UTAS authors: Dr Sheree Lloyd, Dr Joel Scanlan

Category: Create a new open textbook to replace a commercially released textbook for a UTAS course.

UTAS Library awarded $3,500 to Dr Sheree Lloyd and Dr Joel Scanlan from the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics to support development and publication of open textbook Health Information Management: Unlocking the Power of Data in Healthcare.

The text and its chapters will be used as a prescribed learning resource in Digital Health, Cyber Security, and other related units for UTAS short and full courses, commencing Semester 2 2025.

This new teaching resource will:

• Be an interdisciplinary cross-college/school collaboration between the Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, the College of Health & Medicine, and the School of ICT (CoSE).
• Be co-authored by 20+ local, national, and international academics and experts from several other universities and organisations, including the Tasmanian Department of Health, and the Health Information Management Association of Australia.
• Include a chapter on First People’s health data authored by UTAS Associate Professor (Aboriginal Health Leadership) Dr Jen Evans.

Authors applying for a grant must:

• Complete the textbook within the period of their employment at UTAS.
• Obtain written support from their School or College.

Authors should use the funding for the purpose of covering costs associated with producing the textbook.

This may include:

• Professional copy editing
• Style and graphic design work
• Peer review

Authors are required to:

• Apply a Creative Commons (CC) licence (or equivalent) to the open textbook. Learn more about CC licences.
• Obtain copyright clearances when including third-party copyright material in the textbook. Learn more about using copyright material.
• Have the capacity to produce an open textbook within the expected timeframe.
• Commit to engage with the Academic Authors Community of Practice.
• Ensure subject matter is culturally sensitive and incorporates diverse perspectives.
• Conduct a peer review process.

It is expected grant-funded textbooks are:

• Published on our Pressbooks publishing platform within 12 months of grant approval.
• Used in a UTAS course for a minimum of two semesters.
• Maintained, up-to-date and relevant for the period of UTAS usage.

The Library provides guidance on:

• Open educational practices e.g., where to find content, how to adapt content etc.
• Obtaining a unique textbook identifier e.g., ISBN or DOI.
• Copyright and Creative Commons licensing.
• Style guides, referencing and attribution.
• Legal deposit to the National Library of Australia.
• Publication standards and ensuring the textbook is ready for publishing.

The Library provides support with:

• Using the Pressbooks open textbook platform.
• Searching for existing OER relevant to the text.
• Creating ISBNs.
• MARC record creation and supply to Libraries Australia.

There are several scenarios where grant applications will not be considered.

They include:

• Adaptation of an existing open textbook without substantial changes and/or additional content.
• Completed open textbook projects.
• Open textbook projects that apply a Creative Commons licence with a "No Derivative" element.
• An open educational resource that is NOT a textbook.

Submit an expression of interest to UTAS Library and a member of the team will contact you to discuss available options and support.

The Library has three main priorities for the creation of open textbooks :

• Improve the student experience by providing equity of access to low-cost high quality learning resources.
• Deliver value to the Library’s collection budget for learning resources by providing an alternative to commercially published textbooks.
• Contribute to increased digital learning capabilities for staff and students.