Exploring academic librarians' perception of OER through the lens of technology acceptance model

Abstract

Academic librarians' professional skills make them an ideal candidate to work with faculty in the exploration, adoption, promotion, and preservation of open educational resources (OER). This study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explain and predict librarians' attitudes towards OER and their intentions towards utilization in instructional design practices and teaching pedagogies. A total of 213 academic librarians participated in the mixed-methods design study. The results reveal that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and self-efficacy (SE) as it relates to OER accounted for 51 % of the variance in librarians' attitude (AT) towards OER. Moreover, librarians' AT and SE towards OER accounted for 55 % of the variance in their Intentions (IN) to leverage OER. These results support the use of TAM to support likelihood of users to utilize OER. Furthermore, participants' responses on open-ended questions reflected a variety of experiences and opinions, expressed concerns and challenges of promoting OER. In conclusion, in accordance with previous studies, state the necessity of librarians to possess the knowledge, skills, and appreciation of these resources to increase their likelihood of adoption. There is an undeniable need for continual education and support regarding the implementation of OER.