University of Houston Libraries is now accepting applications for the UH Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP). Since its launch in 2018, ATIP has helped over 18,500 UH students save approximately $2.5 million in textbook costs. Now in its sixth year, the program is expanding to support projects across two categories of engagement with open and affordable learning materials: textbook affordability and open educational practices.

• For Textbook Affordability proposals, instructors can receive awards to replace a commercial textbook in their courses by adopting, modifying, or creating open educational resources (OER) or no-cost alternative resources, such as library licensed or freely available resources. Awards in this category will range from $1,000 to $5,000 based on the estimated cost savings for students, projected number of students impacted, type of alternative textbook proposed, overall feasibility of the proposal, and scope and type of project proposed.
• For Open Educational Practices proposals, instructors can receive funds for either creating openly licensed learning objects, or replacing a traditional assignment with a renewable assignment. Awards in this category will range from $500 to $2,000 based on the project goals, overall feasibility of the proposal, cost of course materials, and scope and type of project proposed.

The deadline for ATIP applications is Friday, March 22, 2024. Instructors are encouraged to apply by March 1 to receive feedback and the opportunity to revise and resubmit their application if desired. Group applicants are welcome in either category.

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning resources in the public domain or that have been licensed in such a way that allows anyone to freely use and re-purpose them. OER can serve as alternatives to expensive traditional textbooks and learning materials. When faculty shift to freely accessible and openly licensed teaching and learning tools, more students will have access to course materials. In addition, OER materials can be customized to directly meet learner needs. Open educational practices (OEP) leverage OER and/or open pedagogy to empower students as knowledge creators, center the student experience, and create inclusive learning environments. OEP can take the form of renewable assignments, in which students are invited to create openly licensed resources so that others can freely use, adapt, and build upon them. Renewable assignments enable students to create meaningful work that can live on and continue to evolve outside of the classroom.

ATIP aligns with the University’s strategic goal of providing a top tier, inclusive educational experience to all UH students. By removing additional costs associated with commercial course materials or subscription services, ATIP improves access to affordable education.

Interested applicants are encouraged to attend an upcoming information session and other professional development opportunities to learn about the incentive program and the benefits of open education.

Faculty and instructors may also make an appointment with the Open Education Services Department to discuss implementing open textbooks in the classroom and the support provided through the incentive program.

Please contact oer@uh.edu for more information.

Athena N. Jackson (’97), dean of University of Houston Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair, has been named Norman and Armena Powell university librarian (UL) at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Library, effective March 1. In her new role, Jackson will serve as chief executive officer of the UCLA library system, providing strategic vision for and operational leadership of the libraries, comprising the Charles E. Young Research Library; Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library; Powell Library; Southern Regional Library Facility; six special libraries; a data science center; and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Jackson’s appointment as UL marks a return to UCLA, where she served as director of library special collections before departing in 2021 to become UH Libraries’ dean. During her time in Houston, Jackson led administrative direction and policy development of the Libraries with an annual budget of $21 million, while providing support and guidance to over 125 librarians and staff. Her priorities included programmatic and development leadership, as well as strengthening access and inclusion for all Libraries users through collaboration with faculty, scholars, staff, students, donors, and the Houston community.

Building upon her rich background in rare and archival collections, Jackson has been active in open scholarship dialogues at state and national levels, representing UH Libraries with key member organizations and external constituencies including Association of Research Libraries, Greater Western Library Alliance, HathiTrust, Council on Library and Information Resources, Digital Library Federation, and Texas Digital Library.

Christina H. Gola has been named interim dean of UH Libraries. 

2023 was a year of partnerships, prioritizing, and paving the way for a reimagined University of Houston Libraries.

The professional and scholarly engagement of our librarians, staff, and student employees contributed to the University’s goal of becoming a top 50 public university. As plans for a robust near future are activated, UH Libraries remains collectively committed to our mission of enhancing student learning, participating in the development of scholarly research and creative output, and promoting discovery of information and knowledge from diverse and relevant resources.

