Open Textbook Network to create open education training program

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (9/25/2017) — The Open Textbook Network is creating an Open Educational Resources (OER) Librarian Bootcamp. The professional development program will be designed in collaboration with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and Creative Commons to create effective open education program leaders throughout the nation. It is funded by a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (RE-70-17-0073-17).

The professional development program will prepare librarians who want to be stewards and advocates for open educational resources. Librarians will develop comprehensive knowledge in open education and open education programming. The Bootcamp will include online and in-person content, mentor-led cohorts, and post-workshop program development and assessment. The pre-workshop component includes online training developed as part of a previously funded IMLS project, the Creative Commons’ Librarian Certificate program. The pilot workshop will be held at the ACRL Conference in 2019.

“This is an exciting opportunity for the OTN to support higher education’s leadership role in creating open education initiatives that support affordability and student success,” said David Ernst, director of the Center for Open Education at the U of M’s College of Education and Human Development, executive director of the Open Textbook Network, founder of the Open Textbook Library and a nationally-known expert in the field. “A quality, comprehensive training program will develop strong community anchors for open education in higher ed. We’re honored that IMLS is supporting the OTN to create such a program.”

The Open Textbook Network (OTN) is a community of higher education institutions working to advance open education, with members that now represent 15% of higher education institutions. It was created in response to the high cost of textbooks, which has a negative impact on student success.

Collectively, the more than 600 institutions in the Open Textbook Network have now saved students more than $8.5 million. The community has achieved these savings by implementing open education engagement and training programs since 2014. These programs leverage Open Educational Resources (OER), which are created and licensed to be freely distributed, used and adapted. The resources can be downloaded for no cost, providing all students with free, continuous access to course materials. In addition, OER offer faculty the flexibility to customize the content to meet students’ learning needs.

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for librarians. Representing nearly 11,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals, ACRL, a division of the American Library Association, develops programs, products and services to help academic and research librarians learn, innovate and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning and transforming scholarship. ACRL is on the Web at acrl.org, Facebook at facebook.com/ala.acrl and Twitter at @ala_acrl.

Creative Commons is a global nonprofit organization that enables sharing and reuse of creativity and knowledge through the provision of free legal tools. Our legal tools help those who want to encourage reuse of their works by offering them for use under generous, standardized terms; those who want to make creative uses of works; and those who want to benefit from this symbiosis. Our vision is to help others realize the full potential of the internet. CC has affiliates all over the world who help ensure our tools work internationally and who raise awareness of our work.