Scholarly Communication Commons^™

Tracking Affordable Learning: Is Airtable Right For Your Institution?, Janelle Wertzberger, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Gettysburg College began tracking OER adoptions in a Google Sheet – and we quickly outgrew it. We migrated to Airtable (a web-based spreadsheet-database platform) in 2023 and immediately appreciated its advanced capabilities and potential for making sense of our complex data. As a result, we can now produce raw statistics and compelling data-based stories regarding OER use and zero-cost/low-cost courses for campus stakeholders at all levels. Learn more about how this platform works and how you might be able to benefit from it in your local context. Maybe Airtable is right for you!

Oer Curation Worksheet, Theodore J. Szpakowski

All Musselman Library Staff Works

This worksheet aids library staff in curating open educational resources for a given class.

An Undergraduate Student’S Guide To The Open Ed Conference, Theodore J. Szpakowski

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Attending conferences as an undergraduate student is different from attending them as a working professional. This guide suggests how students can get ready for and successfully attend the OpenEd conference, as well as suggesting useful conference recordings from past years. It was written based on the author's experience as a Scholarly Communications Student Assistant.

Finding Zero-Cost Textbooks And Course Materials, Janelle Wertzberger, Mary Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Research shows that students who don’t have access to assigned course materials are more likely to struggle academically. We know that high book costs mean that many students never obtain their textbooks, while others have limited access due to using shared copies. Local data reveal that negative impacts of high book costs are more pronounced for Gettysburg College first-generation students, international students, and Pell Grant recipients.

Eliminating or reducing the cost of course materials can help to counteract these negative effects and inequities. This session will provide a brief overview of how to find two types of zero-cost materials: Open …

Investing In Textbook Affordability Pays Off For Students, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Investing in textbook affordability can have a huge payoff for students—just ask Assistant Professors Alice Brawley Newlin and Marta Maras in the Management department. Their open, customized textbook for Statistical Methods (MGT 235) is completely free. It has been used by over 400 students and saved them an estimated $150,000! The story of how this remarkable outcome was achieved has its origins in Musselman Library. [excerpt]

2022 Gettysburg College Textbook Survey Full Report, Mary R. Elmquist, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

In Fall 2022, Musselman Library conducted its second course materials survey, this time in collaboration with 10 other liberal arts colleges from around the country. This report compiles the results from Gettysburg College participants' responses. Comparisons are also made to the results from Gettysburg's 2019 survey and the larger group of colleges.

2022 Gettysburg College Student Textbook And Course Materials Survey Executive Summary, Janelle Wertzberger, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

In Fall 2022, Musselman Library conducted its second course materials survey, this time in collaboration with 10 other liberal arts colleges from around the country. The results from this new survey illuminate how students are affected by textbook and course material costs, how they cope with these costs, and how effects and behaviors have changed since our 2019 survey.

This report summarizes the background of the project, key findings, and recommendations.

Spend, Stress, And Struggle: Gettysburg College Student Textbook And Course Materials Survey 2022, Janelle Wertzberger, Mary Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

In Fall 2022, Musselman Library conducted its second course materials survey—this time, in collaboration with 10 other liberal arts colleges from around the country. The results from this new survey illuminate how students are affected by textbook and course material costs, how they cope with these costs, and how effects and behaviors have changed since our 2019 survey. We also examine how our students fit into a larger landscape of textbook affordability at similar institutions.

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 J. 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.

Scholarly Communications Report On Activities 2020-21, Janelle L. Wertzberger, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

2020-21 annual report for Scholarly Communications work at Musselman Library, including Gettysburg College's institutional repository, The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. Covers June 2020 – May 2021.

Textbook Remix: An Introduction To Libretexts For Oer Editing, Mary Elmquist, Alice M. Brawley Newlin

All Musselman Library Staff Works

So, you’ve found an open textbook that you really like, but it’s not quite right for your class? LibreTexts might be the answer! Join us for this informal webinar to learn a little more about this online platform designed for customizing and distributing open textbooks. From Gettysburg College, Scholarly Communications Librarian Mary Elmquist will provide an introduction to the platform, its structure and features, and Dr. Alice Brawley Newlin, Assistant Professor of Management, will speak on her ongoing experiences using LibreTexts to edit and implement an open textbook for a Statistical Methods course.

