Published December 26, 2019 | Version v1
Journal article Open

The Role of Libraries as Publishers in the Open Education Landscape: Reflecting Modern World Practice of Open Textbooks

  • 1. Dnipro National University of Railway Transport named after Academician V. Lazaryan

Description

Objective. The study aims to analyse the experience of university libraries in different countries in working with the Open Textbook (OT) and to consider the prospects of creating a similar pilot project in Ukraine. Methods. The analysis covered the world publications (journals, books, conference proceedings, posts on social networks) in the field of Library and Information Science, devoted to the role of libraries in OT support, that have appeared since 2014. The author studied the aspects revealing that publication, namely OT, support services are areas with great potential for the future development of academic / university libraries. Results.Numerous evidence is presented that the topic of library as a publisher in OT support is most developed in the universities and colleges in economically developed countries, especially in the USA, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain. Library strategies for OT projects have been identified. The author clarified the nature of the initiatives and partnerships of libraries in supporting OT, as well as the basic services and roles of libraries in these projects. Conclusions. Today, the global practice of Scholarly Communication has enough evidence that the functions of the Library, lost in the course of evolution, as a Knowledge Publisher have returned under its “roof” and supplemented the existing function of Knowledge Managers. Digital Library Publishing (DLP) services in OT support help to change the learning environment and life of students (including persons with disabilities), pedagogical practices of teachers by means of free textbooks with an open license, as well as to receive reputation benefits for the university, improving the image of the latter. The possibility of eliminating systemic inequalities in access to academic resources increases the significance and changes the role of libraries in open education. The successes of Ukrainian librarians in supporting digital scholarly communication initiatives and the successful implementation of Open Access support projects (repositories, e-journals, e-conferences) give confidence that they can act as initiators and key partners in creating affordable textbooks.

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