Poking the bear: Promoting textbook affordability in the face of a restrictive institutional environment

Librarians and instructional designers formed an informal partnership to promote low-cost textbook solutions in the absence of formal initiatives at a public, four-year institution. Learn how we negotiated institutional barriers such as bookstore contract prohibitions and protected revenue streams. Our case examples describe solutions and workflows undertaken to transform course materials, in addition to activities being pursued to make textbook affordability an institutional priority

A new cell primo-culture method for freshwater benthic diatom communities

A new cell primo-culture method was developed for the benthic diatom community isolated from biofilm sampled in rivers. The approach comprised three steps: (1) scraping biofilm from river pebbles, (2) diatom isolation from biofilm, and (3) diatom community culture. With a view to designing a method able to stimulate the growth of diatoms, to limit the development of other microorganisms, and to maintain in culture a community similar to the original natural one, different factors were tested in step 3: cell culture medium (Chu No 10 vs Freshwater “WC” medium modified), cell culture vessel, and time of culture. The results showed that using Chu No 10 medium in an Erlenmeyer flask for cell culture was the optimal method, producing enough biomass for ecotoxicological tests as well as minimising development of other microorganisms. After 96 h of culture, communities differed from the original communities sampled in the two rivers studied. Species tolerant of eutrophic or saprobic conditions were favoured during culture. This method of diatom community culture affords the opportunity to assess, in vitro, the effects of different chemicals or effluents (water samples andindustrial effluents) on diatom communities, as well as on diatom cells, from a wide range of perspectives

Rebellions are Built on Hope: Joining Forces to Support OER in a Restrictive Institutional Environment

Librarians and instructional designers (IDs) from a university in the U.S. will describe the partnership formed to promote no-cost textbook solutions (OER, library-sourced) in the face of a restrictive environment. The institution is divided in two tiers: the President\u27s Office, which oversees non-academic functions such as Business Services, and the Provost\u27s Office, which is responsible for teaching and learning. This creates an inherent tension concerning course materials and revenue, troubling the conception of education as a fundamentally shared practice. Our group aimed to promote change at the university level, while also collaborating to facilitate the efforts of faculty.Typically, the group meets with faculty to discuss objectives, and open or library-sourced materials are located. Copyright permissions are reviewed by a librarian, and materials are created and integrated into the course by IDs. Simply put, the resources could not be created without the collaboration of librarians and IDs. Highlighted will be one scenario in which the group collaborated with a faculty member to adopt existing resources, overcome issues such as copyright and licensing, and create an open text in ePub format to replace the traditional text. This scenario prompted some challenges with regards to time and scalability; however, the end product proved valuable for both students and faculty. Students expressed gratitude with the faculty\u27s effort of providing free materials. In turn, the product was shared with other instructors, ensuring further equitable access for students.We will identify future directions and touch on areas of interest such as playing an active role in the campus bookstore contract negotiations, securing grant funding for OER opportunities, and participating in Faculty Senate. We hope that our efforts will result in institutional change and a stronger OER effort, and hope that this panel will help others identify action points in their own contexts

Examining Storage Capacity Loss and Sedimentation Rate of Large Reservoirs in the Central U.S. Great Plains

Reservoirs created by impounding sediment-laden streams infill over time, reducing storage capacity and altering water quality. Increasing freshwater demand on a limited supply is adding pressure on reservoir water storage and management across much of the western and central U.S. Determining sedimentation rates is helpful to ensure a reliable and sustainable clean water supply for drinking, irrigation and recreation purposes. In the state of Kansas, located in the central Great Plains, bathymetric surveys have been completed recently for many major state and federally constructed reservoirs. In this paper, we examine sediment infill rate and storage capacity loss for all 24 federally operated reservoirs in Kansas. As of 2016, these reservoirs have an average age of 52 years and collectively have lost approximately 17% of their original capacity, with the highest single-reservoir loss of 45%, the highest annual loss rate of 0.84%, and the highest annual sediment yield of 1688 m3/km2/year. Results from this paper provide baseline information pertinent to the development, prioritization and assessment of remediation and mitigation strategies for addressing the sediment infill problem in Kansas, with general implications for other large reservoirs across the Great Plains as well as other climatologically and ecologically similar regions around the world