The Affordable Materials Project (AMP) and Falvey Memorial Library are set to host a lineup of fall events. AMP is a University-wide collaboration between the Villanova bookstore, Falvey Library, the Center for Access, Success and Achievement (CASA), and the Office of the Provost, all working together to provide faculty with resources and options for selecting high quality, affordable course materials and creating student awareness of affordable options for obtaining course materials. At the conclusion of the spring 2021 semester, AMP celebrated an important milestone—saving Villanova students more than $1 million on course materials!

Join AMP and Falvey Library at one—or both—of these upcoming virtual events:

Best Practices for Course Materials Adoption Workshop (Monday, Oct. 18, at 11:30 a.m.)

Falvey Library staff and Course Materials Manager Bernadette Mania will be holding a workshop for faculty on selecting course materials on Monday, Oct. 18, 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. via Zoom. Get answers to your questions about course packs, copyright, and e-reserves. Learn about the effort to provide electronic copies of course texts. Hear about resources to help lessen the financial burden of textbooks/course materials on students without sacrificing quality. Please register here.

Authoring an Open Access (OA) Interdisciplinary Textbook: Michael Pagano, PhD, on Liquidity, Markets & Trading in Action (Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 1:30 p.m.)

Join Michael Pagano, PhD, The Robert J. and Mary Ellen Darretta Endowed Chair in Finance, Professor, Finance & Real Estate, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 1:30-2:15 p.m. for a virtual talk on authoring the open access textbook Liquidity, Markets & Trading in Action: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. This book will be of interest to finance, economics, and information technology faculty, and includes a TraderEx simulation and ancillary instructor materials. Dr. Pagano will explain the thought process that went into publishing OA, describe the authoring experience, and touch on the OA funding model that made it possible. A description of programs that support OA publishing at Villanova will be included. Please register here.

Both events are open to the Villanova community and faculty everywhere interested in open access publishing. Faculty interested in course adoptions should consider applying for the Open Educational Resources (OER) Faculty Adoption Grant. Designed to encourage faculty to select free, openly licensed textbooks as primary course materials, applications for the grant will be accepted until Saturday, Oct. 30. Faculty members will be required to adopt an OER textbook for a new/existing course taught in spring 2022. The 2021 recipients of the OER Faculty Adoption Grant, Valentina DeNardis, PhD, and Jeanne Liedtka, JD, will save students an estimated $10,000 in one semester while they experiment with new ways of teaching.

Please contact Linda Hauck, Business Librarian, for more information on AMP and open access opportunities.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.