International Journal of Open Educational Resources
tional textbooks used in the curriculum and open access journals . It is important to take a step back and define OER in order to avoid ambiguity . One of the best and most broad definitions comes from The Hewlett Foundation : " OER are teaching , learning , and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others . OER include full courses , course materials , modules , textbooks , streaming videos , tests , software , and any other tools , materials , or techniques used to support access to knowledge " ( The Hewlett Foundation , 2016 ).
By adopting this broad OER definition , libraries and institutions can form new partnerships to reduce textbook and research material cost where applicable , collaborate on identifying the best choices for curriculum / research support based on the content and integrity of the source materials , accessibility , and the reduction of the amount of educational materials paid for by the students ( i . e . textbooks ), libraries ( i . e . purchases for course reserves / journal subscriptions ), and institutions ( i . e . reduction of fees for students ).
Yet , a challenge facing academic librarians is the need to navigate the conversation at institutional administrative levels since many of these OER decisions are made in collaboration with online learning units , campus bookstores , etc . Among several success cases , the University of South Florida Libraries case is unique ; it demonstrates a growing partnership with its institution by supporting its Textbook Affordability Project ( University of South Florida Libraries , 2017 ).
The University of Florida is working towards providing OER accessibility to the instructors , students , and researchers . To achieve this goal , assessing the OER knowledge , perceptions , and experience of the campus stakeholders was the first step . This paper focuses on a survey developed by the Marston Science Library librarians at the University of Florida . The survey was administered to assess perceptions and use of OER among faculty , researchers , and students in STEM discipline colleges . The objectives of the survey are divided into several categories : 1 ) demographics ; 2 ) level of knowledge on OER ; 3 ) use of OER in instruction ; 4 ) use of OER in research , and ; 5 ) knowledge of library support . The survey aims to understand the users ' knowledge , perceptions , and experiences using open educational resources for teaching and / or research initiatives at the UF campus .
Literature Review
The Open Educational Resources vision was initiated by a UNES- CO forum in 2002 to enable the creation of free , universally accessible educational materials , which anyone could use for teaching or learning purposes . It was defined as , " the open provision of educational resources , enabled by information and communication technologies , for consultation , use , and adaptation by a community of users for non-commercial purposes " ( UNESCO 2002 , p . 24 ). Since then , many OERs have been created and licensed under
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