Tracy Stout is the Head of Research and Instructional Services at Missouri State University Libraries. She earned a Master in Industrial Organizational Psychology degree in 2006 from Missouri State University and a Master in Information Resources and Library Science degree in 2007 from the University of Arizona. In her current position, Tracy oversees a team of faculty librarians responsible for library liaison, information literacy instruction (including online), and research/reference services. She currently serves as the library liaison for Animal Science, Marketing, Childhood Education and Family Studies, and Psychology.
Tracy’s capstone project focused on conducting an environmental scan and needs assessment as it relates to OER on the Missouri State University campus. This project will include collecting data and various information in order to determine the campus climate towards OER, which faculty are currently utilizing OER in their courses, and what faculty (and the campus in general) need in order to better understand OER and/or use OER in courses. The main overarching goal was to develop and support an OER community of practice on the MSU campus and to create an OER subject guide that could be easily updated, include presentations, and be placed on the Associate Provost’s Textbook Affordability and Accessibility website. A follow-up survey is currently in the works to see how COVID-19 may change faculty thoughts and perceptions about moving course content (including textbooks) to an online learning environment. The survey will be added to the OER subject guide once finalized.
