The School Librarian's Role in the Adoption of Open Textbooks

Abstract

Trends in adopting open educational resources (OER) in K-12 schools have opened numerous opportunities for schools to utilize their school librarians in new roles. The purpose of this study is to examine if schools are using their school librarians during the transition to OER use and if so, in what capacity. If not, why? In this study we used Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovation theory, which describes the importance of change agents in the successful adoption of an innovation. We used thematic analysis and descriptive statistics to examine the research questions. Participants include a sample of representatives from school districts, which have signed on to be a #GoOpen school. Our results show that less than half of the schools use their school librarians in the OER creation and adoption process, but many participants acknowledgeschool librarians possessed a specialized skill set which could be beneficial in future OER creation projects.