2026 NDLA Conference

Open educational resources (OER) are often presented as a straightforward solution to textbook affordability: find a free replacement, help faculty adopt it, and report the savings. In practice, OER support is shaped by mismatched expectations. Faculty may expect a ready-made replacement with all the convenience of a commercial platform. Librarians may undersell the instructional, technical, and accessibility work involved in adoption and adaptation. Administrators may support affordability in principle while leaving bookstore contracts, vendor platforms, staffing, and course materials workflows untouched.

This session takes a candid look at common myths surrounding OER and affordable course materials work, pairing each myth with a more complex reality and practical ways to respond. Topics may include weak metadata, aging repositories, limited creation and adaptation platforms, savings estimates, faculty labor, librarian skill gaps, accessibility, and the institutional silos that shape course materials decisions. Topics may include course redesign labor, accessibility, limited creation and adaptation platforms, licensing complexities, missed workflow handoffs, bookstore and vendor systems, unclear ownership of maintenance, and the institutional silos that shape course materials decisions.

Participants will leave with sharper language for naming these mismatches, strategies for avoiding unhelpful responsibilities, and practical approaches for building more realistic and sustainable support.