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The purpose of this paper is to introduce a survey instrument to measure three components of students’ perceptions of open and affordable course materials – quality, integration, and experience – and discuss its reliability and predictive validity.

The authors distributed an end-of-semester online survey to students enrolled in sections of 12 courses that adopted OER in Fall 2016, as well as conducting a within-interview survey with the instructors of those courses. The authors calculated the descriptive statistics from the responses to the student survey, as well as examining the inter-item and inter-rater reliability of the instrument. Finally, explored correlations in the data gathered through both the student and faculty surveys were explored.

The authors found that both students and faculty were generally pleased with the quality and experience of using open and affordable digital materials. The authors also found that our three survey subscales had strong inter-item reliability, and that the quality and experience subscales had predictive validity in terms of whether students would choose a traditional or digital text in future courses.

In addition to providing evidence in terms of the full survey instrument’s reliability and predictive validity, factor analysis indicates that a short scale of quality and experience Likert scale items could be used by practitioners to effectively assess satisfaction of digital materials among traditionally aged undergraduate students.

The cost of course materials to the individual student has increased over the past decade, contributing to educational inequity. Open educational resources (OERs) may be a solution and research validates their positive impact on student success outcomes (Colvard et al., 2018; Feldstein et al., 2012). Few studies, however, examine the role that library collections play in addressing course materials cost and student success. This paper aims to investigate whether materials costs are a significant factor in course pass rate and whether the library has a positive impact on pass rates.

Using required texts listed in syllabi for select undergraduate courses at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), the authors compare course materials costs for each course to the pass rate. The authors then measure the impact of course materials cost on the achievement gap between Pell Grant eligible and non-eligible students.

This study confirms previous research indicating that reduced course materials costs have a measurable impact on student success, in that the total minimum cost of required materials has a statistically significant effect on the percentage of students who pass a course. However, course reserves slightly increase the disparity between high-income and low-income students, suggesting that course reserves are a less effective way of supporting the latter compared to OERs.

This study is unique in examining the effect of the cost of course materials on students, regardless of the source of cost reductions. Most literature focuses on the qualitative efficacy of OERs instead of measured impact or the relationship between the cost of course materials and student success. The authors investigate the connection between OERs, library engagement and student success.

The purpose of this paper is to show how a new academic library works.

The author used statistical data and anecdotal evidence.

The findings were that digital library materials have dramatically changed how libraries operate.

The library featured in this story is the University of Calgary’s main library which is called the Taylor Family Digital Library, which is meant to be a library with digital technology as its main focus.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on major issues involved in setting up a digital library, with special attention given to the University of Calgary’s new Taylor Family Digital Library, which was started in 2006 and completed in 2011 at a cost of $203 million.

The paper will begin with a description of the targeted users. It will discuss user expectations for the digital library, which are often focused on the distributive function of the library to provide rapid and easy access to resources such as licensed e-journals and e-books. It will then explore issues related to the productive function, the digitization of collections. Finally, the paper will address the question: what purposes does digitization of collections serve?

Although digital materials are becoming more popular with university library users, university libraries are not yet ready to abandon print library materials altogether for a wide variety of reasons.

This is a case study of a library that claims to be unique: a university library which is truly digital in nature.

PageWell, an e-reading platform provider, was preparing to launch PageWell 2.0 to the larger full-time MBA student market after a successful trial of PageWell 1.0 in Executive MBA (EMBA) classes at the Kellogg School of Management. Research had shown that full-time MBA students would be very interested in using products that allowed electronic access to course materials everywhere and across many platforms and that allowed electronic note-taking and storage. To better understand this user group, PageWell conducted a market research survey of students, faculty, and administrators to gauge their needs, preferences, and potential interest in the PageWell product. The study revealed that MBA student usage patterns, scenarios, and behavior varied significantly from EMBA student needs and perceptions. PageWell now had the task of prioritizing the product requirements and recalibrating the market requirements document to more accurately reflect student needs and thus create a viable product

