Brian Richardson Chaminade University of Honolulu Organizational Models For Open Education Resources in Higher Education Websites Brian Richardson Chaminade University of Honolulu

Ways of Supporting OER Educating people about OER Finding OER resources for teachers to use Helping to develop or modify them Storing them locally Actively making them available to users meaning, treating them as a collection management opportunity (or problem) Here it is, what are you going to do with it. Like things that are created with grant money that just disappear into the ether.

Collection Management Process Find it Evaluate it Buy it Catalog it Shelve it Circulate it Weed it

Copyrighted Digital Materials Find it - often in a collection Evaluate it – or not, if it’s a collection Buy it - or subscribe to the collection Catalog it - or download the entries Shelve it – relies on publisher or catalog Circulate it – relies of publisher Weed it – when you stop paying for it Digital allows other access points beyond the shelf

Similarities and Differences Digital documents tend to be in large collections managed by companies who handle evaluating, cataloging, circulating primary task is to pay the fees and import the catalog entries The Library plays a minimal role in acquiring and making the materials available There are some counter-examples where a digital book is purchased outright

OER Materials What happens when the material is an Open Educational Resource? Open Educational Resources are free are transformable are unstable are collaborative can be class-specific, ephemera

OER Materials Find it – might be complicated Evaluate it – might be complicated Buy it – easy, you can copy it Create or Modify it – can be significant Catalog it - ? Shelve it - ? Circulate it – not a big problem Weed it – not a big problem Evaluation becomes complicated in part because the infrastructure doesn’t really exist yet (book reviews, catalogs, etc.). This will likely change. The problem with copying it is that version control for OER materials can be non-existent or unreliable, especially when people take the OER seriously. Like those personalized textbooks that faculty are allowed to create.

Buying and Cataloging OER Unlike websites and YouTube videos, OER material can be freely acquired the library But OERs can be more work than static books copies have to be stored, or at least tracked rights have to be monitored what counts as an OER is up in the air Catalogs tend to rely on things being stable perhaps an OER work is like a serial? Archival material is an exemption here – pamphlets, for instance, become valuable as part of the collection.

Elements of the Problem Is the catalog the best way to organize access to the OER collection? The material is fluid One OER goal is to encourage that fluidity, to encourage people to make new versions

Shelving OER Shelving is a question of how access to items in the collection is organized. Physical shelving provides the dominant metaphor for understanding storage and access. A catalog entry points to a thing That thing can be found somewhere Digital shelves are created by aggregators of digital books, often using shelving metaphors.

Maintaining OER One of the goals of OER is to encourage collaboration and adaptation a workload issue for everyone OER is about promoting the process Libraries hate things in process (okay, a bit dramatic)

The Challenge How can libraries maintain the integrity of their information systems while promoting an information type that is not designed to fit? How can librarians interact with others (faculty, for instance) in the production and modification of OER?

Structures of Access Focus now is on cataloging/shelving but cataloging occurs after the fact There may be other ways of thinking about how information can be organized for people to access. The question is: what expansive structures could exist where materials can be added?

Course and Topic Web Pages Courses would be based on the curriculum Topics would probably parallel the LOC, but at a fairly general level The two systems overlap A course could include many topics A topic could include many courses

by Course Pages A page for each course in the curriculum, perhaps paralleling the CMS Meaningful place to put course-specific OER, Connects librarian to curriculum developments Promotes buy-in from teachers in the larger goals of collection development may create an on-going, collaborative weeding process

by Course Pages Problem of multiple teachers, no agreement Problem of proprietary feelings towards the page teachers and librarians don’t always approach collection development in the same way Problem of wasted time, especially for courses that don’t use online materials

by Topic Pages Pathfinders would be an example Often may be created one topic at a time, in a reactive way A whole system of interconnected topics could be created at once and then filled in over time Could be created without stepping on the teacher’s turf Could create a collaborative space for teachers and librarians Like Laulima – having it already created encourages people to participate.

by Topic Pages Could then connect back to courses, but be more flexible. Topics would be easier to share between libraries would not be static pages perhaps a shared database, if set up properly Like Laulima – having it already created encourages people to participate.

Concluding Thoughts Catalogs are powerful things, but the aspirations of OER may not fit well. Creating web pages allows for a shared space that might help library outreach Creating the entire structure allows everyone to see the gaps in the collection and to help – creates a sense of the needs of the collection.

Thank you