Building an OER Program
Regina Gong
Many OER initiatives in higher education have developed and grown within libraries and are increasingly led by librarians (SPARC, 2019, 6). I believe that librarians are natural advocates who are ideally suited to support, lead, manage, and implement OER programs. Because of this belief, I willingly took on the role of leading an OER initiative; originally at a community college and currently at a land-grant research university. What is notable about my work in these libraries is the contrasting nature of my position and job responsibilities. While both jobs entailed overall leadership and management of the OER program, in one role these duties were an add-on to my existing position, while in the other role I was 100% dedicated to OER. These contrasting experiences are the focus of this case study. It’s a personal narrative that is all too common among OER librarians. While we are committed to advocacy and support for OER, the demands imposed on us by our workload (often with OER as an added item to our already-full plates) need to be unpacked and interrogated because they’re often not discussed. On the one hand, we have to maintain our commitment to access and equity through the adoption of OER, and on the other, we grapple with the frustration of not having the support and financial resources needed to realize these goals.
Building an OER Program at a Community College
I came to work at Lansing Community College (LCC) Library in 2010 as the Head of Technical Services and Systems. This position was classified as an administrator, similar to the library director. Like many community college libraries, our staff was small and our work was always student-focused. I was in charge of a small unit where I supervised one librarian, two support staff, and two student employees. Our team was responsible for cataloging, acquisitions, collection management, collection development, resource sharing, interlibrary loan, electronic resources management, the integrated library system, and the discovery system.
In 2014, I became part of an Academic Senate committee tasked with considering innovative ways for LCC to make learning materials more affordable and engaging for students. At that time, I was already interested in OER from having recently heard a TED Talk by David Wiley and attended webinars by the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER). The more I learned about the promise and benefits of OER, the more I was inspired to pitch an OER project to the college. The timing could not have been better because a new provost had just started his tenure and a new strategic plan had just been drafted. Ultimately, in early spring 2015, and with the provost’s support, I became the lead of LCC’s fledgling OER initiative. As I encouraged faculty to explore and consider OER, I found several allies and champions willing to try something new. One of them eventually became Academic Senate president, and that