University of Texas Arlington

Invited panel presentation sponsored by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

For over a century, academic librarians in the United States have provided instruction designed to help patrons effectively navigate and use the resources and services provided by the library. Today we refer to this type of learning experience in terms of “information literacy.” As digitization has shaped the ways that we access and share information, so, too, has information literacy evolved to represent a more nuanced relationship between the people who create and consume information and the systems we use to communicate in a networked world. In January 2016, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) adopted a new Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, which transitioned librarians from a skills-based approach to teaching and learning to a conceptual one. Though the language in the Framework is student-centric, as are the information literacy programs that operate out of academic libraries, we argue that the knowledge practices and dispositions represented in the document apply to educators as much as they do to the students we serve—particularly in the context of open education. With its heavy focus on copyright and licensing, outreach and education about open educational resources (OER) provide a perfect opportunity to explore how concepts of information literacy can guide our work with faculty, staff, and administrators who are new to open education or who have fallen prey to misinformation about OER. Additionally, though the term “information literacy” grew from libraries, we acknowledge that librarians do not fully own the responsibility of deepening our communities’ understanding of the information ecosystem. In this presentation, a librarian and an instructional designer discuss how information literacy concepts can inform how we support open education and how we leverage existing information literacy programs to broaden the impact of our work. (Presentation with Billy Meinke)

Invited panel presentation for the National Association of College Stores' CAmpus Market EXpo (CAMEX); open to Course Materials eXpereince (CM-X) registrants. (Panel Presentation with Debbie Bruce, Ben Wright, and Tony Sanjume; Moderated by Stephen Hochheiser)

Invited provocateur for the National Association of College Stores' CAmpus Market EXpo (CAMEX); bonus session opportunity for Course Materials eXperience (CM-X) registrants. The cost of higher education and course materials continue to be a challenge for students. CAMEX Strategic Dialogue is an in-depth conversation to discuss trends, implications, and how your store can be part of the solution. (Session with Cheryl Costantini and Erin Kirchner-Lucas; Moderated by Tony Ellis and Ashley Gordon)

The Open Education movement has grown dramatically in recent years. Much of this growth is the result of innovative OER programs and initiatives that span multiple institutions. Although challenging, these types of initiatives have the potential to impact the largest number of students and go far in making open the default in education. During Open Education Week, SPARC will host a webcast to highlight system and state/provincial-wide OER initiatives at our SPARC member institutions. (Webcast with Mark McBride, Amanda Coolidge, and Grace Atkins; Moderated by Katie Steen)

Join a group of OER mentors to discuss a wide range of topics pertaining to open and affordability.  This is a wonderful opportunity to ask burning questions from “what is OER?” to “how do you…?”  We also want to hear what you are doing and what is working, or not, in your affordability efforts!  This will be a more informal gathering, not a panel style discussion. (Session with Melinda Boland, Bob Butterfield, David Ernst, Jane Roisum, and Daniel Williamson; Moderated by Cory Mitchell)

As interest in open educational resources (OER) continues to grow on college campuses worldwide, many faculty, librarians, and other educators who may have limited experience in publishing and universal design are beginning to spearhead OER projects. As our community of practice expands, it is important to consider how we can develop, implement, and communicate best practices in accessibility to ensure OER meet the needs of all users, regardless of disability, learning preferences, or cultural backgrounds. In this presentation, Michelle Reed discusses the need for accessible OER and explores strategic partnerships that leverage the expertise within our communities to address this need. 

Open Textbook Network workshops are presented at new member institutions for campus partners who will support exploration and adoption of open textbooks.

Todays shifting academic information landscape provides many challenges and opportunities for librarians to become change agents for campus-wide initiatives and competencies. As we educate and inspire diverse communities of scholars, librarians are encouraged to seek and explore collaborative opportunities that arise at the intersections of scholarly communication and information literacy. This program will empower participants to leverage the intersections in order to develop education and outreach initiatives that address the aspirations and needs of scholars, students, and researchers at their institutions. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to network and build communities of practice.

