Patrons likely know that public libraries provide no-cost access to books. What they may not realize is that libraries can also be a source for quality and free educational resources–and librarians can be experts at finding them. Open Educational Resources (OER) are those materials which are openly licensed, thus allowing them to be reused, reproduced, or even remixed—all at no cost. These materials are readily available and would support the needs of patrons such as: homeschooling parents who are interested in finding quality instructional materials or no-cost textbooks, teachers looking for fresh and relevant assignments to support student learning, high-school students looking for copyright-free media or images, or even college students looking for research materials that aren’t behind a paywall. OER exists solely for the purpose of sharing information–which is exactly what public libraries do best. Librarians will leave this training with the skills to help patrons find, evaluate, and even create OER, thus providing yet another beneficial (and free!) service to their community.
This will be a free, virtual training and will take place Friday, November 3rd from 2pm to 3pm. While this training is meant for rural libraries, anyone is able to attend. Register now to join!
