8 Familiarity and Values

Familiarity with an institution’s values, culture, and process gives the on-campus print-on-demand service an advantage over an outside provider.

In his 2012 article “The University Culture,” Joseph Simplicio writes about the “unique and cherished culture.… [that is] steeped in tradition” at universities. He says that these values are important to an institution’s viability because they create “stability and continuity” for its members.^[1] These shared values and experiences, as well as familiarity with institutional practices and policies, create a bond between individual members of a post-secondary community.

Each post-secondary institution can come up with a list of ways that a campus-based printing service might access and incorporate its traditions and values. Here are some ideas:

1. Showcase. Display printed open textbooks in the campus bookstore window to expand awareness.
2. Normalize. Place open textbooks on bookstore shelves alongside other printed resources, such as commercial textbooks and course packs, to standardize open textbook use.
3. Brand. Kwantlen Polytechnic University includes the KPU logo on the covers of open textbooks, such as Getting to Know Your International Students.
4. Educate. Ask the campus copyright officer to compose a statement about open licences that can be added to open textbooks.
5. Celebrate. Highlight open textbooks revised by the institution’s instructors. For example, Thompson Rivers University published an article when Renée Anderson adapted Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care to create Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care – Thompson Rivers University Edition. For more information, see this article called “TRU Makes Textbooks Free and Available Online.”