Brenda Smith, MA, MLIS (she/her)
Librarian
Librarian (Full)
Schedule Appointment
Liaison areas
Archaeology
Education
(interim for 2026-2027 academic year)
Environment, Culture & Society
(Geography and Environmental Studies,
Anthropology, and Sociology)
Master of Arts in Human Rights and Social Justice
Open Education (including
Open Educational Resources (OERs),
Open Textbooks, and Open Pedagogy)
TRU Open Learning
Philosophy,
History, and
Political Studies (PHP)
Research Guides
for my liaison areas
Areas of responsibility
Contact for
Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Open Textbooks
Coordination of
Distance, Regional, and TRU Open Learning Library Services
Coordination of
Interlibrary Loans and Resource Sharing
Selected presentations, publications, and achievements
Selected presentations and publications
Smith, B., Roberts, V., Blackstock, L., and Brewer, S.
(June 2026).
Stop Leaving Students to Guess: Reimagining OER Through the PASS
Framework CRICKET Hackathon: Co-creating an OER for Educational
Developers and Instructional Designers.
Presentation at OER26 Conference. Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Roberts, V., Blackstock, L., Brewer, S., &
Smith, B. (2025).
Introducing the PASS Framework and its implementation in first-year
general chemistry higher education
.
International Journal on Innovations in Online Education, 9(1):
15-44. doi: 10.1615/IntJInnovOnlineEdu.2025057814
Harrison, M., Clarke Gray, B., and Smith, B. (2024).
Asking for It: The Importance of Advocacy in Establishing Open in
Tenure and Promotion Processes
.
In A. McKinney (Ed.),
Valuing OER in the Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Process.
DOERS3. CC BY 4.0.
Noakes, J., and Smith, B. (March 2024).
Introducing From University to Career: Creating a Successful
Transition - An Open Career Textbook with Interactive Tools, Learning
Activities, and Resources to Empower Your Students and Teams.
Online workshop for Canadian Association of Career Educators and
Employers (CACEE).
Baker, D., and Smith, B. (April 2023).
An International Partnership to Achieve Global Justice through
Open Pedagogy.
Online presentation for Kean University [New Jersey] Open Educational
Resources Conference.
Smith, B., Kuzima, E., and Grey, A. (March 2023).
Finding the Free Path: Making Zero-Textbook-Cost Courses Visible.
Online presentation for BCOEL (BC Open Education Librarians) and
BCcampus for Open Education Week 2023.
Smith, B., Harrison, M., and Roberts, V. (October 2022).
Sharing the Many Ways to Design for TRU Open Learning Through ZTC
Pathway Courses.
Online presentation at OpenEd 2022 Open Education Conference.
Noakes, J., and Smith, B. (June 2022).
From University to Career: Textbook Launch.
Online presentation at Cooperative Education and Work Integrated
Learning Canada (CEWIL Canada) conference.
Ives, C., Bartlett, M., Dishke Hondzel, C., and
Smith, B. (June 2022).
CRICKET Hackathon: Co-creating an OER for Educational Developers
and Instructional Designers.
Pre-conference workshop at Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher
Education (STLHE). Ottawa, ON.
Smith, B., Bartlett, M., and Ives, C. (May 2022).
CRICKET: An OER for Educational Developers and Instructional
Designers.
Online presentation for Open Technology in Education, Society, and
Scholarship Association (OTESSA) in conjunction with Congress 2022
(Federation of Social Sciences and Humanities).
Smith, B., Lamb, B., Ives, C., Dishke Hondzel, C.,
and Bartlett, M. (March 2022).
CRICKET: An OER for Educational Developers and Instructional
Designers.
Presentation at BCNet Connect Higher Ed & Research Tech Summit.
Vancouver, BC.
Loepelmann, K., Jessel, C., Nizami, U., Roberts, V.,
Smith, B., Macnaughton, S., Ratcliffe, C., and
Ludbrook, A. (March 2022).
Zero Textbook Cost Panel.
Online panel presentation at University of Alberta Open Education
Symposium.
Smith, B., Monroe, K., Miller, C., and
Dishke Hondzel, C. (October 2021).