Here are a few of our 2023 highlights:

• In collaboration with the UH department of African American Studies, hosted an exhibit, Forged by Protest: Student Organization Afro Americans for Black Liberation (AABL) and the Genesis of the UH African American Studies Program, which was curated by Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH) scholar Saron Regassa
• Curated and made accessible new digital collections, including the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded Gulf Coast LGBT Radio and Television Digitization Project, Diana Foundation Oral Histories, Pecan-Shellers’ Strike Documents, and Digitized Theses and Dissertations Project
• In collaboration with faculty member Elizabeth Coen, PhD, planned a reimagined co-curricular experience for 29 theatre students that involved an assessment of playbills and marketing materials from theatre productions of the mid-to-late 20th century
• Received an anonymous gift of $135,000 to support the expansion of co-curricular student success
• In partnership with the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards, hosted Undergraduate Research Day, an annual celebration of undergraduate research and scholarship
• Hosted the 23^rd annual Library Excellence Awards, supported through the generosity of the John P. McGovern Foundation, to celebrate librarians and staff who bring a high level of leadership, collegiality, and care to their roles
• In partnership with UH Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute, led the first UH faculty cohort through Badge 1: Foundations of Digital Humanities (DH) Project Development, a component of the inaugural Micro-credential in the DH program
• In collaboration with UH Center for Public History, hosted Agents of Change: Celebrating Innovation at the UH Centennial exhibit opening | photos
• Collaborated with artist and UH graduate student Erica Reed Lee who curated Zine Territory, a pop-up exhibit featuring zines from the Zine Fest Houston Records collection preserved at UH Libraries Special Collections that was on display at Blaffer Art Museum in conjunction with UH Zine Week
• Hosted the National Library of Medicine (NLM) traveling exhibition Confronting Violence: Improving Women’s Lives/Enfrentando La Violencia: mejorando la vida de las mujeres
• For the seventh year, hosted the Banner Project, a pop-up exhibit featuring pivotal moments in Houston’s LGBT history from the 1930s to present day and created by Houston activists Sara Fernandez, JD Doyle, and Kirk Baxter
• Awarded UH instructors who applied to adopt, adapt, or create open educational resources (OER) in the fifth round of the UH Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP)
• Began the MD Anderson Library collections and space project, signaling the first phase of preparation toward building the Digital Humanities Core facility on floor 7 in partnership with the Division of Research
• In partnership with Houston philanthropist Irma Brindis, hosted Un Brindis por University of Houston, a festive event benefiting the mission of UH Libraries and Public Art of the University of Houston System

University of Houston will be closed for winter break on Monday, December 25 through Monday, January 1. During winter break, MD Anderson Library will be open on Tuesday, December 26 through Saturday, December 30, 10 AM – 5 PM each day. During this time, the Service Desk will not be staffed, and services for visitors will be limited. Self check-out of materials will be available.

Security staff will open and close the building, and will be on-site during open hours. Visitors without a Cougar Card will be required to sign in with a valid, government-issued ID at the Security Desk.

More information on entering MD Anderson Library

Lauren Gottlieb-Miller

University of Houston Libraries is pleased to welcome Lauren Gottlieb-Miller as the associate dean for Special Libraries and Preservation.

Please describe your role. How does your portfolio align with the student success and research priorities of the University? 

My portfolio at UH Libraries includes departments of Special Collections and Preservation and Reformatting housed within MD Anderson Library, the Music Library housed within the Moores School of Music, and the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library housed within the College of Architecture building.  

My role is to provide strategic oversight and leadership to these units stewarding, preserving, and providing access to some of the richest collections of primary source materials across formats in our campus and across our region. Together with my talented colleagues working within Special Libraries, Special Collections, and Preservation and Reformatting, we work collaboratively across the University and greater region to promote student success through engagement with our collections and to meet the research demands of our high-performing faculty and their students.  

Please share a bit about your background and research interests. How do these inspire and shape your approach as a librarian? 

I received my BA in English Literature with a minor in Studio Art and Printmaking, and received my MA in Library and Information Studies, Art Librarianship Emphasis from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. At Madison I also began a PhD in the History of the Book and Print Culture. Most recently I was the director of the Library and Archives at the Menil Collection, an institution I worked for just under 8 years, prior to joining UH Libraries this November.  

My research interests focus on the history of the book, particularly the book as object in both the historical sense and in our present moment, which informs my approach to both stewardship of special collections and specialized print materials. This also informs my approach to strategically managing these materials within research environments that are well served by open access and e-preferred acquisitions models. I am most interested in the same things that drew me to the profession in the first place: how can we create welcoming and meaningful opportunities to engage our audiences with the stories and histories that special collections materials offer us, regardless of format, while sustainably preserving them for future audiences.   

