Throughout my life, regardless of the job I’ve had, I’ve always wanted – or really, needed – variety.  I like dynamic workweeks with a mix of independent and collaborative activities; I like sitting quietly to read, think, and write just as much as I like being in front of a group to advocate for something I care about.  I’m quite fortunate that my position working in an academic library to advance open education initiatives allows me just this type of variety.  My title is Textbook Affordability Librarian, though many people with my job are called OER Librarian, Open Education Librarian, or may even hold another position – perhaps Student Success Librarian or Liaison Librarian – and have duties related to open education in addition to their other responsibilities.

I’ll explain more about my own work in a moment, but first, definitions.

Open educational resources are course materials that are free (or sometimes have low-cost print options for students who want or need hard copy versions) and which have an open license allowing them to legally be revised, remixed, and redistributed.  Both aspects of OER, being zero cost and being adaptable, are what make them so powerful as replacements for traditional course materials.  Being free is obviously fantastic.  Textbook costs are extraordinary, and they become a barrier to degree completion.  But the adaptability of OER is also meaningful.  While traditional course materials from publishers have all-rights-reserved copyright, meaning that the instructor cannot amend them, open resources are legally allowed to be changed.  In practice, this means an instructor can remove or rearrange chapters, write different explanations for concepts they think might resonate with their students, or add local examples to speak to students’ lived experiences.

OK, enough of that.

I realize that definitions are not the most exciting way to explain what an OER librarian does, but this realm of librarianship is new enough that I feel definitions are necessary when explaining the work.  A quick (admittedly unscientific) search of a major LIS database shows the term “open educational resources librarian” first appearing in the mid 2010’s.  That’s barely a decade of positions like mine even existing.  Compare that with pedigreed titles like Reference Librarian or Instruction Librarian and you’ll understand its relative newness.  Some schools don’t even have an OER librarian yet, but more and more are adding these positions, often as part of the scholarly communication team.

So, what do librarians like me do? To be frustratingly vague: it depends.  It depends on the size of the institution and the size of the open education program at that institution.  Schools with large, established, well-funded open education programs are likely to have several people working on these initiatives, with each person having more narrowly defined, specific roles.  My institution’s open education program is relatively small (but mighty!) and I am the only person who works full-time on these initiatives.  In practice, that means I do many things – hence the dynamism I mentioned earlier.

When I’m working independently, I might be searching the library’s collection or OER repositories to find resources to replace commercial textbooks for a class.  Or I might be writing a grant so we can offer stipends to faculty who want to convert courses to OER.  Or I might even be building a LibGuide with OER advocacy resources for students.  Other times, when I’m called upon to be more collaborative, you might find me meeting with people from our teaching and learning center about incorporating OER education into their professional development program or working with our OER committee to plan events for Open Education Week.

This path in librarianship was the ideal blend of my previous career in teaching, my innate drive to do advocacy and outreach, my desire to support students in a concrete way, and my interest in making positive changes within and beyond my library.  If you’re interested in the open movement and issues in scholarly communication, perhaps this is your path, too.  My advice for someone who is interested in this realm of librarianship is simple: start small and join the open education listservs, namely SPARC’s OE Forum and the CCCOER listserv.  There are so many fantastic conversations that happen in these spaces that can immerse you into the issues, questions, and challenges of people working in open education.  Plus, you’ll find many (many!) free webinars so you can learn more deeply about aspects of this work.  The open education community is supportive, kind, and wickedly smart; there is so much to learn.  For me, it’s an exciting and meaningful place to be in the world of LIS.

Resources for Further Reading, Listening, and Viewing:

Nancy A. Henke is an assistant professor at the University of Northern Colorado Libraries.  As the Textbook Affordability Librarian, she focuses on developing, curating, and advocating for affordable and open educational resources.  In addition to her degree in LIS, she holds an MA in Literature from Colorado State University where she spent thirteen years as an instructor prior to her career in librarianship.  In that role she taught undergraduate composition and literature courses, mentored and supported professional development for graduate teaching assistants in the First-Year Composition Program, and directed the Composition Placement Program.