Visiting Open Educational Resources Librarian - Scholarly Communication and Publishing
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · Urbana, IL · On-site · Faculty (Full-time)
Salary USD 76,389
Apply by Dec 5, 2025
Posted Nov 12, 2025
The University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is seeking an Open Educational Resources (OER) Librarian to participate in outreach and education initiatives that encourage the adoption, adaption, and publication of OER. The librarian in this role will also further other textbook affordability goals and may contribute to other unit initiatives depending on time and areas of interest. This position serves as part of the Scholarly Communication and Publishing Unit and reports directly to the unit head.
The University of Illinois Library has emerging and evolving OER services including publication of open textbooks through the library publishing program in addition to outreach to foster OER adoption, adaption, and creation. Members of the library are also partners, with the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), on a grant to foster OER creation in the field of medicine and are working to develop many new OER textbooks funded through the Office of the Provost and a State Library Grant funded through 2026. This role offers the opportunity to build on these emerging services and explore new directions with collaborators in the library and across campus.
Specific duties include but are not limited to:
- Lead OER outreach and education services to encourage adoption and adaption of OER for local contexts, and publication of new OER.
- Participate in OER publishing workflows with the library-based press, the Illinois Open Publishing Network (IOPN), or with partners such as CARLI through OER grant and other initiatives.
- Monitor developments in OER legislation, policy, and practice, and educate internal stakeholders on these developments and issues related to OER and course materials affordability.
- Assess impact of OER efforts, including development of metrics for internal use or external reporting.
- Participate (in lighter way or alternating during course of time) in other scholarly communication services including the institutional repository (IDEALS), copyright, and open access outreach.
- Pursue professional development and continued learning relevant to the position through participation in regular unit training, collaboration with other librarians, work time allotted to self-study, and other opportunities that arise.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will have the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment and be detail-oriented.
Required:
- ALA-accredited Master's degree in Library and/or Information Science or equivalent; OR Ph.D. in a relevant field and significant work experience with developing and delivering courses in higher education, or working for a press in a position related to higher education textbook or other educational resources publishing.
- Demonstrated excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to learn and experiment with new publishing, repository, or other open educational resource (OER) technologies.
- Demonstrated interest in open educational resources.
- Potential to contribute to the national and international reputation of the University Library through professional research, service, and collaboration with colleagues and organizations.
Preferred:
- Awareness of best practices for accessibility of digital resources.
- Awareness of relevant copyright issues for OER, particularly Creative Commons licensing and fair use.
