The event provided attendees with direct access to makerspace tools and materials. Throughout the session, participants engaged in several hands-on activities, including button making, sewing, T-shirt painting, and various craft projects. Staff and student organizers were on hand to assist with equipment and project development.

In addition to the workshop stations, the Cover Artists Club provided live entertainment, performing a 30-minute musical set during the event.

Upcoming Workshop: Build Your Own Home Server

The makerspace will host its next hands-on workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM in Ottenheimer Library 202B. Attendees will learn how to configure a Raspberry Pi into a personal media server. All hardware is provided, no technical experience is required, and refreshments will be served. Space is limited, and students can sign up in advance via the .

To explore equipment offerings, open hours, and additional resources, visit the Trojan Forge Makerspace web page.

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Whether you prefer to read during a free moment or listen on the go, the app makes it easy to take Chronicle access with you:

• Audio Articles & Podcasts: Listen to reporting and discussions during your commute or between meetings.
• On-the-Go Access: Save articles for later, receive breaking news alerts, and browse coverage anywhere.
• Seamless Login: Sign in using your existing institutional email account, or create a free account tied to our campus domain in just a few clicks.

Download the Chronicle app today on iOS or Android and stay connected to the stories shaping higher ed—wherever your workday takes you.

The post Stay Connected on the Go: Introducing the New Chronicle App appeared first on Ottenheimer Library.

When and why did you first begin using OER?

Well, I would dare say it was before I knew of the term OER.  In 1996 I was involved with a summer long ACEPT (Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in Preparation of Teachers) workshop at Arizona State University, and without knowing it, I started developing my own resources that today would be known as OERs. That is, I saw the web as an opportunity to grow and develop new resources that could be available to anyone with an internet connection. I just took a look at the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archives, and the oldest educational material of mine that I could find was my prep chem classes at Mesa and Scottsdale community colleges in 1998, which was only two years after the WayBack machine started crawling the web.  

What is the greatest impact you have seen?

Through the integration of hypothes.is annotations into LibreTexts I have been very successful in flipping my classes, and in many ways the lecture discussion actually becomes a continuation of the dialogue going on in the textbook annotation overlay.

If you could describe OER in one sentence, what would that be?

OER is an expansive concept, but it is important to keep in mind the principles behind the 5 Rs of OER; Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix and Redistribute.

What formats do you use in your teaching practice?

OK, I am not sure what you mean here.  I became involved with Carnegie Mellon’s ChemCollective Virtual Laboratory back in 2001 when it was the Irydium project and I still use that OER  in my lectures and pre/post lab activities. I have created cheminformatics and data chemistry Jupyter books in github pages that connect to a Jupyter Hub at the Purdue nanoHub, all of which are OER. I have also utilized GitHub Education through Notebook Intelligence to integrate AI into Jupyter notebooks that students in my advanced courses can use. I have created several hundred educational YouTubes, with the help of students workers we have created close to 1000 H5P interactive simulations that are integrated into LibreTexts questions, and set up 100s of LibreTexts ADAPT (Adaptive Learning Assessment System) questions that can be used and shared with faculty across multiple institutions.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start using OER?

Be sure to use resources that follow the 5Rs of OER; (Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix and Redistribute).  In doing so you have the chance to learn and grow in a creative manner that makes teaching so enjoyable.

Brief Bio: Dr. Robert E. Belford joined the UALR faculty in 2002 from the University of West Virginia where he was a visiting assistant professor of chemistry. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Arizona State University.  His research interests include: chemistry education and development of educational material and tools, cheminformatics, and Internet of Things.


Discover how OER can work in 
your classroom.

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When and why did you first begin using OER?

I started using OER in Fall 2025, when I changed my MSW-level course name and focus from Diversity and Oppression to Strengths-Focused Social Work Practice. I shifted the class emphasis to the strengths of the different groups social work students work with. I also needed to update the readings each semester. The existing textbooks didn’t have the content I wanted and I couldn’t update the readings for each unit each semester. Switching to OER was the best option for this class and for our students.

