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Call for Lightning Talk Proposals: OpenCon 2025

OpenCon Ohio 2025, a free, virtual conference about open education and textbook affordability, will be held online the week of May 19-22, 2025. During the week, asynchronous conversations will be held online in Discord to discuss prerecorded lightning talks. On Thursday, May 22, 2025 we will have virtual presentations, interactive conversations, and a keynote presentation delivered by Apurva Ashok, The Rebus Foundation’s Executive Director!

We are currently accepting proposals for 7-15 minute prerecorded lightning talks.

Submission form: https://forms.office.com/r/L7ehVEK7GC

All proposal submissions are due on March 18th, 2025, and decisions about accepted submissions will be communicated by March 31, 2025, if not earlier. Proposals will be evaluated according to the proposal rubric.

Talks should preferably be related to the theme of Empowerment, Care, and Community in Open Education, though other topics are welcome. More information about the OpenCon Ohio 2025 event can be found at the conference website.

Please feel free to direct any questions to OpenCon Ohio Planning Committee Co-Chairs, Mandi Goodsett at a.goodsett@csuohio.edu and/or Heather Caprette at h.caprette@csuohio.edu.

Recent Posts

Who are your 2025 textbook heroes?

WHO ARE YOUR HEROES? NOMINATE THEM FOR A TEXTBOOK HERO AWARD!Co-sponsored by the Michael Schwartz Library and the Student Government Association, the Textbook Hero Award is awarded annually to a faculty member who has put forth significant effort to replace a traditional textbook with a low-cost or open alternative, and whose efforts had a high impact on textbook costs, classroom engagement, and student achievement.STUDENTS: Do you have a professor who has chosen to use low cost or free course materials? Show them how much it means to you by nominating them for this year’s Textbook Hero Award! Nominate your prof today - it only takes a few minutes - and help us encourage others to get on the bandwagon. We've already saved CSU students over 2M in textbook costs!FACULTY: If you are an affordability advocate, please encourage your students to nominate you for a Textbook Hero Award! This teaching award, presented by the CSU Student Government Association, can be a valuable addition to your promotion and tenure portfolio. Give your students a chance to formally say thank you! Textbook Hero Award Application, due April 8th, 2025: Nominate Your Hero Now! ...

News from Cleveland Memory: The Cleveland Press is Digitized at Last!

