Challenges And Opportunities Of Open Educational Resources Management

Education is a fundamental human right, yet much of the world's population lives with poor literacy. Due to rapidly growing technology and internet usage, open educational resources (OER) are increasingly being used to help transcend barriers to literacy while also aiding in educational attainment. With tremendous developments in ICTs, the education system of today has been enriched by various OERs. The optimal utilization of opportunities provided by the technological developments presents a profound challenge for education systems and has serious implications involving cost, access, equity, pedagogy, and quality. Challenges and Opportunities of Open Educational Resources Management is an essential research publication that explores access to information and societal and economic hurdles that contribute to informational inaccessibility. Highlighting topics such as e-resources, digital libraries, and information management, this book is ideal for librarians, academicians, computer scientists, researchers, policymakers, and students. Moreover, the book will provide insights and support executives concerned with the management of expertise, knowledge, information, and organizational development in different types of work communities and environments.

For many of us, the drive to affect positive change--however vague or idiosyncratic our sense of this might be--has guided our work in higher education. We champion the pursuit of a college degree because few endeavors can match it in terms of advancing a person's economic mobility (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner, and Yagan; 2017). Despite recent debates about the value of a college degree (Pew Research Center, 2017), the opportunities and financial stability awarded to those with college degrees remain apparent when they are compared to peers who have only graduated high school (Pew Research Center, 2014). And while more Americans have a college degree than ever before (Ryan and Bauman, 2016), access to a formal, post-secondary education continues to be elusive for some. Indeed, over the last ten years, analysts have projected that the cost of attending college would keep 2.4 million low-to-moderate income, college-qualified high school graduates from completing a college degree (Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2006). During that same period, college students in the United States saw expenses related to tuition and fees increase by 63 percent, school housing costs (excluding board) increase by 51 percent, textbook prices increase by 88 percent (Bureau of Labor, 2016). Because few students can afford a college education by salary alone, 44.2 million Americans have sought financial aid via student loans. As a result, total student loan debt is now topping $1.45 trillion in the United States (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2017), and student loan delinquency rates are averaging 11.2 percent (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2017). The burden of a student's financial decisions extends beyond the mere individual: society will inevitably carry the weight of this debt for years to come.

Information and records management has been an important part of society for establishing procedures to effectively manage information. As technology has increased in society, this essential function has been impacted as well. With the onset of technological tools brought upon by the fourth industrial revolution, technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, big data, and more have changed the face of information and records management. These technologies and tools have paved new ways for security, efficiency in timely processes, new ways to create and process records, and other beneficial traits. Along with these advancements come new contemporary issues, leading to the need for research on how exactly information records management is functioning in modern times, the technologies brought on by the fourth industrial revolution, and both the benefits and challenges to this transition. The Handbook of Research on Information and Records Management in the Fourth Industrial Revolution showcases contemporary issues and demonstrates the value of information and records management in the fourth industrial revolution. The book provides a summary of the key activities undertaken by information and records managers as they seek to make records and information management more visible in the modern knowledge-driven society. The chapters highlight innovation, the use of information and communication technology in information and records management, best practices, challenges encountered, and how they are overcome. The target audience of this book will be composed of professionals, librarians, archivists, lecturers, and researchers working in the field of library and information science, along with practitioners, academicians, and students interested in information and records management in the 21st century.

Faced with increased budget cuts, libraries must continue to advance their services through new technologies and practices in order to keep pace with the rapid changes society is currently facing. The once traditional in-person services offered can no longer be the only option, and to keep themselves afloat, libraries must offer more in terms of digital services. The convenience of offering mobile and digital services brings a new wave of accessibility to libraries and a new question on just how much libraries will need to change to meet the newfound needs of its patrons. Beyond offering these digital services, libraries are incorporating other types of technology in multifaceted ways such as utilizing artificial intelligence practices, social media, and big data management. Moreover, libraries are increasingly looking for ways to partner and collaborate with the community, faculty, students, and other libraries in order to keep abreast of the best practices and needs of their users. The Research Anthology on Collaboration, Digital Services, and Resource Management for the Sustainability of Libraries explores emerging strategies and technologies that are redefining the role of the library within communities and academia. This reference book covers extensive ground on all the ways libraries have shifted to manage their resources, digitalize their services, and market themselves within the new technological revolution. These continued shifts for libraries come with benefits, challenges, and future projections that are critical for discussion as libraries continue to strive to remain updated and relevant in times of change. This book is ideal for librarians, archivists, collection managers, IT specialists, electronic resource librarians, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in the current state of libraries and how they are transforming to fit modern needs.

Education is the key to economic, social and environmental progress, and governments around the world are looking to improve their education systems.