Using open educational resources to promote social justice

Abstract

cern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis” (p. vii). Without question, many academic librarians share a set of concerns, problems, and passions that may serve as the basis for a productive and professionally supportive Community of Practice (CoP), and in this brief, nine-chapter book, Reale takes the reader through the strategies necessary to create a successful CoP. Reale uses her own efforts to establish a CoP at her library as a framing device and describes her initial failure to get a CoP off the ground. In fact, throughout the book, Reale does not shy away from sharing her own struggles both in establishing the CoP and those false starts or misunderstandings that occurred once one was in operation. Reale’s tone is conversational, and at times it feels as though she’s confiding as a good friend might. However, she also offers a great deal of theoretical background to the principles and structures supporting CoPs, which will supply readers with a deeper understanding of the intentional work that will be required to implement a CoP. Each chapter provides ample references to scholarship on such related topics as learning styles, sense of belonging, community building, collaborative conversations, storytelling, and transformative learning. Additionally, each chapter includes a summary section and a “Points to Ponder.” The latter gives the reader not just things to think about but also things to discuss or do during CoP meetings. In Chapter 8, Reale unpacks “appreciative inquiry,” explaining its applications for librarians and highlighting the “5-D Cycle,” which has such clear application for CoPs. While some of this chapter repeats earlier content, this and the final chapter will be ones that members of a CoP will want to return to again and again. In Chapter 9, Reale, whose 2017 monograph was titled Becoming a Reflective Librarian and Teacher: Strategies for Mindful Academic Practice, makes a strong case for why mindfulness techniques for individual practice are foundational for the implementation of a CoP. By the end of this book, the reader will understand that each individual and the CoP will benefit most when the community comprises individuals who bring their best selves to the community. This book concludes with Reale saying she hoped that her guide to CoPs was less of a manual and more of a “hopeful and generative guide to being in a problem-solving community” (p. 96). Reale has written a work that actually succeeds admirably at being both a practical manual and a positive inspiration to librarians.