Breaking News from Cleveland Memory:The Cleveland Press Collection is digitized at last!After years of anticipation and hard work, the 104-year run of the Cleveland Press has finally been digitized. This monumental achievement marks a significant milestone in preserving Cleveland's rich history and making it accessible to the public. BackgroundSeveral years ago, a surge in public and private interest sparked a detailed plan to digitize the Cleveland Press, the evening newspaper that played a pivotal role in Cleveland's journalism landscape from 1878 to 1982. The Cleveland Press Collection, now part of Cleveland State University's Special Collections, includes hundreds of thousands of photographs which the Michael Schwartz Library at Cleveland State University has shared for over 20 years through our Cleveland Memory web site. But the bulk of the content – the stories, columns, and editorial commentary – have only been available to researchers on microfilm… until now.The Digitization ProcessCleveland State University partnered with Newspapers.com to bring this extensive archive into the digital age, marking a crucial step in preserving this priceless historical resource. This timely collaboration has not only digitized the collection but also safeguarded it from the threat of vinegar syndrome, a chemical degradation process that affects cellulose acetate-based microfilms produced before the mid-1980s. While initial access to the digitized archive is limited, this preservation effort ensures the long-term viability of the collection and paves the way for wider availability in the future. The digitization process has effectively rescued decades of Cleveland's history from potential loss, allowing future generations to explore and study this rich journalistic legacy.Access DetailsOn-Campus Access: For now, free digital access is contractually limited to on-campus use by Cleveland State University students, faculty, staff and patrons for academic or research purposes. This access will expand after a three-year embargo period, potentially through platforms such as CSU's institutional repository, EngagedScholarship @ Clevelend State University. Community Users and Independent Researchers: A dedicated workstation will be available in the library, allowing researchers to use the Newspapers.com interface. Paid Subscriptions: If you already have a paid subscription to Newspapers.com, or an all-access membership to Ancestry.com, you have access now! Visit the Cleveland Press Archive OnlineWhy This MattersPreserving historical newspapers like the Cleveland Press is crucial for understanding the past and its relevance to the present, and allows future generations to grasp the complexities of history beyond the immediacy of social media. As they say, history is written by the winners. The editorial voice and viewpoint of the Press differed significantly from that of the Plain Dealer and other newspapers, and these insights and perspectives were in danger of being lost forever. “The staff here at CSU's Michael Schwartz Library has been eager to fully digitize the Cleveland Press for many years, and we're thrilled that digital access to the Press is finally a reality”, said Marsha Miles, Interim Director of the library. ”We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the "Friends of the Press," including former Press writers, editors, and photographers, whose unwavering advocacy has been instrumental in preserving this invaluable piece of Cleveland's history. Their insistence on bringing this project to fruition has ensured that this priceless archive is now available in perpetuity for research and exploration by the public." About CSU's Cleveland Press CollectionShortly after the Press ceased publication, a collection of over a million clippings and half a million photos from the Press's editorial library or “morgue” was donated to Cleveland State University's Michael Schwartz Library by the newspaper's owner, Joseph E. Cole, who was then a CSU Trustee. Since the inception of Cleveland Memory, we have dedicated ourselves to documenting and preserving the history of journalism in Cleveland, offering curated pathfinders celebrating and showcasing the photojournalists, journalists, columnists, editorial cartoonists, and independent, community and citizen journalists who have enriched Cleveland's vibrant tradition of news reporting. Together with over 22,000 historical photographs, our Cleveland Press Collection site offers a rich selection of evocative and enlightening autobiographical accounts of Press workers, many of them to be found nowhere else. For over 20 years, the images from the Cleveland Press Collection have served as the foundation and heart of Cleveland Memory. It is fitting that these images are now complemented by the words and ideas they were originally intended to illustrate. What's Next?When the 3-year embargo period ends in 2028, we can expect broader access to this invaluable resource, enriching historical research and community engagement. The digitization of the Cleveland Press is a testament to the importance of preserving our collective memory and making it accessible for generations to come. Visit the Cleveland Press Archive Online today!The Cleveland Memory Project, launched in 2002, is a freely searchable online collection of photographs, texts, oral histories, maps, drawings, postcards, videos and other local history resources, built by the Michael Schwartz Library at the Cleveland State University in collaboration with a host of community partners around Northeast Ohio. donate to Special Collections(select “Library Special Collections” under Fund Designation)https://www.clevelandmemory.org/ ...

Eliza Bryant and her "Village"

Join us for a compelling look at the legacy of Eliza Bryant, a pioneering figure who founded the longest-operating Black home for the aged in the United States. Dr. Kimberly Lenahan from Cuyahoga Community College will examine the Eliza Bryant Papers at CSU’s Michael Schwartz Library, demonstrating how these primary sources can enhance student research by revealing the social & cultural dynamics of another time. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with local history and discover its impact on present-day society!March 27th, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pmMichael Schwartz Library Special CollectionsCleveland State UniversityRhodes Tower, third floor2121 Euclid Avenue in downtown ClevelandFREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLICA Women's History Month EventSponsored by the Michael Schwartz Library and the Women's Archiveswith assistance from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture ...

Submit a proposal for a lightning talk at OpenCon 2025

Call for Lightning Talk Proposals: OpenCon 2025 OpenCon Ohio 2025, a free, virtual conference about open education and textbook affordability, will be held online the week of May 19-22, 2025. During the week, asynchronous conversations will be held online in Discord to discuss prerecorded lightning talks. On Thursday, May 22, 2025 we will have virtual presentations, interactive conversations, and a keynote presentation delivered by Apurva Ashok, The Rebus Foundation’s Executive Director!We are currently accepting proposals for 7-15 minute prerecorded lightning talks.Submission form: https://forms.office.com/r/L7ehVEK7GC All proposal submissions are due on March 18th, 2025, and decisions about accepted submissions will be communicated by March 31, 2025, if not earlier. Proposals will be evaluated according to the proposal rubric.Talks should preferably be related to the theme of Empowerment, Care, and Community in Open Education, though other topics are welcome. More information about the OpenCon Ohio 2025 event can be found at the conference website. Please feel free to direct any questions to OpenCon Ohio Planning Committee Co-Chairs, Mandi Goodsett at a.goodsett@csuohio.edu and/or Heather Caprette at h.caprette@csuohio.edu. ...