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Shelving the Paywall: Championing OERs

Thursday 20th November 13:00 - 16:00 (online via Zoom)

With rising costs and shrinking budgets reshaping higher education, libraries are stepping up as leaders in open education strategy. This session delves into how librarians can develop and implement effective OER strategies that align with institutional priorities and promote long-term sustainability. Explore practical approaches to collaborating with faculty, integrating open practices, and leveraging tools like Pressbooks and Sylla to create, adapt, and share quality open content. Join us and our special guests Helen Moore from the University of Sheffield, Jane Saunders and Elly Cope from the University of Leeds and Ruth Smalley from Edge Hill University, to learn how libraries can turn financial challenges into opportunities for innovation—and help the academic community truly shelve the paywall. We have also invited suppliers to talk about their approach to Open Access.

Book now to secure your place today. Free entry for delegates from member institutions or £80 per person for non-members. To see if your institution is a member and check membership rates, please see the membership page on the website.

The speakers talks will be recorded and made available at a future date.

The plenary will not be recorded so everyone can feel comfortable to ask questions and speak in a closed environment.

Programme Schedule

  • 13:00 - 13.10   Welcome
  • 13:10 - 13:30   Ruth Smalley, Edge Hill University
  • 13:30 - 13:55   Jane Saunders and Elly Cope, University of Leeds :"Open Educational Resources at Leeds University Libraries: From Project to Service"
  • 13:55 - 14:15   Helen Moore, University of Sheffield : 'With a lot of help from our friends: building an OER community.'
  • 14:15 – 14:45   All our speakers in a Q&A Plenary Session
  • 14:45 – 15:00   Break
  • 15:00 - 16:00   10 minute supplier lightning talks and Q&A. This will include Sylla, BibliU, Pressbooks and Kortext.
  • 16:00   Finish

About Our Speakers

Ruth Smalley

Ruth is Subscription and Licensing Manager at Edge Hill University in Lancashire.

Jane Saunders

Jane Saunders is Associate Director for Content and Discovery at the University of Leeds Libraries. Keen to work with others in the sector to improve access to information and content she is a member of the Jisc Library Hub Community Advisory Board, the UK Print Book Collection Board, the Libraries Board of the Open Journals Collective and SCONUL's Technology and Markets Strategy Group.

Elly Cope

Elly is Head of Access and Acquisitions at the University of Leeds Libraries.

Helen Moore

Helen is Faculty Librarian for Engineering & Science at the University of Sheffield, ensuring the Library supports the strategic aims of both faculties. She is a keen advocate of OER and leads the University's work in this area. Helen manages the Sheffield Pressbooks Network, and is a member of the LIBER Educational Resources Working Group and sits on the advisory group for the OER Community of Practice for the UK and Ireland.

[Image by Pexels from Pixabay]

Feedback from previous events

For previous events, please go to our Past Events page