Library and Information Science Commons^™

Open Textbooks: Access, Affordability, Inclusion, And Academic Success, Janelle Wertzberger, Mary Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Are you curious about how a textbook choice can influence students’ sense of belonging and their academic success?

Open textbooks are full, real textbooks used by many professors here at Gettysburg and across the U.S. They are completely free to access online and also free of most copyright restrictions, meaning it’s legal to copy, share, edit, mix, keep and use those materials. Adopting an open textbook ensures that all students have immediate access to a zero-cost book and provides faculty 100% control over their learning materials. Attend this workshop to learn more about how an open textbook may align with …

Letters For Change: A Scalable Approach For Student Oer Advocacy, Janelle Wertzberger, Theodore Szpakowski

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Learn about a library-led activity designed to empower undergraduate students to advocate for OER at the course level. The exercise helps students research alternative materials and invites them to write a letter to a professor suggesting replacement of commercial course materials with zero-cost or affordable materials.

The Gettysburg College Library offers a one-semester career exploration in which undergraduate interns learn about all facets of academic library work. A key goal for the Scholarly Communications department’s contribution is for students to understand the current landscape of textbook publishing, including OER, affordable alternatives, and publisher-led initiatives, in order to effectively advocate for …

Open Educational Resources Activity, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

This activity is designed to help undergraduate library interns learn about the range of Open Educational Resources (OER) that are available to support college courses. It also helps them find and develop an advocate’s voice.