After students have analyzed the case, they will be able to:

• Use customer feedback to help define requirements for a new product

• Understand the role of personas and scenarios in defining requirements

• Understand how to use scenarios and scenario templates to derive scenario implementation requirements

• Understand how to prioritize scenarios based on customer, company, and competitive criteria

• Write a market requirements document for a next-version technology produc

Use customer feedback to help define requirements for a new product

Understand the role of personas and scenarios in defining requirements

Understand how to use scenarios and scenario templates to derive scenario implementation requirements

Understand how to prioritize scenarios based on customer, company, and competitive criteria

Write a market requirements document for a next-version technology produc

Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library was featured in a 1994 Library Hi Tech issue as a prototype of the electronic library. Mann Library, the winner of the American Library Association's first Library of the Future award, presented its systematic approach to creating a new digital research library, an approach that employs modern methods rooted in classic principles to form a vibrant, organic whole by integrating the print and the digital library. Mann's approach is based on having a clear understanding of what our mission is and constantly rethinking what we are doing to achieve it. Consequently, a lot has happened at Mann since 1994. This article describes the library's new program of instructional technology support, while a series of short reports focus on some of the other Mann Library projects.

For several decades, universities have been trying to implement new technologies in their teaching methods, intending to create skills for the twenty-first century. In the literature, this process is called digital transformation. This chapter is based on an integrative revision and solid work of the authors in their university, providing students with technological devices, such as laptops, tablets, and other gadgets to invest in digital education skills. Concluding that investing in digital education is crucial for improving the student experience and preparing students for the future workforce.

This paper seeks to assess the differences between learning performance and the satisfaction of learners who use digital resources in the Taiwan Libraries' History Digital Library (organized digital resources) and the Google search engine (unorganized digital resources) in problem‐solving learning for the same subject via the problem‐based learning (PBL) mode. The paper aims to explore the advantages and characteristics of using digital archives to support PBL and to offer suggestions that are helpful when using digital archives to support e‐learning.

The study adopted the quasi‐experimental design method to assign all participants into an experimental group and control group to evaluate differences in learning performance and the satisfaction of learners who use different digital resources during PBL processes. A statistical analysis scheme was employed to evaluate the learning performance of learners during PBL supported by different digital resources in terms of learning processes, PBL outcomes, and a questionnaire.

The study obtained the following conclusions: learning performance and the satisfaction of learners in the experimental group during PBL processes supported by digital archival resources were superior to those of control‐group learners who were supported by search engine resources; compared with search engine resources, the digital archival resources provide benefits in the learning phase, such as “action” (i.e. doing), in the proposed PBL mode, which has three learning phases; and compared with resources accessed through the Google search engine, PBL supported by digital archival resources should enhance searching performance and thereby increase learner willingness to use digital archives during e‐learning.

Using digital archives to support e‐learning is a new trend in the library sciences field; however, few studies have developed useful learning modes for effective e‐learning supported by digital archives. Evidential research related to e‐learning supported by digital archives is also lacking; most studies used digital archives as digital course materials, thus ignoring the principal property of digital archives – excellent resource organization.

The paper shows that by integrating the PBL mode with digital archives one can identify the advantages of digital archives in supporting e‐learning, resulting in innovative and valuable research.

Online education with Internet technology has been used extensively in post‐secondary education, but it is relatively new in schools. It has considerable potential for enhancing teaching/learning in both traditional schools and home‐schooling. Describes research conducted in Alberta where online education in schools is more common than in any other Canadian province. Semi‐structured interviews were held with 13 teachers from four online schools. Although they reported increased workloads and stress associated with added responsibilities for authoring online courses, providing technological support, and enhancing their technological skills, the teachers perceived many benefits of online education. However, improvements in the scope and reliability of technology and better access to digital educational content are required to realize the full potential of online education in schools. The information presented has relevance to school systems in many countries. It also relates to the rapidly evolving role of technology in education for all ages.