Library Support for Open Textbook and Open Educational Resource (OER) Creation

In this project, UBC Library will assist faculty in creating, adapting, or adopting open textbooks and OERs. Through a combination of confirmed faculty interest and an open invitation issued in early 2018, our goal is to produce up to eight open textbooks across subject disciplines.

Open textbooks are a money-saving option for students. According to a 2016 AMS survey, about 75% of students have gone without a textbook or other resource due to cost. This project will help make course textbooks open and more affordable. It will also provide faculty with direct support for open textbook production, helping them keep resources relevant and up-to-date.

The Library is interested in tracking the technologies and workflows involved to determine, based on evidence gathered, whether open textbook support could become a sustainable service for campus. To our knowledge there is no other centralized (i.e., cross-faculties) production support for open textbooks being offered at UBC. We see this project as an important opportunity to pilot such a service.

Leonora Crema, Scholarly Communications Librarian, Digital Programs and Services, UBC Library
Stephanie Savage, Librarian, UBC Library
Arthur (Gill) Green, Affiliate Assistant Professor, Geography, Faculty of Arts
Jonathan Ichikawa, Associate Professor, Philosophy, Faculty of Arts
Batoul Shariati, Clinical Associate Professor, Oral Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry
Will Engle, Strategist, Open Education, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology
Erin Fields, Flexible Learning Coordinator, UBC Library
Christina Hendricks, Professor of Teaching, Philosophy, Faculty of Arts / Deputy Academic Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology