Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook authoring

This survey assessed the experiences of faculty who participated in a textbook affordability program at Rutgers University. The program provided incentive awards in exchange for replacing commercial textbooks with affordable course materials such as open educational resources (OER), self-developed course materials, course reserves, or library-licensed content. The survey collected faculty's perceptions about the award program, experiences with OER, and interest in open textbook authoring. Responses suggest that the program is well received and that funds are adequate for adopting new course materials. However, they also indicate that even participating faculty vary greatly in their knowledge and use of OER and their interest in authoring open textbooks. Ultimately, these survey results indicate the lack of a “one size fits all” approach to incentivizing the adoption of affordable course materials, the use of OER, and the creation of new open resources.     

Connecting adjuncts to the library: Hosting online sessions to increase awareness of OER,E-books,and other library resources

In Fall 2021, librarians at Florida Gulf Coast University partnered with the campus faculty development center to host a one-hour online instructional session for adjunct instructors to increase their awareness of e-books, OER, and other library resources, for the purpose of reducing textbook costs for students as well as enhancing course content. In order to host a session that was tailored to the attendees' knowledge threshold and interests, the librarians asked session attendees to complete a questionnaire before and after the session. The results of the pre-session and post-session questionnaire indicate that adjuncts are eager to connect with the library and have a high interest in accessing a variety of resources, including OER. Although the main objective of the study was to promote adoption of OER and zero-cost textbooks, the authors encourage other librarians to promote OER adoption holistically and within the context of all of the library's resources and services. This approach is especially critical for adjuncts, who are still on a “learning curve” and are unaware of all the services and resources the library has to offer.     

Will Library E-Books Help Solve the Textbook Affordability Issue? Using Textbook Adoption Lists to Target Collection Development

In response to rising textbook costs, many have urged adoption of open educational resources (OER) for students. However, library-owned e-books also provide free access to students, without the potential disadvantages of OER. In this study the authors explore the suitability of e-books as textbooks by examining the social sciences textbook list in Fall 2017 at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Overall, 18% of the textbooks were available as a multi-user format and this rate increased with course level. Despite their limited availability, multi-user e-books provide a free, convenient option for students, and they may play a role in the textbook affordability solution.     

A Case Study and Analysis of a Successful and Collaborative Student-Centered Textbook Reserve Program in a Mid-Size Academic Library

This article presents an innovative textbook reserve program at a mid-sized academic library. Research conducted subsequent to the program’s launch showed a positive correlation between students’ use of the program and their perceived academic success. In addition, the program has proved effective at helping students with college affordability. The outlines of the program and the results of the survey are presented and contextualized in the framework of the local institution.     

Enhancing Teaching and Learning: Libraries and Open Educational Resources in the Classroom

Academic libraries continually adjust services to adapt to the ever-changing landscape in higher education. In response to the broken textbook market, libraries are becoming actively involved in the open educational resources (OER) movement. Although there is not a formal program in place, librarians at Utah State University explored a collaborative approach to integrate OER in faculty members' courses. One goal of the effort was to work closely with faculty to consider course objectives and learning outcomes when evaluating and incorporating OER. This article identifies a streamlined process for targeting courses most suited for OER adoption and outlines a process of collaborating with teaching faculty to integrate relevant OER. The paper includes a detailed workflow that other libraries can easily adapt to make OER part of their faculty outreach toolkit.     

E-books for the Classroom and Open Access Textbooks: Two Ways to Help Students Save Money on Textbooks

ABSTRACT

To help students withstand the rising cost of textbooks and in turn support the mission of student success, the University of South Florida (USF) has implemented two electronic resources–based initiatives as part of the Tampa Library’s Textbook Affordability Project. Through the E-books for the Classroom program, the library purchases electronic versions of texts required for coursework, providing equitable access to needed materials at no cost to the students. For the past 5 years, this program has evolved into a highly successful textbook affordability measure, acquiring hundreds of e-books and serving thousands of students. Additionally, the library, with the support of the Office of the Provost and in collaboration with Innovative Education, is publishing a faculty-authored multimedia Open Access textbook to be used by hundreds of students each semester in USF’s children’s literature courses. The USF institutional repository, Scholar Commons, will host the textbook, making it freely available on a global scale. This program effectively uses library expertise and skills, coordinating university-wide faculty, professional, and technical resources, to create library-as-publisher for the benefit of the students and textbook affordability.     

