Jan 11
The Call for Presentations and Registration is open for University of Wisconsin-Stout‘s “E”ffordability Summit for “anyone concerned with the cost of educational materials.” Read more about the “E”ffordability Summit programs, submit a presentation by February 1st, and register to attend by February 15th! The Summit will be held March 26-27.
Jan 4
In July of 2017, a team of researchers carried out an ARL SPEC Survey. The survey gathers information on the breadth of practice taking place at the intersection of research libraries, presses, and publishing, and on the blurring of boundaries as libraries engage in publishing and press activities in new ways. We haven’t had a chance to absorb it yet, but want to share the survey itself and a webinar put on by the authors with anyone interested in this large and growing part of what libraries do.
Jan 2
We are excited to announce our new partnership with ALA Graphics!
ALA Graphics has been a champion for libraries, literacy, and reading for more than 40 years. Home of the iconic Celebrity READ® poster campaign and exclusive art from award-winning children’s book illustrators, ALA Graphics is also the source of the unique authorized promotional materials for of Banned Books Week, National Library Week, Library Card Sign-up Month, and Teen Read Week, among other events.
WiLS Cooperative Purchasing members can get 10% off their $75+ purchase of:
But wait! There’s more! If you are an American Library Association member, you’ll get your 10% WiLS savings off your ALA member price!
Read all about the terms of our partnership with ALA Graphics and how to order here or contact Andrea Coffin () with any questions.
Dec 27
The Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) turned 15 years old this year. As 2017 comes to a close, Richard Poynder, a scholarly communication journalist, asked the following question of several leading voices in the movement: “what should the stakeholders of scholarly communication be doing now to fully realise the vision outlined at the Budapest meeting?”
We’re still reading many of the responses, but wanted to point out that 0f Peter Suber, philosopher, professor and Open Access advocate. Suber is Director of the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication, Director of the Harvard Open Access Project, Senior Researcher at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, and widely regarded as the de facto leader of the open access movement. Suber’s response is thorough, wide-ranging and comprehensive. It’s broken down into advice for researchers, institutions, librarians and even publishers. It’s well worth a read!
Dec 22
In a recent article in College & Research Libraries News, Alverno College librarian Dolores Skowronek described a new pilot project being undertaken by the library. A recent survey indicated that 62% of Alverno seniors had gone without a textbook due to cost. The library wanted to try to help students with textbook affordability.
As Skowronek points out, “offering Open Educational Resources (OER) and other textbook alternatives would be ideal, however, advocating for campus-wide acceptance and implementation of OER can be a lengthy and time-consuming process.” So, in order to offer immediate relief from the financial burden of expensive textbooks, Alverno librarians chose to offer a physical textbook collection.
We think this is a great idea worth sharing. While WiLS is strongly in favor of OER initiatives, we recognize that there can be obstacles to implementation. Skowronek’s article details their process in building this collection as a step in the right direction towards helping students with this urgent need. It’s also yet another great example of just how important the campus library is!
Dec 21
Last month, we held our Regional Community Meetings around the topic of information literacy in six locations across the state. From Kenosha to Menomonie, we were blown away Read more
Dec 21
Library Collaborations AND Open Educational Resources? There’s so much here to love! In a recent Library Journal article, Steven Bell identified just a few of the exciting initiatives being undertaken in other states to promote state-wide acceptance of open educational resources. It’s a quick but inspiring read with ample links to the initiatives themselves. It’s certainly worth reading as similar conversations are happening here in Wisconsin.
Dec 20
The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) recently announced the availability of its white paper on Open Educational Resources (OER).
The white paper was written in response to increasing OCUL membership interest in OER and potential roles for libraries in this endeavour. From September 2016 until October 2017, an OCUL OER working group undertook an environmental scan and analysis of current activities in open education publishing in North America, with a focus on the province of Ontario.
The white paper focuses on the current teaching and learning environment for both university students and faculty; an environmental scan of national and international OER initiatives among libraries; survey results and analysis of OER as carried out by OCUL member libraries; and a primer on OER and open publishing terminology.
You may read more about this initiative, plus download a copy of the white paper, from the project webpage on the OCUL website.
Dec 19
WiLS is delighted to announce a new vendor partnership with ALA Publishing to bring you Booklist Online!
For over 100 years, Booklist Publications has written concise, easy-to-read, non-biased, reviews of books for librarians. They use Booklist to decide which newly published titles to buy for their patrons to read, listen to, and most importantly – enjoy. Their expert reviews of books for youth through adult will save WiLS members time and money because they evaluate and only recommend titles that will contribute to their collections. They offer unlimited-use institutional access to www.BooklistOnline.com, with over 20 years of searchable reviews in its database, plus 22 digital replica issues of Booklist per year.
WiLS members stand to save from 20% to 50% off, depending on the number of subscribers. ALA Publishing is eager to offer free trials, demos and webinars to help members see just how valuable the resource could be. We’ll announce a webinar soon, but in the meantime, contact Jeff Brunner () for pricing or trial information today!
Nov 15
WiLS member, Fox Valley Technical College, was recently profiled by vendor partner Infobase. Librarian Val Magno was interviewed for the piece in which she shared all sorts of information about their library and how they work with and for their patrons. Check out Val’s excellent interview today!
And if you’re interested in learning more about Infobase resources, don’t hesitate to contact Jeff Brunner ().
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