2015 Charleston Library Conference

Librarians from the University of Florida will lead a discussion on the many opportunities and challenges that academic libraries face in managing, marketing, and measuring open resources. Open resources includes traditional open access journals and books, as well as media and curricular materials often referred to as Open Educational Resources (OERs). There are many questions that come up when incorporating open resources into an academic library collection. How do libraries review, select, and organize quality open access resources for inclusion in the collection? What tools and practices are used to manage electronic access? How can libraries better market open resources to faculty? How can libraries assess usage and the impact open resources have on instruction and research? This session is intended to serve as a forum to sharing ideas and best practices around practical solutions to these questions. Audience participation is highly encouraged. Discussion prompts will be presented via a slideshow. Attendees can expect to learn about some of the issues surrounding open resources, how libraries of different sizes have approached these challenges, and what solutions have been found (or not!).