2017 Charleston Library Conference

This poster illustrates a timeline of Xavier University of Louisiana Library’s movement to promote Open Educational Resources (OERs) on its campus. Xavier University of Louisiana is both Catholic and historically Black. Its ultimate purpose is to contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society.
For years librarians at Xavier University have been approached by students looking for the various textbooks they need for their courses. In discussions with student workers, librarians learned how students often borrow texts from professors, share textbooks with other students, scan chapters of a book before returning it to the bookstore, photograph pertinent pages of a text while in the bookstore, or elect not to purchase the book at all and risk receiving a low grade. Like many students in the United States, Xavier students find the cost of textbooks to be overwhelming.
Last year Xavier’s Library was invited to partner with LOUIS, The Louisiana Network, to expose teaching faculty members of various disciplines to OERs they may consider using in their classrooms. These OERs were marketed on campus in a deliberate way beginning with the Provost of the university, continuing with the director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and concluding with a presentation to teaching faculty members. This initiative worked to get faculty interested in using OERs for their courses and in some cases interested in writing OERs.