Open pedagogy is the future of open education because of the potential for an educational community to engage in the creation of the next generation of content while improving student learning. However, building open pedagogy to scale at most institutions has proven difficult, partially because of customized learning experiences and partially because of lack of faculty knowledge about how to support open pedagogy assignments. One way to increase adoption of open pedagogy is to leverage the existing infrastructure and institutional awareness around information literacy. The similarities in goals between open pedagogy and information literacy work represents a natural partnership that open practitioners can draw upon to support the increased adoption of both information-rich and renewable assignments in the curriculum. Panelists in this session will discuss a librarian's perspective on building programmatic support for open pedagogical practice, similar to how libraries have built programmatic support for information literacy. With a focus on scholarship of teaching and learning and open educational practices, we'll demonstrate how the work of open education practitioners and librarians is both complementary and necessarily bundled. When our professional, ethical, and teaching practices are united, open pedagogy can be better organized to scale. (Panel presentation with Sarah Cohen, Amy Hofer, and Quill West)

[Contributor to Rafia Mirza's poster presentation] University of Texas Arlington Libraries developed a flexible template and workbook for the use of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in Libraries. The MOU team felt the time was right for development of the template and workbook due to the shift from transactional work to long term projects occurring in many libraries and the resulting need to document project plans, timelines and expectations for all involved parties. We have found the adoption and writing of a MOU between the Libraries and external partners helps to alleviate tensions and set reasonable expectations. By clarifying those expectations and timelines, the library is able to continue to provide exemplary service to all of our patrons and partners. As hoped, the MOU has been modified for reuse to fit particular project needs. The workbook is available through UTA’s Research Commons. The workbook collection includes a general MOU template, templates for particular projects, a workflow, and instructions for each. This poster will address the benefits, challenges and lessons learned in adapting this template for new uses/projects.

What are the best practices to ensure accessibility in open textbooks? In this session, we will talk about methods to ensure accessibility during authoring and post-authoring processes. We’ll also discuss how to audit the accessibility of existing open textbooks. (Webcast with Josie Gray, Jess Mitchell, and Krista Greear; Moderated by Hugh McGuire and Karen Lauritsen)

The field of library and information sciences has seen an increase in interest related to the “intersections” of information literacy and scholarly communication following the publication by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) of a white paper that described the need for libraries to strengthen connections between these two critical areas of library outreach in higher education. It was reinforced by the publication of Common Ground at the Nexus of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy and followed by the development of “Two Paths Converge: Designing Educational Opportunities on the Intersections of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy,” a one-day ACRL workshop.  This paper explores three projects conducted at a four-year public research university in the United States. The projects embody academic librarianship at the intersections of information literacy and scholarly communication, and each is presented in the context of its connection to ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and to the strategic priorities of the university and its library.  The selected projects vary in scope and outcomes to provide examples of the range of work possible when librarians actively seek out opportunities to engage with students at the intersections. One of the projects discussed is a multidisciplinary competition that challenges undergraduate students to submit images of their research or research process via social media. An educational series on copyright was shared via the library’s social media channels during the open submission period for the competition. Winners were selected by a panel of faculty judges and were invited to present lightening talks for an awards event hosted by the library. The students’ talks were bookended by talks given by library staff on managing an online presence and the ethos of Open Access. This paper also discusses the library’s integration into a service-learning course offered by the university’s Film and Media Studies Department. Serving as community partner, the library collaborated with a student team on the design of an interactive, digital game intended to introduce the library as a resource to first-year students and reduce the common occurrence of library anxiety among this demographic. The game was integrated into the university’s first-year-experience curricula and used in conjunction with a library-hosted event. The third major project discussed is an exploratory research project that investigates undergraduate perspectives on copyright and access issues. Two students were hired for this experiential learning opportunity that provided them hands-on experience in conducting human subjects research and fostered meaningful connections with faculty.

