Each week between now and the 2019 MLA/DLA Conference, we’re highlighting one of the conference sessions sponsored by ACRL MD. The conference will be held May 1-3 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, MD. For more information about the conference and to register, visit the MLA conference website.
What if…students didn’t need to purchase expensive textbooks? Building an Open Educational Resources (OER) Community on Campus
Thursday, May 2nd
9:00 – 10:00 am
Erin Durham
Academic librarians can serve as powerful advocates in facilitating more inclusive and equitable access to course materials. While the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) is gaining national attention, many faculty members fail to become involved due to lack of administrative support, misconceptions of OER, and misperceptions of the challenges students face in navigating the financial costs of higher education. In this participatory session, attendees will be introduced to strategies for building support for OER communities of practice. Examples of best practices for library outreach will be shared and discussed, as well as strategies for overcoming misconceptions of OER in higher education. By building communities of OER practice on campus, librarians can play a decisive role in securing more equitable and inclusive teaching environments for current and future college students.
ACRL, Maryland Chapter 