Building a Path to College Success: Advocacy,Discovery and OER Adoption in Emerging Educational Models

ABSTRACT

In this case study we will examine the role of the library in Open Educational Resources through the lens of library value described in Megan Oakleaf's 2010 ACRL report. While librarians in our organization have traditionally not played a role in textbook adoptions, the campus academic goal to increase online, blended and competency-based models is a strategic direction that intersects with the library's strategic vision to increase its contribution to online learning. Further, we will describe the process of building a partnership around OER with the campus Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and articulate the impact of our combined services on faculty adoption of OER and student success.     

Insourcing library outreach: Engaging technical services in outreach to student organizations

Abstract

In recent years, library outreach has become an increasingly important aspect of public services work. In order to expand capacity and engage patrons, libraries should consider expanding their library outreach programs to include the efforts and expertise of technical services personnel. In this article, librarians from Texas A&M University will share how public services librarians, cataloging experts, and preservation librarians collaborated to provide support for a student-led textbook lending library for student veterans. Through this collaboration, the library was able to develop new outreach opportunities that highlighted technical services expertise as well as lend support to an important campus effort to improve the affordability of college textbooks for veterans.     

Information-seeking Behaviour by Academics: A Preliminary Study

Information-seeking behaviour by university academics at Moi University, Kenya, is analysed. A survey, in the form of a pilot study, was conducted and data collected through questionnaires and interviews among 27 academics randomly sampled from four faculties: Health Sciences, Information Sciences, Environmental Studies and Education. The results obtained established that a great number of academics depend on libraries and colleagues for information and that although the academics heavily depend on textbooks for information, they display great interest in, and use, current and research-oriented information sources. It was also established that the nature of discipline and level of programme influence the information-seeking behaviour of academics and that lack of awareness of information services, and non-use of current awareness services and sources available at the university contribute to limited access and use of the information resources. In addition, academics indicated that they need information mainly for career development to circumvent the “publish or perish syndrome”, but also for their professional and occupational needs. It is concluded that despite insufficient relevant information resources at the university library due to budget cuts, academics still depend on the library for their information needs. Work colleagues are also an important source of intra-university information. It is suggested that the library would benefit the academics if equal attention were paid to current awareness services as well as publicity and promotion of information products and services. Similarly, methods should be devised by the university to strengthen the academics' overall accessibility to information. In this way, the circulation of information between academic colleagues can be maintained.     

Examining Undergraduate Students' Priorities for Academic Library Services and Social Media Communication

Academic libraries can effectively plan and market their services by identifying the value users perceive in their services and in their social media communications about those services. This study reports on findings of a survey of 104 undergraduate students in information technology courses at a large research university. Results of an ordered logistic regression analysis indicated that students considered access to information and computer resources and study support services as the most important library services offered. Likewise, students perceived library social media postings related to operations updates, study support services, and events as the most useful. Future related research will investigate the needs and priorities for library services of other key user populations of academic libraries, such as graduate students and online students, to assemble service repertoires that are tailored to individual user groups. In addition, future research will examine whether and how libraries can use the analysis of users' engagement with a library's social media postings to inexpensively gauge the value they perceive in library services.     

Examining Undergraduates' Library Priorities Through Q Methodology

This research study examined how undergraduates at the University of Mississippi prioritized current and prospective library services and spaces. Q methodology was used to identify and classify students' viewpoints through the statistical analysis of card sorting arrangements. Q method is unique in that it embraces both the subjectivity of an individual's perspective while also mathematically aligning that perspective with other similarly minded participants. Forty students were asked to rank-order a sixty-item card deck on a structured grid. These arrangements were then compared across participants to identify group patterns. Quantitative factor analysis revealed that students' perspectives clustered around four distinct points of views: the Environmentalists, the Space Advocates, the Ideological Traditionalists, and the Weekenders. Dimensions and characteristics of each factor are presented along with card rankings and excerpts from exemplar factor student interviews. High priority items where all factors converged—textbook checkout, a tutoring center, printing, and research assistance—are also discussed. Q methodology is proffered as an alternative to traditional library surveys in determining characteristics within one's user population. Recommendations for implementation of Q methodology results at our institution are considered as well as follow-up research initiatives.     

Library services for unaffiliated patrons at Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)

This study reviewed library websites at Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to learn more about the services they provide to unaffiliated patrons and how they share this information. This review demonstrated that websites at land-grant libraries affirmed unaffiliated patrons' building access privileges at slightly higher rates and circulation privileges at lower rates than non-land-grant APLUs. Data also revealed that requirements and fees for library privileges varied across APLU libraries as a whole. This research is a first step in identifying how libraries at land-grants and non-land-grant APLUs compare to one another and to different types of institutions in the services they provide to unaffiliated patrons. It also continues the discussion of whether libraries, especially those at land-grant colleges and universities, have an obligation to open their spaces and collections to unaffiliated patrons.     

