Session 1: OCLC Open Content Update
In this session, OCLC provided an update of their efforts in promoting Open Content resources in library collections. They defined Open Content as materials that are “digital, accessible immediately and online, freely available, and freely reusable.” They predicted that by 2040, 100% of all articles will be Open Access resources.
They shared the Collections Grid below as a way to think about the different kind of collections that are available in libraries. While the traditional library collections fall within the “Published” materials quadrant, they emphasized that for many libraries, the Special Collections/Local Digitization quadrant will become even more important as a way to distinguish themselves from other libraries. Open Web resources are where most of the open content resources live. Research and Learning Materials are those items that are created within libraries and institutions as part of their mission. These may be faculty or undergraduate research projects, tutorials, or other learning materials that are created within an organization.
OCLC has taken several steps to increase the visibility of open content resources in WorldCat and WorldCat Discovery. In each of these tools, open access is now a content filter that is available while searching. They are also actively partnering with libraries to enhance the content in the WorldCat knowledge base for open content resources.
For additional information on OCLC Open Content efforts, see: http://oc.lc/open
Session 2: Student Success at the Forefront
This session looked at ways that libraries have partnered with various entities on campus to improve student success.
The first speaker was from Illinois Wesleyan and they talked about their new “Center for Engaged Learning.” They are focused on undergraduate research and have a BPress respository for their campus research publications. They talked about working with their city’s planning documents as a textbook in one of their classes to help identify areas of research for students to focus on. This partnership was driven by their Action Research Center as a part of the campus-community connections project. The library provides IL instruction to the ARC program and also liaisons to other non-academic programs across campus (i.e. their Action Research Center, student organizations, etc.)
The second speaker spoke about creating networks on campus to help achieve their goals and support their students. If I remember correctly, this library sits in the middle of two different campuses and operates independently while serving both student bodies. They worked with various organizations to create an Innovative Learning Center (similar to the Sandbox) on campus and this partnership helped to influence their relationships with other entities on the campuses. In order to bring in something new they find willing partners in either campus to help fund the endeavor. They have been successful highlighting their collections through “pop-up” technology series of events on campus. They have also worked to make sure that any technology needs are written into the needs during course approval. For each potential project, they create a two page proposal outlining the current services and resources that can benefit from the project, as well as potential future services that may come out of the project.
