Copyright Concerns and Open Educational Resources Workshop set for March 23

The University of Southern Mississippi's University Libraries, in conjunction with its Office of the Provost, is hosting a workshop for all faculty members that will explain copyright basics and their application for open educational resources. The workshop, “Copyright Concerns and Open Educational Resources,” will be held Wednesday, March 23 at noon in room 123 of Cook Library on the Hattiesburg campus.

As textbook costs continue to rise, many faculty members across the country have turned to more inexpensive options that can both ease the financial burden on their students and be more tailor-made to address the learning outcomes of the course. In particular, open educational resources (OERs) have risen to prominence on many campuses because they are both free to use and have demonstrated an improvement in student performance in courses that utilize them.

This workshop will first detail several of the basic aspects of copyright that all faculty should know relating to the use of copyrighted materials in their courses. It will then emphasize processes for selecting materials that can be legally incorporated into open textbooks and open educational resources. Topics covered include fair use, public domain, open access, Creative Commons, and more.

Recipients of the first Open Textbook Initiative grant are required to attend, but all faculty are invited. Any workshop participants who apply for one of next year's Open Textbook Initiative grants may count it toward the requirements for next year's grant if their proposal is selected for funding. Attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch to this event. 

Registration for the workshop can be found at https://forms.usm.edu/library/view.php?id=10745.