The user experience: Student perspectives on library course reserve

A group of researchers from an academic library surveyed students to understand how and why the members of their community use course reserve services. Students were happy with the service and used it as a replacement for purchasing textbooks. Frequent users requested more textbook offerings, and both users and nonusers indicated a need for increased promotion of the service. Users provided specific suggestions for improvement that should be examined. Findings illustrated the value of course reserve services as a way to help students with college affordability and to support instruction and learning.     

Caregivers' beliefs about library visits: A theory-based study of formative research

Currently, no research has systematically investigated the beliefs underpinning caregivers' intentions to visit public libraries with their young children. Drawing from the theory of planned behaviour, this study adopted a three-phase program of formative research to examine the decision making processes of parents and carers with young children living in a low socio-economic area. Phase 1 identified seven behavioural, five normative, and ten control beliefs as modal salient beliefs held by parents and carers. Phase 2 identified a variety of key behavioural, normative, and control beliefs as significant predictors of intention to visit the library with their young child. Phase 3 elicited the reasons underpinning these key beliefs guiding parents' and carers' intentions, identifying 34 reasons that could be used in messages to promote library visits. The results provide useful information that intervention designers, councils, and library services can use to encourage library use among parents and carers with young children.     

Out of Sight,But Not Out of Mind: Surveying Library Use Among Students Studying Abroad

Pepperdine University's six international campus libraries are not staffed by librarians. However, the library serves overseas students with small print collections, course specific LibGuides and highly trained student assistants. A goal of the LibGuides and student workers is to make students aware of library resources and services while studying abroad. Students studying overseas were surveyed to determine their use and awareness of library resources. In addition, to determine if the library could have an important role in supporting study abroad programs, students were asked if they had research assignments that required outside resources. While the results of the survey revealed that the majority of students are aware of library resources and services, the library should take additional steps to better serve overseas students.     

Supporting Librarians in Making the Business Case for OER

College textbook costs increased at three times the rate of inflation between 2002 and 2012 (United States General Accounting Office [GAO], 2013). One solution to high textbook costs is Open Educational Resources (OER) and institutional librarians, because of their reach throughout the institution and particular skillsets, are keenly positioned to make the business case for OER and become leaders of the OER movement. This article discusses the issues most relevant to OER adoption and provides an environmental scan of OER resources currently available to institutions, faculty, and students.     

Library Consortia are Poised to Support Affordable Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

As the cost of college attendance rises, affordable learning as a concept now encompasses attempts to address sharp increases in the cost of college textbooks for students. Through their expertise and negotiating power, library consortia have a unique opportunity to address textbook affordability in higher education—and OhioLINK is a leading example. It moved into negotiations with the “Big Five” global academic textbook publishers on behalf of its members in late 2017, and by July 2018 it had secured wholesale price agreements with all five: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson, Macmillan Learning and Cengage. In the interest of assisting the library community at large (and college students everywhere), here’s what we’ve learned thus far.     

Visualizing the Silent Dialogue About Race: Diversity Outreach in an Academic Library

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the implementation and analyze the outcomes of The Race Card Project initiative at large public university's main library. Through this program, candid submissions from the public were used to promote multicultural learning and inclusivity, as well as to build campus relationships with curricular and co-curricular units engaged in diversity work on campus.

Assessing a Patron-Driven,Library-Funded Data Purchase Program

The University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign established the Data Purchase Program in 2010 to provide a source of funding for the purchase of datasets which are requested by students and faculty, and make this data available to the campus at large for future use. In this study, the authors interviewed past applicants who submitted proposals to this program to collect their feedback and perspectives on the strengths of this program and the impact that it had on their research, as well as to determine any aspects of the program's design or implementation that need improvements. Interviews revealed that the ease of application and lack of other options for obtaining data made the program appealing, especially to graduate students, but that study participants wished for a more robust program in terms of marketing the specific data purchased by the library and help with data in general. Also, the purchased data had a wide range of impacts on the participants' research.     

Home Away from Home: Extending Library Services for International Students in China's Universities

In response to the rapid growth of international students in China's universities, it is important for university libraries to extend their existing services, which were mainly designed for native Chinese students. This paper reports on a research study aimed at extending library services for international students by identifying and understanding their requirements. An exploratory case study research design was adopted. Specifically, the Wuhan University Library was selected as the case study, at which 23 international students were approached and interviewed using semi-structured questions. The analysis of interview data pointed to 14 library service requirements in four main themes: feeling welcomed, convenient accessibility, comfortable learning environment and diverse learning resources. On this basis, five practical strategies were formulated. This study focused on China's university libraries, however, the research findings provide useful implications and insights that can be shared across international borders.