Success in Open Educational Resource Advocacy: Strategies and Resources for Creators

"As the price tag of higher education rises to almost insurmountable levels for many students, authors and open educational resource (OER) supporters must promote open scholarship to increase the feasibility of low-and no-cost textbook options. In 2021, the Student Public Interest Research Group (Student PIRG) found that 10% of surveyed students reported missing meals due to impact factors related to COVID-19. Of that group, 82% reported not purchasing a textbook for a course (Nagle & Vitez, 2021).

OER advocacy and outreach is critical to all students, but especially to those who are often faced with the difficult choice between purchasing or renting a textbook for a course and purchasing food for the week. It’s not easy to bring an OER into existence, but after all that work, creators are sometimes dismayed to find that their OER doesn’t gain traction with the intended audience. Those who create an OER from scratch must effectively present their knowledge and expertise. Once the OER—be it a textbook or other materials—is produced, what’s next? How will other educators know that the newly composed OER exists, and why should they want to adopt it for their classrooms? What is the role of the library in promoting OER? Simply publishing an OER isn’t enough--thus, the library sits at the intersection between creators, OER, advocacy, and outreach. The study will seek to demystify both practical strategies and resources for OER creators and advocates by providing insights from librarians and OER creators through this survey...."