of OER program implementation.

https://www.iastatedigitalpress.com/jlsc/article/12860/galley/12551/download/

Christopher Barnes

Papers

OER Initiatives at Liberal Arts Colleges: Building Support at Three Small, Private Institutions

Surveying the Scalability of Open Access Monograph Initiatives: Final Report

Selecting Affordable Course Materials: Considerations For Faculty

Juneteenth in STEMM and the barriers to equitable science