Embracing Open for All: Initiatives in Support of
Kw’seltktnéws,
Online presentation at OpenEd 2021: Open Education Conference.
Lambert, K., Meyers, M., Smith, B., and Daddey, F.
(April 2021).
So You Want to Build a Zero Textbook Program.
Online presentation at Cascadia Open Education Summit.
Miller, C., Dishke Hondzel, C., Gaynor, K., and
Smith, B. (April 2021).
From Seeds to Harvest: Local Care Leads to Global Impact,
Online presentation at Cascadia Open Education Summit.
Blicher, H., Smith, B., and Miller, H. (October 2019).
Not Without My Librarian: Developing OER Advocacy and Community.
Panel presentation at OpenEd 2019: Open Education Conference.
Phoenix, AZ.
Belshaw, J.D., Martin, E., Block, T.M., Ishiguro, L., and
Smith, B. (May 2019).
The BC History Open Textbook Sprint.
Panel presentation at BC Studies Conference. Kamloops, BC.
Noakes, J., Smith, B., Monroe, K., and Harrison, M.
(February 2019).
How to Herd Cats to Write an Open Textbook.
Conference presentation at the TRU Teaching Practices Colloquium.
Kamloops, BC.
Cullen, M.A., Blicher, H., Thomes, C., Smith, B.,
and Woodward, K. (April 2018).
Open Educational Resources and Textbook Alternatives: State of the
Art and Lessons Learned.
Panel conference presentation at the Distance Library Services
Conference. San Antonio, TX.
Flewelling, D., Smith, B., and Brander, L.
(March 2017).
British Columbia Open Education Librarians.
Webinar presentation for the Ontario OER Librarian Day.
Flewelling, D., Smith, B., and Brander, L.
(March 2017).
Librarians and Open Education.
Presentation at the BC Library Association's Academic Librarians
Section's The Future Is Open: Libraries and Open Education event.
Vancouver, BC.
Smith, B. and Lee, L. (2017).
Librarians and OER: Cultivating a community of practice to be more
effective advocates.
Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning,
11(1-2): 106-122.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1533290X.2016.1226592
Smith, B., McGivern, R., and Monroe, K.
(February 2017).
Finding, Developing, and Using Open Education Resources.
Conference presentation at the TRU Teaching Practices Colloquium.
Kamloops, BC.
Daniels, C., Fields, E., and Smith, B. (June 2016).
Help - I Want to Be Open!.
Conference presentation at the Festival of Learning. Burnaby, BC.
Brander, L., Beyenir, S., Power, H., Williams, L.,
Smith, B., Madland, C., Flewelling, D., and Kirkey, J.
(June 2016).
Open Education Working Groups on Campus: Getting Traction.
Panel conference presentation at the Festival of Learning. Burnaby, BC.
Smith, B., Fields, E., and Daniels, C. (May 2016).
Help - I Want to Be Open!.
Conference presentation at the BC Library Conference. Richmond, BC.
Smith, B. (April 2016).
Distance Librarians and OERs: Cultivating a Community of Practice
to Be More Effective Advocates.
Conference presentation at the Distance Learning Conference.
Pittsburgh, PA.
Miller, R., Smith, B., and Woodward, K. M.
(April 2016).
Leaning Into ... Open Educational Resources (OERs).
Panel conference presentation at the Distance Learning Conference.
Pittsburgh, PA. (invited presentation)
Ross, H., Epp, J., Smith, B., and Fields, E.
(March 2016).
The Role of Support Units in the Use and Creation of Open
Textbooks.
BCcampus webinar presentation for Open Education Week.
Smith, B., and Jhangiani, R. (February 2016).
Improving Access, Pedagogy, and Outcomes with OER.
Conference presentation at the TRU Teaching Practices Colloquium.
Kamloops, BC.
Lussier, K., Smith, B., and Read, S. (February 2016).
Mentoring the Department Chair.
Conference presentation at the TRU Teaching Practices Colloquium.
Kamloops, BC.
Lussier, K., Smith, B., and Read, S. (February 2016).
Mentoring the Department Chair: Creating a Community of Support.
Conference presentation at the Academic Chairpersons Conference.
Charleston, SC.
