Because of the explosion of digitized primary source material over the past 20 years, there is a profusion of illustrative material available for authors to incorporate into OER. However, many questions and confusion remain about the use of this material: How much of it is openly licensed and can be incorporated into an open textbook; Is the language around usage consistent across institutions; How much unpublished, published, or public domain versus copyrighted material is utilized; What do current statutes say about the use of unpublished in-copyright materials; What are the benefits of using this material; and What role does fair use play?
This session will explore some of these questions and look at how cultural heritage objects held in libraries, museums, and archives are, or are not, being utilized in the creation of new open educational resources (OER). I will share the results of my recent research on the mechanics behind the use of material found in these institutions and what barriers exist to their wide utilization by OER creators. I will also discuss how utilizing material from cultural heritage institutions can make OER more diverse, inclusive, and relevant to our students.
Through interviews with practitioners and stakeholders such as OpenStax, SourceLab, and History Harvest, as well as an examination of the benefits of classroom use of primary source material, I will share data and information that will be helpful for OER authors, librarians, museum curators, and archivists in their quest to determine how cultural heritage materials can legally be used in the creation of OER.
Learning Outcomes: 1) Understand OER author barriers to the use of primary source material in the creation of OER objects. 2) Learn about the pedagogical benefits of utilizing primary source material in the classroom. 3) Understand how archives manage rights of archival collections with deeds of gift and donor agreements. 4) Guidance for the use of cultural heritage items through copyright and fair use. 5) Explore the connections, or lack thereof, between Digital Humanities, archives, and OER communities.
