Open Educational Resources (OERs) and the Health Science Information Landscape: What I Want People to Know

Providing and expanding free access to medical research and quality health information can save lives and increase global equity, particularly in areas of the world where people cannot afford expensive access to traditionally published educational materials. One way to accomplish these goals is by promoting the creation and use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in health science education. A common misconception is that OERs are just textbooks, but in reality they can include articles, new apps, software, images, entire courses, and other materials developed to promote education. Other common misconceptions surrounding OERs are that they are somehow less accurate than traditionally published materials or that they intentionally compete with the bottom line of publishers. Librarians who work with OERs are always available to partner with researchers, students, vendors, course designers and faculty to dispel these misconceptions and bring OERs into the health sciences in a more visible and larger scope.