Group Admins
Description
Session Description
A summary of a section of the findings of a case study MSc dissertation (MSc in Information and Library Studies) within the context of ‘Back to basics – asking difficult questions about open education’.
Three cases were identified, and examined how two Scottish HEI academic libraries and a designated non-library OER service support OER. Research objectives looked to discover why academic libraries may wish to support OER, identify factors affecting academic libraries’ abilities to support OER, and critically discuss how libraries are currently supporting OER. Methodological approaches incorporated qualitative interviews with library and service staff, and a thematic analysis of each case’s OER strategic and operational documentation, and web-pages.
Different motivators for service creation and reasons for supporting OER were identified at each case with differing interests being served and user-groups targeted. Furthermore, different approaches to service delivery were identified at each library, and the non-library case. Library cases primarily provided repository and repository support services, whilst non-library case looked to develop digital OER literacy skills and encouraged sharing of OER upon social online platforms.
Though librarians are identified as having the potential to support OER and OER use amongst educators (Jensen and West 2015; Bueno-de-la-Fuente et al. 2012), during qualitative interviews at library cases, participants questioned if service provision had met the needs of users, if educators had fully engaged with open practice, and if services were truly open. The poster will present Library interviewee’s reflective narratives and deliberations of whose ‘open’ interests were being served in service delivery?
The poster may be of interest to library or information professionals developing an OER support service, whilst highlighting the importance of collaboration with potential service users in the development of services.
References
JENSEN, K. and WEST, Q., 2015. Open educational resources and the higher education environment. College and Research Libraries News, 76(4), pp. 215-218.
BUENO-DE-LA-FUENTE G., ROBERTSON, R.J. and BOON, S., 2012. The roles of libraries and information professionals in Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives: survey report. JISC Cetis.