Observations and Reflections

At next week’s Association of Research Libraries meeting members will discuss an ARL Issue Brief, “Massive Open Online Courses: Legal and Policy Issues for Research Libraries.”

The executive summary of the brief says, in part:

“Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) raise significant legal and policy questions for research libraries, which are often asked to support the development of MOOC courses. These questions involve information policy concerns that are central to research libraries, including the proper application of fair use, the transition to open access as the default mode of scholarly publishing, and the provision of equal access to learning materials for students with and without disabilities. Where possible, research libraries should engage in conversations around MOOCs and promote their core values. By doing so, they will also promote the continuing vitality of libraries as partners in the educational mission.”

Once the full brief is completed and released I look forward to further discussion among UK Libraries faculty and staff and the UK community regarding this important trend in higher education.