Around the Consortium

No Shelf Required: Making digital resources accessible for students with disabilities: Are libraries, publishers, and vendors ready for the new rules and regulations? (Jun 30, 2020)
"Judy Cobb, Manager of Digital Platforms at OhioLINK, says that the challenges on this front are enormous for libraries."Jun 30, 2020

No Shelf Required is an open source of information on books and digital content for information professionals, including publishers, editors, authors, librarians, and educators. Editor and author Mirela Roncevic interviewed Judy Cobb for... Read more

Research and Education Networks in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio Announce Partnership in the Fight Against COVID-19 (Jun 12, 2020)
I-Light, Merit, and OARnet team up to provide internet access and support online learning, research, and state and local government initiatives to aid communities amid pandemicBLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Jun 12, 2020) — 

Please Note: This press release was originally published by Indiana University and can be found on their website... Read more

Speedy Circuit-Building Effort Supports COVID-19 Fight (Jun 2, 2020)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Jun 2, 2020) — 

Following the health emergency declaration, the State of Ohio urgently needed an IT network connection between the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) offices in downtown Columbus and its ODH Receipt, Stage, and Store (RSS) warehouse.

The RSS is designed to supplement and re-supply state and local resources during large-scale public health and medical emergencies. The RSS warehouse represented a critical... Read more

Supporting the Emergency Needs of OARnet Clients (May 27, 2020)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 27, 2020) — 

On March 11, 2020, shortly after cases of the COVID-19 virus were officially detected in Ohio, Chancellor Randy Gardner and OARnet staff reached out to their communities to offer subsidized expansion of network bandwidth. This was done in an effort to better serve what was expected to be a dramatically increased need for online learning and teleworking arrangements.

"When it... Read more

Announcement Regarding the Departure of Gwen Evans (Feb 25, 2020)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Feb 26, 2020) — 

OhioLINK announces the departure of Executive Director Gwen Evans. Deputy Director Amy Pawlowski has been named Interim Executive Director, effective February 28, 2020.

Statement from Gwen Evans:

“It is with deep respect that I announce my last day as OhioLINK Executive Director will be February 27th, 2020. As of February 28th, I will assume the role of Vice President, Global Library... Read more

Scholarly Kitchen: Update on OhioLINK’s Affordable Textbooks Initiative (Feb 11, 2020)
Preliminary data shows the value of a hybrid approach to affordable learning. The takeaway? OER results in biggest cost reduction for students; IA scales faster to reduce costs for more students across more disciplines in more institutions. Feb 11, 2020

OhioLINK is determining how it can support the sustainability of the OER materials created through the Ohio Open Ed Collaborative. We will continue to gather cost savings data. In addition, we are working to identify barriers to OER adoption... Read more

Higher education libraries’ needs have outpaced enterprise technology product offerings (Jan 22, 2020)
OhioLINK and Ithaka S+R articulate needs that can guide future investmentsCOLUMBUS, Ohio (Jan 23, 2020) — 

The business of higher education is dramatically changing, and the software systems that support one of its most valuable campus resources—the library—have not kept pace. Campus Libraries are doing much more than managing collections of materials to support teaching, learning, and innovative research; they are also managing expanded... Read more

Behind the Scenes: What It Really Takes to Pull Off a Seamless National Debate at a Small College (Dec 4, 2019)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Dec 4, 2019) — 

An estimated 8.3 million people tuned in to watch the fourth Democratic debate on the evening of Oct. 15, 2019. Twelve hopeful presidential candidates took to the stage at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. Many viewers may be surprised to find out that Otterbein is a small, private, liberal-arts college because of the seamlessness of the broadcast. Behind the scenes, hundreds... Read more

Chancellor appoints Shah as OARnet executive director (Dec 3, 2019)
Former OARnet leader returns to Ohio after four years leading Texas networkCOLUMBUS, Ohio (Dec 3, 2019) — 

Pankaj Shah, president and chief executive officer of the Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) in Texas, has been named the seventh executive director of the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet).

Pankaj Shah [enlarge]

Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE)... Read more

OhioLINK’s Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Center Reaches Open Access Milestone (Oct 28, 2019)
Oct 22, 2019

Open access ETD boasts more than 100,000 submissions and nearly 85 million downloads from 234 countries.

OhioLINK’s Electronic Theses and Dissertation (ETD) Center, which showcases the research output from Ohio’s institutions as researchers commence their careers, has surpassed 100,000 submissions and more than 85 million downloads from 234 countries. This cutting-edge research is delivered via open access—meaning the theses and dissertations are made available... Read more

Pages