Innovative Use of Open Educational Resources in the Higher Education Libraries: Cost-Benefit Analysis

Abstract

Advancement in Science and Technology has made a tremendous impact on library and information centers. It has changed the traditional libraries and information centers into digital libraries, and library services are oriented towards ICT. As an outcome, e-resources are becoming more common among the libraries of higher educational institutions. They have gradually replaced the traditional print resources. Unfortunately, most of the libraries in the higher education sector except reputed institutions are facing a financial crunch situation. These institutions due to the limitation in the budget, find it hard to fulfill the information requirements of its users in the electronic environment. The cost of subscription to electronic resources goes beyond the purchasing capacity of the parent institution. Funding agencies at the institutions adopt consortia-based approach rather than individual institutional funding. In this context, open education resources fulfill the information requirements of the higher education institution. This chapter analyzes these open educational resources.