New: Guide to Open Textbook Essential and Exemplary Features
The Open Education Network (OEN) is pleased to share the Guide to Open Textbook Essential and Exemplary Features, a new, openly licensed resource available on OEN’s Manifold. The Guide is designed to help authors, librarians, instructional designers and faculty select and develop open textbooks.
Join Our Steering Committee: OEN Ethos in Action
The Open Education Network’s Steering Committee is an outstanding example of our community’s ethos in action. Established in 2016, the committee advises OEN leadership by sharing diverse perspectives, contributing knowledge and experience, and voicing community feedback to inform our organization’s strategic direction.
Embracing Open Education: OEN Open Pedagogy Learning Circle
The Open Education Network’s Open Pedagogy Learning Circle hosted its Show & Tell earlier this month, wrapping up the fall 2025 program that enables OEN members to explore and engage in open pedagogy at no additional cost. Facilitated by Jamie Witman, Open Educational Practices Specialist, the Learning Circle strives to build a community of practitioners.
Certificate in Open Education Librarianship Instructor Profile: Jeanne Hoover
The Certificate in Open Education Librarianship is a professional development opportunity through the Open Education Network. It offers librarians formal training, a community of peers, and expert mentors to instruct and inspire. During the program, participants create action plans for sustainable, collaborative, and effective open education programs.
Since 2019, more than 350 librarians have earned the certificate. Congratulations to the participants who completed the program this year!
Connecting Colleagues: The OEN Scholarship Matchmaking Spreadsheet
Community is a priority at the Open Education Network (OEN). We are dedicated to helping OEN colleagues connect and collaborate toward open educational goals and interests. As a result, we are pleased to share that we’ve developed a tool to facilitate these scholarly connections: the Scholarship Matchmaking Spreadsheet.
Open Textbook Author Profile: Melissa Chim
Past Makes Perfect: A Mini Handbook for Student Historians is an openly licensed textbook written and published in 2025 by Melissa Chim, Scholarly Communications Librarian at Excelsior University in Albany, New York. An avid history enthusiast and scholar, Melissa holds an MLIS from St. John’s University and an MA in History from Queen Mary University of London.
We recently asked Melissa to share her experience authoring this new book, including her participation in the Open Education Network’s Ketty Pilot (formerly Ketida).
Open Textbook Author Profile: N. Alexander Aguado
In this Q and A, we ask N. Alexander Aguado, Ph.D., some questions about the writing and publication of his open textbook, Never Gonna Change? An Examination of the 1901 Alabama Constitution. Alex is Professor and Chair of Political Science in the Department of Politics, Justice, Law, & Philosophy at the University of North Alabama.
Pub101: Wrap Up 2025
Hosted by Open Education Network’s Karen Lauritsen, the seventh and final session of our 2025 Pub101 series features Ariana Santiago (she/her) of the University of Houston, who discusses items to consider as you wrap up an open textbook project. Don’t miss her insights on finalizing OER, preparing for publication, sharing new OER, paying your staff, assessing your program, and more.
Pub101: Call for Proposals and MOUs 2025
The sixth session of Pub101 in 2025 shares key insights to help you prepare an open publishing Call for Proposal and/or Memorandum of Understanding. Join Karen Bjork of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries and Carla Myers of Miami University Libraries as they offer effective communication tips, content considerations, and recommendations for using these documents to navigate the publishing process. Melissa Chim of Excelsior University hosts today’s session.
Showcasing Innovation in Education: Open Pedagogy Project Symposium 2025
In early April, the Open Education Network’s (OEN) Open Pedagogy Project Symposium showcased educational innovation and achievement – examples of fresh, outside-the-box teaching strategies made possible by open pedagogy. The OEN is pleased to highlight the action plans created by teams of dedicated faculty, librarians, instructional designers, and colleagues.