Open Access Week is Around the Corner

Open Access Week (Oct. 22-28, 2018) is around the corner, and in this post I'd like to focus especially on open educational resources. But first, a few acronyms!

Movements to Free Scholarship and Textbooks 

Open Access (OA) is a movement working to make scholarship both free to read and easy to share (free from most usage restrictions), which is important given the obscene profits made by big publishers. Ever find an article or book chapter you wanted to read only to be told you'd need to pay $$ to get it? That's called a paywall and it thwarts students, researchers, and even folks just trying to help sick loved ones.

Open Educational Resources (OER) is an important piece in the OA movement that focuses on making educational resources (e.g., textbooks, videos, handouts) both free to read and easy to share. Its value stems from the incredible rise in college textbook costs, the way use restrictions can hinder faculty from adopting the best material for learning, and studies that show the positive impact OER can have on student learning. From a marketing perspective, it's unclear why we as educators would support a legacy system that holds buyers captive at the expense of learning.

  

A Word of Caution

As OER has gained momentum and influenced legislation, textbook publishers have responded by providing their own OER and related materials. While these affordable (and sometimes questionably marketed as inclusive) educational resource packages can reduce the costs of education, these platform-based strategies risk reproducing the same kind of lock-in for students and more recently for institutions.

What You Can Do

Faculty

Faculty, if you're interested in learning more, check out our OER guide where you'll find the latest news, why support is strong and increasing, and how you can review, adopt, and create OER.

Events
You might also find the following of interest.

• Tuesday, Oct. 2, 11:30-12:45pm in the Library Conference Room -- Hunsaker Teaching Lunch on OER. Faculty from the 2017-2018 multidisciplinary faculty seminar, Open: Scholarship & Learning, will facilitate a discussion on OER. Faculty may RSVP to Debbie[underscore]Clark[at]Redlands[dot]edu
• Thursday, Oct. 25, noon-1pm in LIB 111 -- Join other faculty for a webinar, OER Programs at Private Liberal Arts Institutions. Faculty are welcome to gather together in LIB 111; send RSVPs to Paige[underscore]Mann[at]redlands[dot]edu.

Students

There are multiple ways students can get involved in OER. Here are just a few ideas.

• Generate awareness of OER amongst friend and fellow students.
• Work with your student government to advocate for OER.
• Discuss OER with faculty.
• Correct OER myths.
• Partner with the Armacost Library in OER advocacy.
• Campaign with Student PIRGs to affect legislation.
• Follow the OER Digest to stay current on OER news.
• Co-create OER with faculty open to the idea.

Students can also provide valuable contributions to open textbooks... It might seem that only upper-level students would be able to do so well, but that need not necessarily be the case. As Plymouth State University professor Robin DeRosa puts it, “Students are the perfect people to help create textbooks, since they are the most keenly tuned in to what other students will need in order to engage with the material in meaningful ways.” -- from Students' Vital Role in OER

Advocates need partners, and we do make a difference.

College students are spending less by accessing free course materials, often assigned by faculty. They’re borrowing, sharing, and downloading the materials needed for their classes. Notable in the 2017-18 academic year is that nearly 20% of students surveyed reported downloading free course materials from a variety of sources. -- from the National Association of College Stores' Student Watch Attitudes & Behaviors toward Course Materials 2017-18 Report

Banned Books Week 2018

September 23 - 29 is Banned Books Week, a time in which we can celebrate our freedom to read! Events planned include a lunch time Read-Out and an exhibit in the Armacost Library.

The American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom keeps track of challenges to books in the United States and has published the top ten banned and challenged books for 2017. Banned Book Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries.

While a "challenge" is an attempt to remove or restrict access to material, a "ban" is the actual removal of material. Although the reasons for challenging materials are wide and varied, recent requests to remove books generally refer to violence, offensive language, sexually explicit content, religious viewpoint, or the representation of gender roles and gender identity.

This year's Banned Books Week urges us to consider how banning books silences stories. Join us for Banned Books week at the following events:

Banned Books Read Out
When: Wednesday, September 26, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Where: Outside the Irvine Commons
Members of the community will read from their favorite banned or challenged book. Stop and listen for a spell, or join in the freedom to read. Banned and challenged books will be available for perusal.

Banned Books Exhibit
When: All week
Where: Library entrance, 2nd floor
The Armacost Library will highlight banned and challenged literature.

Banned Books Week events are sponsored by Armacost Library, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, and Sigma Tau Delta.