Library information provider OCLC Research and Jisc are co-sponsoring MOOCs and Libraries: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a one-day event hosted by the Open University Library. The event, scheduled for July 12, will be held at the Pullman Hotel in Central London.
The event will focus on the challenges that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) pose to the traditional delivery of library services, and the opportunities they offer for libraries to rethink and revitalise their proposition. Participants will be brought up to speed with the latest MOOC developments around the world, but with a particular emphasis on developments in the UK. Speakers, including OCCL Research Senior Program Officer Merrilee Proffitt, will share their experience of or thoughts about the impact MOOCs are having on library services across many sectors, on publishers, and on the higher education landscape.
The objectives of the conference are to raise awareness among librarians of the impact of MOOCs on their environment; to share experience of libraries involved in MOOCs; and to discuss the strategic way forward for libraries in this changing landscape and develop a strategic roadmap.
The event builds on the highly successful MOOCs and Libraries: Massive Opportunity or Overwhelming Challenge? event held by OCLC Research and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in March, which staff from the Open University attended.