“A Tough Nut to Crack: Developing an OER Textbook for Literature Courses” was the title of the Open Ed 2021 session I watched tonight. The speakers included Sarah LeMire, the Coordinator of First-Year Programs at Texas A&M University Libraries, and Kathy Anders, the Graduate Studies Librarian also at Texas A&M University. Several faculty from the literature program contributed to the program and were speakers. Anders spoke about copyright considerations. They mentioned that a lot of literature is not in the public domain. I had not considered that contemporary translations and/or editions are copyrighted. Thus, the group wanted to be very careful about ethical reuse to “support author’s rights; finding legally licensed copies is absolutely necessary.” LeMire spoke about their multi-pronged approach. They decided not to exclusively focus on texts published in 1925 or prior. They explored works with copyright that was expired or never issued. They worked with the Libraries to identify resources and faculty to help select works. They then created a LibGuide that can be easily maintained. Fran Thielman explained that they focused on finding novels and concluding each section with discussion questions. Their EN 203 course for which this resource was created is taught by graduate students. Therefore, their text included guiding questions. Thielman explained how the discussion questions for sections were developed. Paul Cooper spoke about how they worked to include diverse voices. Cooper spoke about future OER possibilities to preserve language. LeMire described how the OER promotes information literacy and reinforces content through library tutorials that can be integrated and library support sessions. Claire Carly Mills shared that OER, Research, and Pedagogy are highlighted by the OER. The goal was to introduce students early on to source analyses and discussions. The pedagogical implementation of the OER is scaffolded and organized to help learners develop research products. Very early on in the course, students engage with the Library faculty. I learned about their approach and was impressed with how they integrated OER and educational practices.
