Chayeng Moua: OTL Student Assistant

Now in its 12th year, the Open Textbook Library (OTL) offers more than 1,560 open textbooks for everyone to download, use, and share at no cost. The Open Education Network (OEN) takes a collaborative approach to managing the library and positioning it as a resource for learners around the world. So, what role does our Student Assistant, Chayeng Moua, play in keeping the library vibrant and continually growing?

Chayeng is a full-time student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, working toward a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and on track to graduate in fall 2025. He tells us he loves to travel, take in concerts, and go fishing throughout the Midwest. He also routinely walks the Moua family dogs, Haku and Millie, on the trails around Como Lake.

For more than two years, he’s worked part-time for the OTL evaluating textbook submissions, collaborating with OEN staff and faculty authors, tracking and adding records to the library, and backing up OTL data with the team at Colorado State University.

Chayeng believes his keen attention to detail, one of his chemistry strengths, has turned out to be a transferable skill that’s valuable at the library. Still, he didn’t exactly foresee using it here. 

“When I was scrolling through the job board back in 2022, I just wanted something outside of STEM,” he recalls. “I had no library skills. But open textbooks looked interesting, and I was like, why not hit that apply button. OEN’s Karen Lauritsen reached out to me a few days later, and funny enough, here we are.”

On average, Chayeng puts in 6–7 hours per week for the OTL and says this gig agrees with him, citing the flexibility it allows him to complete tasks when and where it works best. “I’m able to add records to the library at my own pace, and that creates a very nice environment for me,” he says, estimating that he’s added three hundred new textbook records to date. “For a student who’s pretty busy, this feels like a good fit in my schedule, and that’s amazing.”

In addition to check-ins every other week, Chayeng knows he can be in contact with his supervisor, OEN Open Educational Practices Specialist Jamie Witman, whenever he would like to collaborate on evaluating library submissions. 

For each submission, Chayeng reviews the content according to OTL criteria:

“You definitely have to have a good eye for detail to do this,” Jamie observes. “Chayeng has to verify that suggested textbooks meet our library criteria and can be included. He’s using critical thinking, and has developed the skills to make those determinations.”

The process can sometimes involve a fair amount of discussion, Chayeng says. “In instances where I’ve been unsure, Jamie, Karen, and I have examined the book together. Sometimes it can be surprisingly difficult to figure out whether a book meets all the criteria.” 

As Chayeng sees it, the best thing about his work for the library is communicating with educators and authors who share his passion for open textbooks. “We want to make these textbooks available to everyone, and this basically brings me joy,” he says. “Change, you know. It’s just very sweet.”