Copley Library Annual Report 2017-2018

Copley Library Supports Open Education

Open Education is the act of creating and sharing educational resources and tools freely to the public. Since 2015, Copley Library has taken strides to partake in the open movement. In addition to Copley’s current initiative to collaborate with faculty on finding and reviewing open educational resources (OER) through the Copley Library OER Initiative and the Open Textbook Review, there was a need to include students in the ongoing conversations about the high cost of textbooks. Copley Library participated in Open Education Week from March 5-9, 2018. That Monday, Copley held an OE Selfie event in front of the library during the

A USD student illustrates the burden of textbook costs during an Open Education Week event.

lunch hour. We asked students the total amount they spent on textbooks that year and what they would have spent their money on, if they had not had to purchase textbooks. Students wrote their responses on small whiteboards and took pictures with them. We asked students to use those pictures or take an additional selfie to post on their social media pages using the hashtag “textbookbroke.” This event was an opportunity for Copley to talk to more than 40 students about open educational resources and provide more information about the movement to spread awareness about open text, media and other digital material for education and research.

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Annual Report | 2017-18