This piece reflects the views of the author, Nick Keough, and not those of Emerald Media Group. It has been edited by the Emerald for grammar and style. Send your columns or submissions about our content or campus issues to [email protected]
As a student of the University of Oregon, I am tired of being put in tough positions by high textbook costs when solutions to the textbook crisis are as clear as day.
I was disheartened to see the true future of digital libraries, Open Education Resources, be glazed over and not given enough attention in the article “How UO libraries continue to plan to continue growing in a digital world” from January 8th, 2020.
Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely accessible teaching, learning and research resources (e.g. textbooks, videos, and images) that the public has legal permission to use, share, and are available at low or no cost. This is undeniably the future of textbooks and libraries across the country. As tuition and textbooks costs continue to skyrocket, students across the country continue to be put in the position of choosing between their next meal, paying their bills and affording a textbook they may never use after one class.
The solution to the textbook affordability issue is the expansion and adoption of Open Education Resources. While progress in this direction has been slow, momentum is beginning to build in many places across the country and right here on the UO campus. With the hire of OER Librarian Rayne Vieger on the UO campus, I have hope for OER. Still, Vieger was only hired as a temporary two-year position with short term one-time funding to support the OER program at UO.
For OERs to continue the growth they deserve into the future, it’s time for government, foundations and colleges across the country to prioritize and develop sustainable funding for Open Educational Resources. OERs save students many times the amount of the initial investment which makes the payoff tremendous.The actual future of libraries in the digital world includes OER.