Project Evolution: A Complete Redesign and Hub for Open Science

We are excited to unveil a major redesign and technical overhaul of the Open Science for Librarians website.

This project has evolved significantly since its inception as an IMLS grant announcement. Today, it stands as a comprehensive Educational Hub designed to meet librarians and information professionals at every stage of their Open Science journey—from conceptual foundations to technical mastery and classroom instruction.

Technical Modernization

We have migrated the entire platform from Jekyll to Astro. This shift provides:

• Blistering Performance: Zero-JavaScript by default for faster load times.
• Strict Accessibility: Every component has been audited to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards, ensuring our curriculum is inclusive for all.
• Academic Citability: We’ve integrated a dedicated Citation Tool powered by CITATION.cff, making it easier than ever for researchers to credit our contributors.

User-Centered Discovery

The new design moves away from simple lists and focuses on scaffolded learning:

• Curated Pathways: Our new homepage features journey-based pathways—“Start with Basics,” “Browse Curriculum,” and “Find Tools”—to guide users based on their immediate needs.
• Unified Resource Grid: We’ve integrated prestigious external references like the ACRL Open Science Cookbook, NASA TOPS, and UNESCO Recommendations alongside our own IMLS-funded lessons.
• Real-Time Filtering: A powerful new search and thematic filtering system allows you to find resources by topic (e.g., Data Management, Reproducibility, Technical Skills) instantly.

Evidence of Impact

We are committed to transparency and community growth. Each lesson page now features:

• Detailed Spec Sheets: At-a-glance info on lesson duration, difficulty level, and licensing (CC-BY 4.0).
• Workshop History: A living record of where these lessons have been piloted, including major milestones like presentations at IASSIST and articles accepted in JeSLIB.
• Governance Transparency: Clear badges for lessons formally adopted by Library Carpentry and notes on their status within the peer-review lifecycle.

Help Us Grow

The core of this project is the community. We’ve introduced a streamlined Pilot Interest workflow. If you are interested in teaching a lesson at your institution, you can now “Express Interest” directly from any lesson page via a structured GitHub form.

Explore the new hub and join us in building a more open and reproducible future for librarianship.