What is the greatest impact you have seen?

I have enjoyed including more diverse voices in the readings I assign. Students get to hear from multiple authors with different perspectives. I also appreciate the ability to change the readings for each unit each semester. The students have appreciated not having to pay for a textbook.

If you could describe OER in one sentence, what would that be?

OER are accessible and flexible resources for both students and instructors. 

What formats do you use in your teaching practice?

I teach one section in-person and one section online, so I use several different formats. Both sections use the same readings. In my asynchronous online class, I use a mix of PPTs, video lectures, movies and documentaries, and small group exercises. In my main campus section, the class also engages in a lot of discussion and role-plays and holds class .

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start using OER?

Plan to spend extra time preparing for your class the first time you teach it with OER. Moving to OER from a traditional textbook, especially if you use several different sources, can be time-consuming the first time you use it, particularly if the sources you use don’t include instructor resources such as PPTs and test banks.

Profile Bio

Dr. Catherine Crisp, PhD, MSW, is an Associate Professor of Social Work at UA Little Rock, where she teaches courses on the strengths perspective, groups, and families and works with students in community-based internships. She created the Gay Affirmative Practice (GAP) Scale, which has been used in more than 100 studies and translated into several languages. More recently, her research has focused on mental health and well-being among judges, lawyers, and law students.


Discover how OER can work in 
your classroom.

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Our Librarian Team empowers students, staff, and faculty across four core pillars: Identity, Academics, Community, and Employment. 

Key support services include: 

• ±õ²Ô²õ³Ù°ù³Ü³¦³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô.Ìý
• Classroom and 1-on-1 sessions covering research strategies, source evaluation, ethical AI usage, and citations.Ìý
• Course & Research Support: Custom LibGuides, Blackboard modules, and guidance on scholarly publishing and Open Access.

Coming soon: Asynchronous resources via the Ottenheimer Library Blackboard Organization!

Meet Your Liaisons: 

• Mitch Bennett (DCSTEM Liaison): B.A. UW, M.A. Univ. of ArizonaÌý
• Emily Bowie (CBHHS Liaison): B.A. Hendrix College, M.S. Simmons Univ.
• Amie Johnson (CHASSE Liaison): B.A. Austin College, M.S. Univ. of OklahomaÌý
• Abrielle Spaletta (Scholarly Communications Librarian): B.A. UC Davis, M.A. San Jose StateÌý

Please find their contact information below: 

• Mitch Bennett
  • Email: mbennett1@ualr.eduÌý
• Emily Bowie
  • Email: ebowie1@ualr.edu
• Amie Johnson
  • Email: ajohnson14@ualr.eduÌý
• Abby Spaletta
  • Email: aspaletta1@ualr.edu

The post New Librarians: Liaisons and Scholarly Communication appeared first on Ottenheimer Library.

Designed to break down departmental silos, Trojan Forge offers the campus community free access to specialized tools and equipment, ranging from 3D printers and vinyl cutters to podcasting setups, sewing machines, and electronics kits.

Fully Staffed and Ready to Serve

The space is now fully staffed and ready to assist visitors with their creative projects. Five former Student Library Vision Partners have transitioned into roles as official Makerspace staff members, joining student team members from both the Trojan Works and Federal Work Study programs.

Current Hours of Operation:

• Monday – Thursday: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 1:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Additionally, individuals, campus groups, and classes can request customized tours and instructional sessions tailored to their projects or course goals.  Simply complete this request form: Makerspace Tour, Instruction & Project Request

Strong Campus Engagement

Campus adoption has been strong right out of the gate. Since opening, the Forge has welcomed 63 total users across 50 unique project visits, with 3D printing proving to be the most popular activity so far.

Hands on Learning: Meet & Make Series

Following the grand opening, the space hosted its first hands-on workshop, Meet & Make: 3D Printing 101, on Thursday, September 24. Led by Vision Partner Facilitator Brandon Sollars and the Student Library Vision Partners, 18 participants received a practical introduction to digital design and saw live 3D printing in action.

