We Can and We Should: libraries' role in open education

Sarah Faye Cohen Managing Director / Open Textbook Network open.umn.edu

The libraries' role in open education(the holiday version!)

We can and we should

This is about a journey.

Course Reserves

Course Reserves• Students looking for textbooks

• Faculty meeting that need

• The library cultivating relationships with faculty and students through reserves

• Long lines

• Too few copies

• Too many copies for the library’s space

• Desk ”traffic patterns”

Operationally, we “fixed” the problem.

Policies

Processes

Communications

Facilities

Feedback

“There’s an open education conference in Vancouver, BC. You should go.”



Defining Open Educational ResourcesHewlett Foundation Definition:

“OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or are released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others”

That’s where I met Dave Ernst.

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

$8,000

$9,000

US Higher Education Funding - $/FTE

State Funding Tuition Revenue

http://www.sheeo.org

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

$900

$1,000

$1,100

$1,200

$1,300

$1,400US Debt

Consumer Revolving Credit Student Loan Debt

$ Bi

llion

s

Federal Reserve http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/Current/

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120%

100%

200%

300%

400%

500%

600%

700%

Increase in Textbook Prices

Textbooks CPI

% In

crea

se

Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Open Content

OER

How does open education fit into the libraries’ landscape?

The cost barrier kept2.4 million

low and moderate-income college-qualified high school graduates from

completing college in the previous decade.

The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED529499.pdf

A Lens Into Libraries

Open is “disruptive” to libraries

open = permissions free



copy mixshare keepedit use


The 5 Rs: reviseretain remixreuse redistribute


Library resources are not “open”, only “available” within your institution.

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

-25%

25%

75%

125%

175%

225%

275%

325%

375%

425%

Graph 2 Monograph and Serial Costs in ARL Libraries, 1986-2011*

Source: ARL Statistics 2010-11 Association of Research Libraries, Washington, D.C.*Includes electronic resources from 1999-2000 onward.

% C

hang

e Si

nce

1986

Serial Ex-penditures(+402%)

Monograph Ex-penditures(+71%)

Monographs Purchased (10%)

www.sparcopen.org

Libraries risk their “stamp of approval”

• OER and authority, reliability, sustainability.

• Information Literacy & Instruction• Research materials• Relationships• Metrics

How does open fit into what libraries already do?

How does open fit into what libraries already do?

• Scholarly Communication • Institutional Repositories• Information Literacy Curriculum• Instruction and Outreach• Access Services • Interlibrary Loan • Reserves• Collection Development and Collections Management• Electronic Resources Management • Cataloging, Indexing, Metadata

Leverage our expertise

• Organizing information and making it accessible



• Leverage libraries’ work thus far



• Leverage libraries’ work thus far• A trusted resource and bridge to

faculty

Collaborate deeply with faculty.• Actualize librarians’ deep interest in creative and innovative

pedagogy.• Realize the potential of the 5Rs.• Use OERs in the flipped classrooms, as well as inquiry based learning,

problem based learning, active learning.• Stimulate tangible partnerships with Centers for Teaching and

Learning, Instructional Designers, Distance Education, and more.



• Leverage libraries’ work thus far• A trusted resource and bridge to

faculty• Surface information habits of

users, especially students

Integrate open into current and new instruction• ACRL Framework: Threshold Concepts

• Open’s potential to address many of the TCs:• Format as process• Authority as Constructed and Contextual• Information as commodity

• Assessment opportunities:• Creation and modification with students using open content would allow

libraries to provide direct assessment /artifacts of student learning and achievement in these TCs.

Build connections to:• ACRL's strategic direction

for libraries: • expressing the value of libraries,

student learning, and active participation in the research and scholarly environment.

• Intersections in Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy

• Other open initiatives (OA, open data, knowledge commons, etc).

There is still much to be done.• Accessibility• Discovery• Integration• Tools for editing, authoring,

metadata• Metrics• Preservation• Outreach• What else?

Open Textbook Network

The Open Textbook Network is an alliance of colleges and universities committed to access, affordability, and student academic success through the use of open textbooks.

Open Content

OER

Open Textbooks

Why Textbooks?• Hits a major pain point – textbook costs• Faculty understand textbooks• Faculty know how to adopt textbooks• Faculty effort (vs. alternatives) is kept at a minimum• Textbooks can provide content for a complete (or nearly complete)

course

What are your next steps?

We need YOU (and your friends)• You are leaders on your campus.• You work with and support

faculty on your campus.• You share resources, options,

ideas, and tools with faculty.

-OER: email/meetings/+-Outreach to champions (especially by liaisons).-Partnership with student government.-Online guides (instructors, students).-OER listserv/learning community.-Webinars/workshops (e.g. using and adapting).-Adopter profiles (articles, videos). -Mini-grants to encourage adoption-What else?

“Open education is about increasing student achievement, inspiring passion among faculty, and building better connections between students and the materials that they use to meet their educational goals.”

– Quill West

Thank you!

@thesheck@open_textbooks

[email protected]