Jhangiani, R., Morong, G., Smyrl, S., Smith, B.,
and DeVries, I. (November 2015).
Open Textbooks and Open Educational Resources.
Conference presentation at Opening Up TRU. Kamloops, BC.
Daniels, C., Smith, B., and Jhangiani, R. (May 2015).
Academic Librarians and OER: Access, Advocacy, and Activism.
Conference presentation at the BC Library Conference. Richmond, BC.
Lalonde, C., Belshaw, J., Jhangiani, R, and
Smith, B. (May 2015).
Building an OPEN Community.
Plenary session panel discussion at TRU Open Learning Faculty Member
Workshop. Kamloops, BC.
Haggarty, P. and Smith, B. (October 2014).
Evaluating Open Access Journals.
Presentation for TRU Library's Open Access Week activities.
Kamloops, BC.
Smith, B. and Drolet, J. (May 2014).
Immigration and the role of employers: A knowledge synthesis
project.
Conference Presentation at the National Joint Social Work Conference
(Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) and the Canadian
Association for Social Work Education (CASWE-ACFTS)) in conjunction
with the Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Brock University, St. Catherines, ON.
Nilsen, C., and Smith, B. (May 2014).
Online Mapping.
Preconference workshop presented at the Canadian Network for
Innovation in Education (CNIE) Conference. Kamloops, BC.
Drolet, J., Sampson, T., Burstein, M., Smith, B.,
Gredling, A., and Pasca, R. (2014).
The role of employers in bridging newcomers’ absorption
and integration in the Canadian labour market: A knowledge synthesis
project.
Prepared for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
(SSHRC). Retrieved from Pathways to Prosperity: Canada website:
Knowledge Synthesis Report
[Annotator].
Library Services for Distance Learning: Sixth Bibliography.
(2013). Association of College and Research Libraries Distance
Learning Section. Retrieved from:
http://dlssixthbib.wordpress.com/
Selected achievements
- Promoted to Librarian, 2023
-
Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL)
Outstanding Contribution Award, 2022
- BCcampus Award for Excellence in Open Education, January 2020
- TRU Distinguished Service Award (Faculty), 2019
-
TRU Students Union Award of Excellence - Student Advocacy Award, 2018
- Promoted to Librarian II/Associate Librarian, 2017
- TRU Open Learning Champion Award, 2016
-
Collaborator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
(SSHRC) Grant. Knowledge Synthesis Grant on Skills Development for
Future Needs of the Canadian Labour Market: Immigration, 2013.
-
Principal Investigator: Julie Drolet, Associate Professor,
Social Work, University of Calgary (Edmonton, AB);
Adjunct Professor, Thompson Rivers University.
-
Implemented Summon, Serials Solutions' discovery layer system, 2012
- Implemented RelaisILL, interlibrary loan management system, 2010
- Achieved tenure, 2009
-
Integrated the former BC Open University's and the University
College of the Cariboo's distance library services to create
TRU's Distance, Regional, and TRU Open Learning Library Services,
2006-2007
-
Implemented OpenILL, an open source interlibrary loan management
system, 2004
Selected committees
-
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Distance and
Online Learning Section (DOLS) Membership Events, and Fundraising
Committee, Member, 2023-2024
-
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Distance and
Online Learning Section (DOLS) Discussion Group Committee,
Member, 2022-2024
-
UN SDG (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) Open Pedagogy
Faculty Fellowship Program, Leadership Team, Member, 2021-
- Open Education Talks, Organizing Committee, Member, 2021-
-
Open Education Conference, Program Planning Committee, Member, 2022
-
Open Education Conference, Program Planning Team, Member,
2020 and 2021
-
BC Open Education Librarians (BCOEL), Chair, 2018-2019; Member, 2015-
-
Thompson Rivers University, Open Education Working Group,
Chair, 2018-2021; Member, 2021-
-
Thompson Rivers University, OER Development Grant Steering
Committee, 2017-2022
-
Thompson Rivers University, University Promotion & Tenure
Committee, Member, 2018-2022; 2023-2024
-
Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries,
Resource Sharing Community, Inaugural Co-Chair, 2020-2021
-
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Distance
Learning Section (DLS) Communications Committee, 2014-2018