The team plans to host the next Meet & Make workshopThursday, October 22nd, from 6 to 7:30 pm. It will be a Costumes and Crafts night, where participants are invited to create costumes and Halloween-themed decorations using Forge materials. 

Keep an eye on upcoming library communications for future event dates and topics, or stop by the back of the Learning Commons to explore the space and schedule a tour!  Find details about the next Meet and Make and the Makerspace in general here: Trojan Forge Makerspace

The post Trojan Forge Celebrates Grand Opening, Launches Workshops, and Expands Hours appeared first on Ottenheimer Library.

Ottenheimer Library is excited to introduce , UA Little Rock’s new institutional repository and a new home for the university’s scholarly work. ScholarHub makes it easier for the university community to share, discover, preserve, and access scholarship.

For faculty, ScholarHub provides an opportunity to share research through open access, increasing its visibility and extending its reach to a broader audience. For students, it offers a place to preserve and share dissertations and theses, giving their scholarly work a lasting presence and making it accessible to others.

By bringing the university’s scholarship together in one place, ScholarHub supports UA Little Rock’s commitment to open and shared scholarship and helps connect the work created by our faculty and students with audiences both on campus and beyond.

Supporting ScholarHub

Abrielle (Abby) Spaletta, Scholarly Communications Librarian, is serving as the Faculty Pilot for ScholarHub. Abby holds a B.A. from UC Davis and an M.A. from San Jose State University. She will also serve as the contact for Open Access support for FY26.

Christopher Stewart, Discovery and Metadata Coordinator, is the technical facilitator for the repository. 

Richard Culberson, Institutional Repository Specialist, is assisting with the project and supporting the development of the repository.

Celebrate the Launch!

All are welcome to celebrate the launch of UA Little Rock’s new institutional repository!

Introducing ScholarHub: Open Access and the Pursuit of Shared Scholarship
Tuesday, October 13 | 12:30–1:30 p.m. | Dickenson 110

Join Ottenheimer Library to learn how ScholarHub supports open access, expands the reach of scholarship, and provides a place to share and discover university research.

Lunch and cake will be provided. .

The post ScholarHub Institutional Repository appeared first on Ottenheimer Library.

• When and why did you first begin using OER? I started using OER as a grad student. I recognized how financial burdens often limited a student’s ability to access certain courses that became prohibitively expensive through textbooks, materials, technology, and other things that seemed more like rent-seeking by textbook cartels. I wanted my students to focus on learning, not money.
• What is the greatest impact you have seen? Students tend to be surprised by what they can access for free using available resources online. Once they figure out how to break past the barrier of where to look for quality educational resources in language learning, students seem to feel like their learning is theirs. They don’t feel like their education comes with a license agreement anymore, and that alone makes a huge difference in their language learning.
• If you could describe OER in one sentence, what would that be? OER is the fulfillment of what education technology once promised–and what it could still become!
• What formats do you use in your teaching practice? Currently, we use an OER textbook designed at UT-Austin to help teach Spanish to Heritage Speakers. In the near future, we will be using a textbook designed by our own Spanish program faculty to teach our Elementary Spanish I and II courses to offset burdensome textbook costs for students.
• What advice would you give to someone wanting to start using OER? There are so many Open Educational Resources out there. Don’t feel like you have to be married to any one particular textbook, module, or application to make OER work for your courses. Experiment and assess. It is part of the fun of teaching to try new stuff once in a while, and OER can offer to help you with that.

Brief Bio: Dr. Wilkins is the Spanish Program Coordinator in the School of Human Inquiry at UA Little Rock. He is working to help make language learning not only more accessible, but also a meaningful university experience for all students. He and his colleague, Dr. Elizabeth Sotelo, are also working to develop experiential and service learning opportunities for UA Little Rocks students with structured internships, studies abroad, clubs, and special events. His areas of study include religious studies, US Latino studies, Mexican Studies, and Critical Theory. He also enjoys working in the local theatre scene as an actor. He resides in Little Rock with his wife, Aylea.

