Day/Time/Room
June 18, 2026 |9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. | HUB 214
Title: From Growing Pains to Sustainability: Proven Strategies for Maturing Library & OER Publishing Programs
Presenters:
- Lauren Ray, they/them, Open Education Librarian at University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington
- Kate McNally Carter, Coordinator of Open Education Services, University of Houston Libraries
- Pamela Herrington-Moriarty, Alamo Colleges District
- Steel Wagstaff, Customer Experience Lead, Pressbooks
Description: As library-based publishing and OER programs mature, they encounter a predictable set of operational, technical, and strategic challenges that are often under-discussed until they arise. This panel brings together representatives from several institutions who have navigated common “growing pains” and developed sustainable strategies to strengthen their publishing programs over time. Panelists will share real-world approaches to issues such as supporting authors who start but do not complete projects; managing user accounts and contributor turnover; planning for new editions and post-grant sustainability; establishing or refining peer-review, copyediting, and accessibility workflows; and responsibly stewarding student-authored open pedagogy publications.
Panelists will also discuss challenges that emerge as publishing programs mature, including supporting faculty who have limited time or digital publishing experience; coordinating multi-step pre-publication editorial processes; maintaining consistent metadata and licensing practices; ensuring accessibility compliance at scale; supporting teaching & learning initiatives and improving student success; and marketing and promoting successful publications. Examples may include implementing structured author onboarding, developing editorial style guidelines, introducing checklists or QA workflows, integrating analytics to monitor impact, incorporating formative assessment opportunities directly into teaching and learning material, and achieving tighter integration between published content with an institution’s learning management system.
The session will be structured as a panel discussion with panelists discussing specific challenges, followed by concrete demonstrations of strategies, workflows, and tools they’ve adopted to address the challenge. Solutions will encompass a range of ongoing approaches, including the creation or adoption of policies, workflows, training and development opportunities, and software tools (including Pressbooks) that have enabled library publishers to better accomplish their key priorities. The session will include a moderated discussion and audience Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to reflect on lessons learned, share their own experiences, and explore how these strategies can be applied in their own institutions.