What are one or two things you’d like faculty and students to know about engaging with special libraries and primary source materials? 

I want faculty and students at the University of Houston to know that these materials are here for them, not as a secondary mission but as the mission of the four units my position oversees. As a first-generation college student, it took me a long time to feel empowered enough to ask for access to special collections and archival materials, as they didn’t feel like they were there for me and the reading rooms they’re often held in can feel very intimidating. What I found back then, and what I want our communities served by UH Libraries to know now, is that these materials are here to support your inquiry regardless of what stage you are in. We are here for you!  

A festive event benefiting the mission of University of Houston Libraries and Public Art of the University of Houston System was held recently at the home of Irma Brindis, a Houston philanthropist and real estate developer. Guests of “Un Brindis por University of Houston” enjoyed an elegant celebration of Día de los Muertos to support cultural archival collections for engagement, research, and learning.

UH Advancement student ambassadors Ida Hailu and Kenya Cardenas, development coordinator Melinda Colmenero, chief development officer Jaha Williams, development officer James Hays, and dean of UH Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair Athena Jackson helped to produce the successful “Un Brindis por University of Houston.” Photo credit: Mauricio Lazo.

The Honorable Paula Mendoza and Mexico City-based sculptor Javier Marín were the evening’s honored guests. Venezuelan-born tenor Jonathan Sandoval delivered the evening’s vibrant musical entertainment, while guests enjoyed a sumptuous dinner prepared by renowned chef Beatriz Martines, who hails from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

“Un Brindis por University of Houston” came to fruition through the generosity of Irma Brindis, who is active in chairing and hosting fundraising events for a wide range of causes. She began supporting the mission of UH Libraries in 2018, advancing student success and research productivity.

University of Houston Libraries is pleased to announce the 2023 recipient cohort of the UH Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP).

UH instructors applied for an award ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 that would go toward implementation of an open or alternative textbook in a future course. This program incentivizes faculty members to adopt, adapt, or create open educational resources (OER), or use a combination of freely available or library sponsored resources, to replace required traditional textbook(s) and other high-cost learning materials in their courses.

Awards were granted based on the number of students impacted, projected cost savings for students, the type of alternative textbook, and the feasibility of successful implementation.

In this fifth round of ATIP, the application process prioritized new applicants, as well as proposals involving adoption, adaptation, and authorship of open educational resources.

2023 ATIP winners are:

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences:

• Jose Angel Hernandez – HIST 2367: History of Mexico
• Lindsey Browne – PSYC 2319: Intro to Social Psychology
• Melissa Markofski, Seth Rinehart, and Justin Crane – KIN 4370: Exercise Testing and Prescription

Cullen College of Engineering:

• Mingjian Wen – CHEE 6397: Data-driven Materials Discovery
• Lu Gao – CNST 6308: Data Analysis in Construction Management

Cullen College of Technology:

• Ricardo Lent – ELET 4309: Object-oriented Applications Programming

College of Education:

• Carrie Cutler – CUIN 7397: Play in Early Childhood Mathematics

Projected savings for students in the first year of implementing alternative textbooks in these courses is $82,000, benefiting an estimated 1,000 students.

ATIP was created in 2017 as part of the University’s initiative to mitigate the high cost of textbooks for students. Since then, more UH faculty have been empowered to provide an inclusive, accessible educational experience for UH students through OER.

Learn more about open educational resources at UH.

Special thanks to the members of the 2023 ATIP Review Committee: Veronica Arellano Douglas, Stacie Louie, Sadegh Kazemi, Kate McNally Carter, and Ariana Santiago.

Rachel Helbing

Rachel Helbing, EdD, AHIP, head of Health Sciences Libraries at University of Houston Libraries, was selected as a 2023-24 National Library of Medicine/Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (NLM/AAHSL) Leadership Fellow.

The competitive program recognizes emerging leaders who have demonstrated strong potential through a considerable record of achievement. Fellows are paired with mentors for a one-year leadership development program that will prepare them for director roles in academic health sciences libraries. Helbing’s mentor is John Gallagher, MLS, of the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, who will work with her through in-person and virtual learning experiences.