This session should provide insight for both …

Student Textbook Surveys: An Important Component Of A Library Oer Initiative, Janelle Wertzberger, Amanda Langdon, Andrea Hartranft, Mary Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

A student textbook survey is a potentially powerful tool in the OER advocate’s toolkit. This moderated panel features librarians working within smaller settings and includes representatives from a small, private, liberal arts college, a small public Hispanic-serving institution, and a community college. Panelists will discuss survey goals, research design considerations, approaches to data analysis, and strategies for sharing results. Participants will gain concrete ideas about whether and how a student textbook survey could advance their local OER initiatives, as well as practical tips for how to move ahead with such a project.

Inequitable Impacts Of Textbook Costs At A Small, Private College: Results From A Textbook Survey At Gettysburg College, Sarah Appedu, Mary Elmquist, Janelle Wertzberger, Sharon K. Birch

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Recognizing that higher education settings vary considerably, librarians at Gettysburg College sought to better understand textbook spending behaviors and the effects of costs on our students. We adapted the Florida Virtual Campus 2016 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey to suit the context of our small, private, liberal arts college. Most students spent $300 in Fall 2019. Financial aid awards did not cover the cost of required books and course materials for most students receiving aid. Negative effects were more pronounced for first-generation students and Pell Grant recipients, who were more likely to not purchase required books, to not register …

Access Challenge For Public Health Students, Janelle Wertzberger, Amy B. Dailey

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Health sciences students regularly engage in problem-based learning. This information literacy activity introduces a public health scenario and asks students to use published sources to determine the cause of a described disease and develop a treatment protocol. The activity design highlights different levels of information privilege and invites students to consider challenges to accessing public health information in a variety of settings. The exercise was initially created for undergraduate students in a 300-level global health course.

Using A Student Textbook Survey To Advance An Oer Initiative, Sarah Appedu, Mary Elmquist, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Learn how one library created, administered, and used the results of a student textbook survey in order to advance an OER initiative. We will cover fundamental details, including how we modified an existing survey, chose an administration tool, and promoted the survey. Additionally, we will share our approach to analyzing data and sharing results with various campus stakeholders. This session will focus on the practical aspects of the project in hopes that other libraries will feel empowered to conduct local surveys that support programmatic goals.

(Re)Opening Education: Applying The 5 R'S For Open Pedagogy, Sarah Appedu, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Open Pedagogy allows instructors and students to find creative solutions to the world’s problems and gets everyone involved in the process of putting ideas into action. This presentation encourages librarians use Jhangiani's 5 Rs for Open Pedagogy as a framework for thinking through a variety of pedagogical challenges related to teaching in the present context of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Scholarly Communications Report On Activities 2019-20, Janelle L. Wertzberger, Mary R. Elmquist, Sarah Appedu

All Musselman Library Staff Works

2019-20 annual report for Scholarly Communications work at Musselman Library, including Gettysburg College's institutional repository, The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. Covers June 2019-May 2020.

Accessible, Adaptable, Affordable: How Oer And Low-Cost Materials Can Future-Proof Your Courses, Janelle L. Wertzberger, Mary R. Elmquist, Sarah Appedu

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Janelle Wertzberger, Mary Elmquist, Sarah Appendu. Sarah Principato (Environmental Studies), Alecea Standlee (Sociology), Mercedes Valmisa (Philosophy) When COVID-19 caused an emergency pivot to online teaching and learning, students and faculty suddenly needed course materials that were accessible and adaptable in that context. Open educational resources (OER) offer flexibility and resiliency in any mode of instruction, while simultaneously reducing inequities among students. Faculty can employ other strategies to reduce student costs, as well. Hosted by the Musselman Library Scholarly Communications team, this session will include a short presentation, testimonials from faculty who are already teaching with OER and other low-cost materials, …

