36 Librarians as OER Advocates
Most academics recognize the support that librarians offer their students. Librarians are also a vital part of most institutional development because they operate in multiple capacities and interact with people across disciplines and professional roles. At most educational institutions, librarians are aware of major changes happening in most departments and are working to support colleagues and students in the achievement of goals. Furthermore, academic librarians cultivate networks across the institution built on trust and credibility. Liaison librarians are often experienced with encouraging change and collaborating to improve student learning, and open education becomes an extension of these activities.
For these reasons, librarians make excellent OER advocates.
Why Librarians Make Good OER Advocates
An academic librarian can be a leader in instruction, a student advocate, a faculty advocate or a generalist with the ability to specialize to serve the needs of the student or faculty member as needed. Librarians can help to locate and organize OER, but they can also navigate copyright concerns, advise on open licensing and support instructional design around the use of open materials. Librarians are natural OER advocates because they are regularly already trusted by potential partners and stakeholders. When operating as the OER advocate, it is important that a librarian understand their role as trusted advisor and seek to maintain a balance between OER enthusiast and educational enabler. The advocate’s role is to support the goals of exemplary learning experiences and equity of access to education. Librarians are often particularly suited to this work because you have probably been doing it for your entire career.
Another insight for all OER advocates is that no one else can tell you how to best address your target groups. This Toolkit suggests strategies and provides resources for OER advocacy and leadership. However, as every institution is different, advocates must contextualize approaches by asking, ‘How will this work at my institution? What will my constituents think of this message?’
The Role of the Librarian OER Advocate
Librarians can perform multiple roles in advocating for OER both as a catalyst and central collaborative leader for awareness building, adoption oversight and project management. Librarians can play a role in identifying and cultivating partnerships with student organizations, government entities, multiple institutions and the profession. Examples of internal organizational advocacy strategies can include: cultivating networks awareness-raising promoting targeting generating interest leveraging opportunities establishing partnerships providing professional development. There are many options and opportunities for advocating for OER included in the Create an Action Plan for OER Advocacy section of this guide, as your advocacy strategy should be tailored to the need and the situation. Examples of strategies targeting different groups within the university include:
- cultivating networks
- awareness-raising
- promoting
- targeting
- generating interest
- leveraging opportunities
- establishing partnerships
- providing professional development.
There are many options and opportunities for advocating for OER included in the Create an Action Plan for OER Advocacy section of this guide, as your advocacy strategy should be tailored to the need and the situation. Examples of strategies targeting different groups within the university include:
| Target Group | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Librarian advocating to a committee | Attending meetings to: raise the profile of existing projects, secure interest and commitment, develop a wider network of contacts within the university. |
| Librarian advocating OER to teaching staff | Discussing the benefits of OER, including: equity and access to authentic learning adaptable formats. |
| Librarian advocating for open textbooks | Strategies can include: raising awareness of open textbooks identifying units or courses with challenging access to texts providing professional learning. |
- Focus on the why – Focus on the problems OER can solve for your stakeholders. For administrators, this might be textbook costs. For faculty, it might be a lack of quality or relevant content. It can also include tenure, discussions of pedagogical freedom, student success.
- Maintain objectivity – Listen to your stakeholders and maintain your position of why OERs might be of benefit to them. Being aware of the barriers they face will better equip you to relate to their challenges.
- Engage the engaged – At the early stages of change, spend much of your effort on those who are listening. These are the early adopters, and they align with your ‘why.’
- Reinforce the change – Keep your early adopters engaged through reinforcement strategies. Seek their feedback, showcase their work and know what they are doing next.
