UTA Libraries Announces Open Publication of The Little Orange Book

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries is happy to announce the open access publication of The Little Orange Book: Short Lessons in Excellent Teaching by The University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

The Little Orange Book contains reflections, tips, and commentaries on teaching and learning from the members of the University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers. It was previously only available in a restricted format; its publication through Mavs Open Press makes it available as a free, online PressBook, opening access to the content to anyone in the world.

“We are ecstatic to publish this important work with Mavs Open Press,” said Michelle Reed, Director of Open Educational Resources for UTA Libraries. “Making works that were previously inaccessible available for free, through open platforms, is a core tenet of UTA Libraries. We are proud to support the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers and our other partners who share these values of access and open education.”

Dr. Catherine Ross, associate professor of English at UT Tyler and President of the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, says the decision to publish with Mavs Open Press was a no-brainer.

“We are very concerned about students’ expenses in particular and about the affordability of college, in general,” Ross said. “We want students and faculty to be able to access texts as easily as possible. Mavs Open Press was an ideal choice for these reasons, and they were the first to help.”

Dr. Art Brownlow, professor of music at UT Rio Grande Valley and Fellow for the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, says the group has already received praise for the PressBook’s design and plans to publish future books with Mavs Open Press.

“The final book is nicely formatted and looks wonderful,” Brownlow said. “In about a year, we will begin work to adapt our second book into a PressBook, and the third Little Orange Book is just now in the concept stage, so down the road we will no doubt be looking to digitize this book as well.”

Readers can check out The Little Orange Book now on its PressBooks page.