Open Access and Education Resources (OAER) and the analysis of University and Library Websites in Pakistan

The abrupt transition to online teaching and learning during COVID-19 has necessitated the need of providing information sources and textbooks online. The Open Access and Education Resources (OAER) have the potential to fill the gap which may have occurred due to fiscal constraints and budget cuts within Higher Education Institutions in developing countries. This study highlights the importance of OAER movement, its emergence as a strong information resource and its contribution in teaching and learning in higher education. The study also examines the current state and utilization of OAER resources in Pakistani higher education institutions. The authors have used two methods for completing this study. Literature review of OAER and the analysis of Pakistani higher education institution’s websites including their library websites. The study recommends to consider this valuable resource and advocating its use, creation and adaptation in Pakistani Higher Education Institutions at a national level. The study also focusses on the roles academic libraries and librarians could play in creating an awareness of OAER at their institutions and recommends policy level strategies which could lead to inclusion and promotion of OAER into the academic and research endeavors of faculty, students and researchers

Librarians and OER: Cultivating a Communityof Practice To Be More Effective Advocates

As the costs of scholarly and educational publications skyrocket, open educational resources (OER) are becoming an important way to provide content and enhance the teaching and learning experience. Librarians have a key role to play in developing, advocating, and managing OER. For many librarians, however, championing OERs means adding an additional responsibility to their already heavy workloads, which may be overwhelming. This article describes how a grassroots group of academic librarians in British Columbia, Canada joined together as a community of practice to learn and to share ideas, strategies, and tools to support the use of OER. The BCOER Librarians focus on the education and professional development of librarians to help facilitate the use and development of OERs and to create authoritative and sustainable resources to support librarians in OER-related interactions with faculty.Peer reviewedReview articleFinal article publishedOE