OPEN ACCESS WEEK is October 19-25. Discover how OER can work in your classroom.

The post Ottenheimer Library Celebrates UA Little Rock OER Champions: Dr. Rex Wilkins appeared first on Ottenheimer Library.

Maximize Your Research Impact—At No Cost

When serving as the corresponding author, campus scholars can now publish open access in eligible Oxford journals for free—with all standard article processing fees completely waived. Your peer-reviewed work becomes immediately accessible to readers worldwide without straining departmental travel or research funds.

Visit the Ottenheimer Library Read and Publish Agreements page for details on eligible titles, author workflows, and submission guidance.

Over 500 Premier Journals Across Disciplines

Oxford University Press publishes over 500 academic journals, providing prominent outlets for manuscripts in your field. You can explore the complete catalog at across key disciplines:

• Arts & Humanities
• Dictionaries & Reference
• Law
• Medicine & Health
• Science & Mathematics
• Social Sciences

When submitting your next manuscript, simply use your institutional email address during the submission process to ensure your automatic eligibility for free open access publishing!

The post Expanding the global reach of your scholarship just got easier. appeared first on Ottenheimer Library.

The Trojan Forge is UA Little Rock’s new discipline neutral makerspace – a collaborative, hands-on hub where students, faculty, and staff from any background can access equipment, test ideas, and bring creative projects to life. Designed to foster cross pollination between art, science, technology, and the humanities, the space offers free access to tools, specialized software, breadboard kits, podcasting setups, art supplies, and checkout materials.

To explore the complete equipment inventory – including 3D printers, vinyl cutters, sewing machines, and embroidery setups – visit the official Trojan Forge Web Page.

Grand Opening Details

• Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
• Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
• Location: First Floor of Ottenheimer Library (located at the back of the Learning Commons)

Join us for the official ribbon cutting ceremony, opening remarks, and light refreshments. Special thanks to Chancellor Drale, Provost Bain, Vision Partner Facilitator Brandon Sollars, the library’s Trojan Forge Task Force, IT Services and Facilities Management for bringing this student-led dream to life.

Built by Students, for Students and the UA Little Rock Campus Community

The idea for Trojan Forge began in 2023 with the Library Vision Partners, a group of dedicated student leaders who envisioned a vibrant, hands-on hub where students from all majors could connect, collaborate, and bring creative ideas to life. In that first year, these student leaders toured regional makerspaces to gather inspiration and see how other campuses built their creative spaces.

Building on that foundation, the Fall 2025 Vision Partner cohort – Will Fausel, Ella Campbell, Grayson Jackson, Khari Wiley, Marchello Burks, Tamara Scott, and Val Bell Ovwiomoriemu – researched equipment options, selected gear, and actively advocated for a permanent home for the space on campus. Their efforts culminated in a prototype event that drew overwhelming support, with 98 percent of participants endorsing the initiative alongside more than 200 campus signatures, paving the way for today’s opening.

Centennial Legacy: History of Growth at Ottenheimer Library

The launch of Trojan Forge marks a milestone in UA Little Rock’s 100 year history of student centered adaptation. Dating back to its origin as Little Rock Junior College in 1927 – housed inside Little Rock High School (now Central High) – the campus library has continuously evolved alongside its community:

• 1927: Founded inside Little Rock High School as Little Rock Junior College.
• Mid Century: Relocated to the university’s current campus inside Larson Library, named after Junior College founder John A. Larson.
• 1976: Opened the doors of Ottenheimer Library to accommodate the expanding campus community.
• 2000s–Present: Transformed traditional spaces by establishing an active learning classroom (2019), and launching the Learning Commons (2022) to centralize tutoring centers.

As UA Little Rock celebrates its centennial, Trojan Forge carries this legacy forward – expanding the library’s mission beyond study and academic support into hands-on innovation for the next century.

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