Librarian’s Quick Start Kit
Library Quick Start Kit
Below is a quick start kit of initial activities and competencies that libraries may consider as they begin their OER journey–with the recognition that many libraries will not have the resources to support OER in each capacity.
Benefits for Libraries:
- Supports the library’s effort to provide more relevant and engaging materials for students
- Enables the role of library staff as collaborators on instructional design through their expertise in finding quality materials and knowledge of open licensing affordances
- Expands the curatorial role of the library through enhanced opportunities for describing and organizing content
- Provides a mechanism to bridge the gap between historical library curation practices and the benefits of 21st century technologies
Learn More About the Benefits for Libraries:
Journal of Library Innovation: Open Education Resources: The New Paradigm in Academic Libraries
Edutopia: Open Educational Resources Meet Instructional Design
OERStrategy. org: Foundations for OER Strategy Development
- Communicate the history and value of OER to faculty and administrators
- Provide examples of the use and adaptation of OER, and demonstrate successful outcomes
- Gain support from administrators
See the Advocacy Module in this toolkit for additional information.
Support library staff to:
- Find relevant OER to support curriculum and research
- Build skills to create, customize, and share OER
- Define what the campus library does and doesn’t do in the OER process
Support faculty to:
- Assess OER for quality, effectiveness, and relevance
- Interpret and apply open licenses
- Integrate OER into their courses
See the Training Module and the Collaborating Module in this toolkit for additional information.
- Explore ways to integrate existing OER into library search tools and guides. Start by reading literature on the topic, such as The Role of Open in Strategic Library Planning, an open access article from Education Policy Analysis Archives.
- Explore pathways for setting up or connecting to platforms for OER. This may include working with IT to enable integration of OER collections or tools into campus platforms including learning management systems, or to enable a centralized OER access point (single sign-on) for the institution
- Consider who the key OER stakeholders are on campus–from faculty and administrators–to student associations, campus bookstores, and accessibility services.
- Grow cross-functional teams to support OER by building a shared understanding of OER that addresses each groups’ needs
See the Advocacy Module in this toolkit for additional information on growing OER partnerships.