More than free textbooks
Getting on the same page: IU Libraries experts support faculty who want to center student affordability without compromising student learning.
Open Educational Resources, OER for short, are materials used for teaching and learning that have been shared under a special license or exist in the public domain, giving other instructors permission to use or revise them. Such resources include textbooks, media, entire courses, or other teaching tools.
Faculty who use OER, open access, and library licensed or published materials experience classroom teaching with 100% student access to course materials. In 2022, IU Libraries reassigned former Scholarly Communication Librarian, Sarah Hare, to a full-time focus as IU Bloomington's Open Education Librarian.
She said, "My time is now completely focused on affordable course materials, open educational resources (OER), using Libraries’ resources as course materials."
The journey to zero cost course materials begins with a single step. As the new Open Education Librarian, Sarah Hare leads IU Libraries’ efforts to increase faculty use of open and affordable educational resources that save students money, enhance learning, and make fuller use of library materials.
IU Libraries' Course Material Fellowship Program is now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 academic year. Instructors are provided with a stipend, the expertise of librarians and instructional technologists, and the opportunity to learn alongside peers.
"The staff and librarians at IU Libraries remain the best in the world. Each year in this season, many of us are working to plan courses--especially reading-intensive graduate courses--in ways that are pedagogically impactful without obligating our students to purchase their own copies of required books. And in this season, our colleagues in the libraries quickly find and implement new ebook arrangements, round up print copies to place on reserve, and do so much more to help our students succeed.
When we think about the costs of graduate education we have to keep our incredible libraries in mind. The bookstore (used) costs for my F516 books is $114.75. The lowest available online (used) cost (yesterday) was $83.62. But F516 students will have access to both print reserve copies and ebooks for no cost (...to them, but significant costs to IU). In addition, one title (not in this calculation, but also available thus) is free to all readers courtesy of IU Press. And this calculation does include journal articles and book chapters from JSTOR, ProjectMuse, Scholarly Publishing Collective, and various for-profit publishers.
Once upon a time, students lined up outside places like Kinkos to purchase expensive, spiral bound photocopy packets. (In more ancient times, they purchased staple bound paper reprints.) Thank you IU Libraries! Thanks also for all publishers working towards the goal of open access."
- Jason Baird Jackson, Ruth N. Halls Professor, Folklore and Anthropology, posted July 2022.
Growing the Course Materials program
“I think when people first hear they can make their course materials more affordable, they automatically think it means the materials are going to be lower quality, or they have to make significant compromises for that to happen,” says Hare. “OER often opens the conversation, so we can try to find things that are more affordable and match their learning outcomes at the same time.”
The Course Materials Fellowship Program (CMFP) is an IUB initiative that empowers instructors to create and adopt affordable course materials. It provides a stipend, librarian and instructional designer expertise, and peer support.
Despite starting during the pandemic, the program has transformed over ten courses each of its two years. CMFP operates with an implementation board, a group of librarians, instructional technology consultants, and members of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL).
Two noteworthy subject librarians on the implementation board have been Neuro- and Health Sciences Librarian Amy Minix, and Business/SPEA’s Research and Instruction Librarian G. Arave. Hare says, “Because there are so many applications from Business and Sciences, it’s great to have their involvement. They’re both instrumental in getting people to apply, but then supporting those people once they do apply.”
Another important partner CMFP is IU Libraries' Copyright Librarian Naz Pantaloni who leads a copyright workshop for fellows and helps fellows navigate copyright issues with their resources.
Hare finds her success in the feedback of program participants, "We asked if previous fellows would recommend the program to a colleague, and so far, everyone has said yes. I think that is the biggest endorsement.”