LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is a consortium of public and private college and university libraries in the state of Louisiana. This partnership was formed in 1992 by the library deans and directors at these institutions, in order to create a cost-effective collaboration among the institutions for the procurement of library technology and resources. We are currently forty-seven members strong.
Through our Affordable Learning LOUISiana initiative, LOUIS partners libraries and faculty to save students money on education by reducing the costs of instructional materials through the use of Affordable Education Resources (AERs), Open Educational Resources (OERs), and other open access materials. This also ensures that students have equitable access to course materials on the first day of class.
LOUIS’ Interactive OER for Dual Enrollment project, funded by a $2 million Open Textbooks Pilot Program grant from the Department of Education, and Connecting the Pipeline: Libraries, OER, and Dual Enrollment from Secondary to Postsecondary, a $1.3 million project funded by LOUIS and the Institute of Library and Museum Services, support the extension of access to high-quality post-secondary opportunities to high school students across Louisiana and beyond. These projects feature a collaboration between educational systems in Louisiana, the library community, Pressbooks technology partner, and workforce representatives. They will enable and enhance the delivery of open educational resources (OER) and interactive quiz and assessment elements for priority dual enrollment courses in Louisiana and nationally. Developed OER course materials will be released under a license that permits their free use, reuse, modification and sharing with others.