OEN Launches Ketida & Open Textbook Planner Pilot

This summer, the Open Education Network (OEN) is excited to launch its Ketida and Open Textbook Planner Pilot. The pilot will provide members with an opportunity to use the web-based book production platform to create new open textbooks and to share what they learn with the broader community. 

The OEN is committed to supporting multiple publishing pathways. As part of that commitment, we’re offering a variety of infrastructure options for the community to evaluate. Ketida is a single-source book production tool built with publishing teams in mind. We’re excited to see Ketida’s potential for streamlining the publication process and to learn about how our community uses Ketida to advance their open education goals.

The Open Textbook Planner exists within Ketida. This tool supports authors in developing and structuring their open textbooks before they start writing. Authors use the tool to select the pedagogical elements they would like to recur throughout their book, appearing automatically and consistently in each chapter. This feature creates a consistent book structure and foundation for authors so that they can focus on creating content. 

“At EKU, we have previously relied on importing manuscripts from Word and Google, and as our OER publishing efforts have grown, we have struggled a bit with the inconsistencies involved in separate software programs,” said Kelly Smith, University Librarian at Eastern Kentucky University Libraries. “We are really looking forward to exploring an option that provides faculty with a more structured experience, which will hopefully make it easier for them to draft accessible and visually engaging manuscripts without needing our intervention.”

We look forward to working with open textbook authors and project teams from more than half a dozen member institutions to pilot Ketida and the Open Textbook Planner:

The anticipation is mutual. “We are so excited to be part of the Ketida Pilot program!” said Jennifer L. Pate, Associate Professor and Open Education Resources & Scholarly Communications Librarian at University of North Alabama. “We look forward to experimenting with the platform.” 

The Ketida pilot is a milestone for the OEN and the Coko Foundation. The two organizations collaborated to develop the Open Textbook Planner, an IMLS-funded project. The development wrapped up this summer, and both organizations are looking forward to getting user feedback, which will inform the continued development of the tools. 

“The Ketida pilot project came at the perfect time for us,” said Melissa Chim, Scholarly Communications Librarian at Excelsior University. “We’re in the beginning stages of creating our university’s publishing program. This pilot is an excellent way for us to create an OER textbook and contribute to our institution’s culture of openness.” 

The pilot will run through December 2025, providing participants with an extended opportunity to work on projects to meet student needs. Between now and then, additional pilot members will be invited to participate. In the meantime, the initial open textbook projects reflect an exciting range of disciplinary interests: 

Since writing a book can be an isolating endeavor, the pilot group will provide community and support in addition to access to technology. “This group of pilot participants brings a wealth of experience to the publishing process,” said Karen Lauritsen, senior director, publishing. “No matter the tool, publishing is a big lift. So having a community to turn to during the process makes it more manageable.”

Questions related to the Ketida pilot can be sent to Karen Lauritsen.