International Journal of Open Educational Resources Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2019/Winter 2020 | Page 214

International Journal of Open Educational Resources
for the faculty. Taking care of tasks outside
faculty members’ interest or expertise
ensures that faculty remain focused
on tasks more suited to their strengths.
Indeed, throughout this collaboration,
the authors relied on intra-library collaboration
to address the breadth of
barriers presented by this project. This
may prove more difficult for librarians
at small institutions with minimal
staff, but having solid foundations in
place to help answer faculty concerns
should help. A well developed tutorial
or LibGuide can help provide guidance
in searching, copyright issues, and pedagogical
practices that work best with
open materials.
Lastly, librarians should be prepared
to support OER projects well
beyond the grant award. Hosting, enhancement,
and long-term management
of the OER product are central to
faculty concerns about the viability of
OER adoption. These barriers can stall
or kill an OER project if librarians fail to
support faculty through this part of the
process. Fortunately, librarians often
have at their disposal technical services
expertise and hosting tools to address
this. Librarians should be prepared to
think critically and creatively about
how existing content management
tools, including IRs and LibGuides
CMS, can be adapted to meet content
management needs. Providing this level
of service is consistent with academic
librarians’ growing awareness of their
role supporting students and faculty as
content creators (Jackson, Pierard, &
Schadl, 2019).
Conclusion
Effective OER support requires
shifting thinking from a one-shot
instructional model to an understanding
that faculty needs will vary
and evolve as they delve into these materials.
Librarians are well positioned
to bring a variety of expertise and skills
to this process. Expanding and redefining
liaison and technical service roles
allows creative solutions and provides
strong scaffolding for faculty support.
Providing guidance throughout the
OER process strengthens the relationship
between librarians and faculty and
creates opportunities for deeper collaboration
across the institution.
References
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2014). Opening
the curriculum: Open educational resources
in higher in U.S. higher education,
2014. Oakland, CA: Babson Survey Research
Group.
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2016). Opening
the textbook: Educational resources
in U.S. higher education 2015-16. Oakland,
CA: Babson Survey Research
Group.
Bell, S., & Salem, J. (2017). It’s up to
the librarians: Establishing a statewide
OER initiative. Pennsylvania Libraries:
Research & Practice, 5(2). Retrieved
from http://palrap.pitt.edu/ojs/index.
php/palrap/article/view/166
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