Helbing holds the rank of associate librarian and has worked in consumer health, hospital, and academic health sciences libraries. Her interests include interprofessional education, clinical informatics, and evidence-based practice. Helbing earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Miami University, as well as a Master of Library and Information Science and a Master of Science in Health Informatics, both from Kent State University. In 2022, she earned an Executive Doctor of Education Degree (EdD) in Professional Leadership with an Emphasis in Health Science Education from University of Houston.

This week, visitors to the University of Houston MD Anderson Library will notice a suite of banners in the atrium and floors 2 and 3. The Banner Project, created by Houston activists Sara Fernandez, JD Doyle, and Kirk Baxter, is a pop-up exhibit featuring pivotal moments in Houston’s LGBT history from the 1930s to present day.

2023 marks the seventh year that UH Libraries has partnered with the creators to host the banners, sparking discussion, reflection, and engagement with the LGBT History Research Collection. The banners will remain on display through October in honor of LGBT History Month and American Archives Month. While The Banner Project comprises 50 banners highlighting individuals, organizations, and events in Houston’s LGBTQ community history, 26 were selected for the pop-up exhibit.

Many archives and publications preserved in UH Libraries Special Collections serve as primary sources for the subjects of the banners and the teaching, learning, research, and programming they inspire. UH collections represented in the banners include Royal Dixon and Chester Snowden, The Diana Foundation, This Week In Texas magazine, former Harris County comptroller Gary Van Ooteghem and the Log Cabin Republicans, Town Meeting I, Lesbians Over Age Fifty (LOAF), Houston mayor Annise Parker, and others.

Last year, University of Houston Libraries initiated exploring new and effective ways to reposition the library setting in alignment with current infrastructure enhancements and strategic goals of the University. While ensuring we have critical resources both in print and electronic formats, we have begun an intentional, scaled approach to collections assessment and development, which will soon revitalize a large portion of the MD Anderson Library’s physical space for research, learning, and study.

Key Dates

October 16: Floors 7 and 8 of MD Anderson Library will be closed for an extended period to visitors and seating will be redistributed within the library. Books currently housed in these locations will be moved to off-site storage and will be available by request through interlibrary loan.

December 4: Users will be able to discover collections records in the catalog and request for check-out.

This activity signals the first phase of preparation toward building the Digital Humanities Core facility on floor 7 in partnership with the Division of Research, and complements the University’s anticipated innovation hub; while floor 8 will be cleared for new engagement spaces.

The collections and space project prioritizes critical needs of UH students, faculty, and the scholarly community. For libraries supporting R1 institutions (Carnegie-designated as the most research-intensive), the emphasis on circulating print resources has decreased, while preference for and usage of electronic resources has exponentially increased.

UH Libraries serves as a partner in curricular and scholarly activities, and this project enables a thoughtful and holistic study of the spaces and services offered to provide an enhanced experience of research and learning, alongside collaborative and scalable specialist knowledge.

The collections and space project will span several years and connects to the long-term vision of a reimagined library, where ideas converge, spaces inspire, and people connect.

How will this benefit UH students?

Students will continue to have access to all resources currently offered at UH Libraries during the stacks relocation. The stacks relocation will:

• free significant library space earmarked for independent and group immersive study areas
• facilitate direct experience with research activities taking place on campus via programming
• prioritize tech capacities

How will students be able to access the collections?

For the October 16 – December 4 collections relocation period, students can request titles via interlibrary loan. After this period, users will be able to discover collections records in the catalog and request for check-out.

How will this impact UH faculty?

Stakeholder engagement will continue throughout the project as necessary to ensure we are offering effective and meaningful services and expertise.

The DH Core and engagement spaces support complex research partnerships and services already provided by UH Libraries via our commitment to the research and learning lifecycle. The new spaces will strengthen the Libraries’ capability to serve as the University’s center for intellectual readiness and provide more flexibility which can amplify scholarly productivity.

How will faculty be able to access the collections?

For the October 16 – December 4 collections relocation period, faculty can request titles via interlibrary loan. After this period, users will be able to discover collections records in the catalog and request for check-out.

How can faculty learn more?

Dean Athena Jackson will be available for any requests to present information and address questions at faculty meetings.

Questions

Contact collections@uh.edu with your questions.