Queens, Contracts, And Colonialism: A Brief Overview Of Copyright Law In History And Culture, Sarah Appedu

All Musselman Library Staff Works

The dominant retelling of the history of copyright, from the invention of the printing press through the modern day, provides context into the economic, political, and social factors that influenced copyright law's influence on American culture. This context helps undergraduate authors orient their scholarship within the larger scholarly communications system so that they can more easily understand the terms of their author agreements and how they fit into the larger culture around copyright. However, the traditional retelling of copyright's history neglects the ways in which copyright served to reinforce social inequalities-- most notably the fact that at the time copyright …

2019 Gettysburg College Student Textbook And Course Materials Survey Executive Summary, Janelle Wertzberger, Sarah Appedu, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

We’ve all heard stories of students struggling with textbook costs, but how do our students cope when the price gets too high? Modeled after the Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey conducted by Florida Virtual Campus, Musselman Library’s course materials survey sought to uncover how textbook costs impact the success of Gettysburg College students. Results give insight into participants’ perceptions of how much money they spend, the strategies they use to reduce costs, and the effects of the cost of course materials on their academic success.

The Executive Summary details our research questions, key findings, and main takeaways.

Central Pa Region Open Textbook Workshop: The Gettysburg College Experience, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Speakers from local academic institutions discuss their open textbook initiatives, how they got started, what has worked, and what hasn't worked.

Open Textbooks: Access, Affordability, And Academic Success (2020), Janelle Wertzberger, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Concerned about the high cost of commercial textbooks? Open textbooks are full, real textbooks, used by many faculty across the country, and licensed to be freely used, edited, reproduced, and distributed. 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 why open textbook adoption is on the rise, and hear from Gettysburg professors who made the switch after last year’s workshop.

After the workshop, participants will be invited to write a short review of an open textbook they …

"I Spent My Whole Summer's Wages... On Books Alone": Gettysburg College Student Textbook And Course Materials Survey, Janelle Wertzberger, Sarah Appedu, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

We’ve all heard stories of students struggling with textbook costs, but how do our students cope when the price gets too high? Modeled after the Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey conducted by Florida Virtual Campus, Musselman Library’s course materials survey sought to uncover how textbook costs impact the success of Gettysburg College students. Results give insight into participants’ perceptions of how much money they spend, the strategies they use to reduce costs, and the effects of the cost of course materials on their academic success. Attendees will leave the presentation with a greater understanding of the whole Gettysburg College …

What’S Up With Textbooks?, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Presentation at a faculty meeting on textbook costs and actions that instructors can take to improve student learning

Open For Whom? Equity In Open Knowledge, Scholarly Communications, Michelle Williams

All Musselman Library Staff Works

This display was created as part of Musselman Library's Open Access Week 2019 programming and highlights challenges and opportunities within the global open access movement.

Open Educational Resources - Icon, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

This icon can be used to represent open educational resources (OER). The downloadable .zip file contains the icon in .svg, .ai, .png, and .jpg file formats.

How Much Do You Spend?: Textbook Affordability At Gettysburg College, Mary R. Elmquist

All Musselman Library Staff Works

This poster, created for Musselman Library's Charting your Course 2019 first-year orientation activity, explains some of the strategies that Gettysburg College students can use to mitigate the impacts of rising textbook costs.

Information Literacy At The Intersection Of Scholarly Communications And Social Justice, Sarah Appedu

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Undergraduate outreach about Open Access (OA) lies at the intersection of information literacy and Scholarly Communications. Reframing undergraduates as current and future scholars allows us to treat them as agents within the Scholarly Communications network. Students who have mastered fundamental research skills are prepared to view them through the critical lens of Scholarly Communications in order to learn both how to locate resources and how those resources are created. This educational approach highlights the various barriers scholars can face in the research process, as well as provides an awareness of information privilege.

This poster will provide a model for how …