@feb20-cohort, tomorrow’s session at 9am ET on Zoom (at our standard meeting link) is on Formatting and Release Preparation. We’ll cover final tasks and considerations before you are ready to announce your OER.
Take a look at the handout and slides we’ll be referring to:
See you all tomorrow! 
Lots of updates (even if they didn’t feel like updates) shared at today’s session — thank you everyone who could make it! I’m really excited to see how your projects are moving, whether it’s at the content creation, team building, or scoping phase. Keep it up! 
I’ve put together the list of resources and a recap as usual, so take a look. If you have any more thoughts about things to discuss at our special topics session in 2 weeks, please let me know!
The chat transcript is saved online for anyone looking to catch up on the discussion. The resources shared were:
@randerja — could you possibly share a link to the Math OER that you, Melina, and Matt mentioned today?
And some practical advice from @mattruen about fair use:
[T]he short version of the process I suggest to people thinking about reusing all-rights-reserved images:
- Can we link/embed the image instead of copying it?
- Is there an openly licensed alternative?
- Can we create our own representation of the uncopyrightable fact/idea in the image?
- What about fair use?
This phase is one where your project really begins to take shape as a whole, usable resource. Start by setting a target release date, if you haven’t already, taking into account when and how you want the resource to be used. Try to announce the resource a few weeks prior to this date, so potential adopters have time to evaluate and review the resource before assigning it for their own courses. Spend some time to plot out remaining tasks before you are ready to release. This way, you get a picture of what’s left to do, how long it might take, and what areas are more flexible. The date you select is not set in stone; so keep revisiting and reconfirming the target release date at each major milestone, rejigging your schedule and timeline as needed.
Once your content has been reviewed and revised, you can get going on formatting and laying out the book. Since an OER is not just a resource with an open or Creative Commons license, it should be available in a wide variety of formats. At minimum, we suggest your OER be available in a web, editable, and offline format (this is easy to do using Pressbooks or other publishing platforms). For consistency’s sake, you can prepare an inventory of the different elements you want to include and a corresponding “style guide” for each — perhaps as a sample chapter in your book. If challenges do crop up as you are formatting the body content, reach out to the rest of your team and community for help.
Once you’re through formatting the main body content, you’ll want to consider preparing or adding a few additional items, or as we like to call them, final touches to help the book feel like a well-curated and professionally created resource. Adding information like a review statement, accessibility statement, book metadata, and adoption form can provide readers with more information about the quality and efficacy of your resource, and also provide pathways for others to find the book and report their use. Frontmatter and backmatter can help your resource feel more rounded and professionally created, as can a well-designed cover (look to the slides for what to include in a book cover). Don’t forget to conduct a final set of checks on the different formats of your book.
It can sometimes be difficult to draw the line with final tweaks and touches on the book, so work with your team to reach a point where you are all happy. But when you hit this point, you can prepare the promotional assets to communicate the Big Release! The goal with your announcements should be to let others know what the resource is, where it can be accessed, what sets it apart, and what others think of it so far. You can build off of this initial buzz and momentum around the book as you continue to promote it. But, most importantly savour the moment — this is the milestone you’ve been working towards, and it’s finally here! Pause and celebrate with your team.
