Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
Winter 11-2021
Abstract
Understanding the awareness and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) among the stakeholdersof academic libraries is a vital step to support the growth of OER initiatives at the educational institutions. The faculty and students’perceptions of OER often influence their interest in adopting open educational practices and their willingness to seek support from library professionals. To explore the awareness and the utilization of OERs among the faculty and students atSt Joseph Engineering College (SJEC), Mangaluru, Karnataka, the author employed a survey to discover the responses to fulfill the study objectives. A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed among the faculty and students and 174 responses which amounts to 69.6% were received. The study found that 46 (26.44%) respondents use open educational resource daily, 38 (21.84%) respondents use open educational resource weekly, 81(46.55%) respondents open educational resources twice in a week, 9 (5.17%) respondents use open educational resource monthly. The main purpose of using OERs is to enable online education and its ease of use. The study investigated that, the faculty and students who are aware of the OERs through library support services and institutional OERs initiatives are utilizing it more effectively regardless of their prior experience in using electronic resources.Based on the study, it is suggested that academic libraries and faculty should help in promoting the awareness, so that the students fully utilize the OERs freely available online.