Open Course Library

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Open Course Library (OCL) is a Washington state project that provides free digital textbooks, course materials, and videos to community and technical college instructors and students. It draws on open-learning resources from various projects and even YouTube. While not a publishing house for open textbooks, it has helped create widely used materials. Many items are open educational resources (OERs), and some come with low-cost textbooks (about $30 or less).

Goals are to lower student textbook costs, give faculty ready-to-use resources, and participate in the global open educational resources (OER) movement. The project was funded with $750,000 matching grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Washington State legislature.

How it works: OCL developed 81 courses across Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges. Winners of a grant competition, including faculty, librarians, and instructional designers, received about $15,000 to redesign a course into a ready-to-use digital module. The first 42 courses were released in fall 2011. Materials are accessible through the WashingtonOnline learning system, and use is encouraged but not required for campuses.

Partnerships and licensing: OCL collaborates with the Saylor Foundation, the Connexions Consortium, and the Open Courseware Consortium. Saylor provides access for self-learners. In 2010, Washington state approved a policy requiring that all digital works created with SBCTC grant funds carry a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, enabling updates and reuse by others.

Impact and challenges: By 2013, all 81 courses were completed. Estimates of savings vary—some reports cite more than $1 million in 2011–2012, while others claim higher totals. Adoption varied by campus; some campuses reported little use of OCL materials. Challenges include finding high-quality free materials, translating materials, and the time needed for faculty to adopt new resources.

Influence: OCL inspired similar open-textbook initiatives in other states and regions, and it fostered networks among educators and institutions. It also supported efforts to adapt materials for different contexts and languages.

Overall, OCL aimed to improve courses and cut costs while connecting educators to a broader open-education movement.