Open-Source Repositories for Learning and Instruction

Technology and communication networks have transformed how instructional resources, documents, and media are stored and accessed. Instead of only maintaining traditional brick and mortar libraries, institutional efforts of the past two decades have created electronic or digital repositories, with the goal of making these instructional resources widely accessible. The profusion of many open-source repositories for learning and instruction stems from (a) the public’s increasing demand for access to information, (b) the culture of [Page 559]designing and sharing Internet-housed media and instructional resources, and (c) the availability (for cost or gratis) of software to readily design, share, and customize these resources. Open-source culture anticipates that users will abide by copyright guidelines as media found in these repositories (sometimes labeled digital libraries) are used, customized, and redistributed ...