As academic librarians become increasingly involved with advocacy and implementation of open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) on our campuses, it is important to think critically about how such initiatives further the strategic goals and priorities of the libraries and institutions we serve. OER/OEP advocacy typically includes copyright education, making this budding area of librarianship a rich example of how we may leverage the intersections of scholarly communication and information literacy to strengthen our outreach and educational initiatives. This hands-on workshop builds on concepts presented in “ACRL Intersections of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy Webcast Series,” sponsored by CILIP. We’ll discuss open education in the context of librarianship, review the intersecting cornerstones of information literacy and scholarly communication, and apply strategic mapping and partnership exploration to open educational programming.

Whilst the definition of open educational resources (OER) is now relatively static with key descriptions such as the 5R’s (Wiley, 2014) or the definition developed by UNESCO (no date) being frequently referenced, how we define open educational practices (OEP) is more varied and is still under development. Definitions to date recognise that OEP is more than just the practicalities of creating OER for example (McGill 2013) whilst projects such as Opening Educational Practices in Scotland (OEPS) highlight the ethos of “social justice” as being a central driver of OEP (OEPS, no date). In this session we examine the meaning of OEP in three stages. First, we review examples of OEP in the Scottish context that have been documented as part of research carried out by the OER Hub (http://oerhub.net) as part of the OEPS project (https://oepscotland.org and http://www.oeps.ac.uk). Second, we recontextualise these examples and examine them within the international context, through the use of exemplar case studies from around the world. Finally, we present an emerging framework of open practice based on our research to date. The aim of the framework is to systematically reflect on, analyse and present different facets of international open practice whilst simultaneously contributing to the development of the meaning of open practice and OEP. In short this session aims to further develop a definition of OEP through a systematic analysis of international open practices. It will also explore where open makes a difference to practice and what kind of ethos, if any, underpins how we understand openness. (Presentation with Beck Pitt, Martin Weller, and Bea De Los Arcos)

In celebration of Open Education Week 2017, SPARC is hosting an hour long webcast centred on the theme of successful OER adoption models. The webcast will feature representatives from four SPARC member libraries who are each advancing OER at their institution in a different way. (Webcast with Anita Walz, Kathy Labadorf, and Olivia Reinauer; Moderated by Brady Yano)

Scholarly communication and information literacy are dynamic and intersecting strands in librarianship. They not only reinforce each other, they also further the larger aims of students, faculty, librarians, and entire institutions. We will guide participants in uncovering core concepts of the intersections and reflecting how the intersections can strengthen various library initiatives. We’ll provide examples of how the intersections bolster the messages of librarians in various roles. We will also describe how the Intersections workshop can move your professional goals from idea to reality. Finally, we’ll have an open discussion about how the intersections can help you and your institution. (Workshop Showcase with Maryam Fakouri, Emma Molls, and John Watts)

Come play a game, and join us for discussion of a sustainable model of library support for first-year-experience courses. You’ll learn about the development, implementation, and assessment of a three-day information literacy unit focused on authority that puts course instructors at the helm of student acquisition of information literacy concepts. We’ll share course materials and put your knowledge of authority to the test as we actively engage with course content. (Panel Presentation with Jill Becker, Stephanie Gamble, and Sofia Leung)

Are you an ideal researcher? A cinephile or a linguist? Perhaps a free spirit? Come find out! Explore your inner researcher during this interactive session that presents a digital game designed by undergraduate students enrolled in a service-learning course. You’ll learn about the benefits and challenges of partnering with students on the creation of new media and walk away with strategies for integrating libraries into experiential learning opportunities on your campus. (Poster Presentation)

Following the 2013 publication of ACRL’s white paper on the intersections of scholarly communication and information literacy, interest in the connection between these two critical areas of librarianship has grown tremendously. The first webcast in this three-part series explores common definitions of the two topics; analyzes the intersections and objectives presented in the white paper and in subsequent publications; offers practical examples of librarianship at the intersections; and discusses partnerships that advance outreach and education initiatives. This webcast provides participants with a shared theoretical foundation on which the rest of the series is built. (CILIP-Sponsored Webcast with Emma Molls)

Presented at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Copyright Conference 2016.