Introduction

The Open Educational Resource by Subject Directory is a joint collaboration between the University of Regina OEP program and Archer Library that began in fall of 2020.  Initially created as a cloning project by OER coordinator Isaac Mulolani, the project began as a smaller venture to create a resource of academic resources already being utilized by Canadian universities.  Similarly, library staff led by Cara Bradley had created three Research Guides or LibGuides to assist researchers, staff and faculty in their search for open textbooks and similar resources.  Divided into three sections, the library resources are still available in the following format on the Research Guides section of the website:  Open Textbooks, Open Educational Resources, and Open Access.

In conversation between the two units, Isaac approached staff at the library in efforts for collaboration.  The root idea was to create a single one-stop-shop for any individual looking for further research resources in their discipline, to see what open textbooks were available for their current classes, to learn about the possibilities in creating online texts and cloning, and learn of the benefits of a program like PressBooks.  Isaac created the initial clone from Concordia University, and along with User Services staff member Arlysse Quiring (Archer Library), the project began.

The merge has not been without challenges as resources were sorted, filtered, updated and cross referenced.  What began as a collaborative idea became a significant merging of resources and teams.  As the project continued to grow, however, it became apparent that the purpose and end-goal of the document was exemplified by its creation.  While the LibGuides and other OER will remain available to campus staff, students and faculty, this resource will be the starting point for anyone interested in OER.

This guide is designed to help University of Regina faculty easily discover open educational resources (OER) for their courses. It is primarily a list of open textbooks organized by faculty and department at the University of Regina, but other OER such as videos may also be included. The guide will be continuously updated as new resources are identified and created across the OER ecosystem.

There are 9 main sections in the guide:

• Faculty of Media Art and Performance
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Nursing
• Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies
• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Social Work
• Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
• Faculty of Business Administration: Paul J. Hill School of Business

For each resource listed, the following are provided:

• A short summary of the book based on the content, author, or other features
• If available, the “Includes” line lists supplementary materials (e.g. exercises) that are available
• If available, the “May suit” line lists University of Regina courses in which the resource could potentially be adopted (work-in-progress)

Faculty are encouraged to make use of these resource in their courses either as textbooks or as supplementary readings.

Thank you to the contributors to this resource, including but not limited to Cara Bradley, Charles Phelps, Brad Doerksen, and the Liaison Librarian team.

The project, now entitled The University of Regina OER by Subject Directory was published on May 5th, 2021.  The open book will be considered a living document, with continual resource updates as they are discovered, created and contributed.  For more information please contact Shuana Niessen (open.textbooks@uregina.ca) or Arlysse Quiring (arlysse.quiring@uregina.ca)