International Journal of Open Educational Resources Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2019/Winter 2020 | Page 170

International Journal of Open Educational Resources
gram is highly localized. The assessment
and redesign of the ISU program
was decided on for three very specific
reasons. First, the program itself had
recently lost its primary administrator,
which left it without strategic direction.
Second, the course delivery had not
been revised or revisited since its inception
nearly four years prior as the program
roster continued to grow. Third,
the program materials needed to evolve
to reflect the fast changing landscape
of OER. Assessment was conducted
through two exit interviews with the
departing OER Librarian, a review of
the program workflow and documentation,
and feedback on the program experience
from program faculty alumni.
Exit interviews
Ensuring the continued success of the
OER program was a significant concern
for the library. Much has been written
about the value of storytelling and successful
exit interviews (Siewert & Louderback,
2019; Spain & Groysberg, 2016)
in preserving institutional memory. As
a first step, the Electronic Resources &
Copyright Librarian decided to focus
on storytelling via exit interviews to
preserve program processes and assist
in the transition. The Emerging Tech
Librarian’s timeline for departure was
two months, during which time the
Electronic Resources & Copyright Librarian
scheduled two exit interviews.
The desired outcome of these meetings
was to establish the OER program’s administrative
needs, the current process
of deployment, and any additional reporting
mechanisms or tools that needed
to be identified. Each meeting was
scheduled for approximately one and
a half hours, with the understanding
that additional time might be needed.
The first meeting was spent storytelling:
the Emerging Tech Librarian was asked
to write a rough outline of her process
and then verbally detail the process in
the meeting. Additional notes for further
elaboration were taken by both
the Electronic Resources & Copyright
Librarian and the storyteller to further
flesh out the process and provide the
needed institutional memory to continue
the program. The second meeting
was spent going through some of the
actual activities identified in the storytelling
session, namely survey data
manipulation, Pressbooks administration,
and reviewing participating faculty
journal entries. Process details and
notes from both the departing Librarian
and new OER Librarian were captured
in a new OER program digital memory
folder on the institutional computer
drive. Beyond the two formal meetings,
the Emerging Tech Librarian provided
outreach to OER institutional contacts
on behalf of the Electronic Resources
& Copyright Librarian to provide for a
smoother transition post-departure. It
was in the two exit interviews that a key
detail emerged: the program’s Blackboard
modules had not been reviewed
since their introduction to campus over
four years ago. This was due largely to
the growth and demands of the program
as part of the campus strategic
plan. The program was under the purview
of two personnel: a library faculty
member and a staff member from Institutional
Research (who would also
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