OEA announces new OEA Digital Library and publishing partnership with Springer

From April 2018 Australian Outdoor Educators will have digital access to a number of highly beneficial library resources as a result of a new partnership with Springer, one of the world’s largest academic publishing houses.

The new OEA Digital Library (accessible here via OEA’s website) will comprises 2 main sections:
1. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education — JOEE
2. Outdoor and Environmental Education Curriculum Resources

JOEE, the premier outdoor education publication read by Australian Outdoor Educators, was, until recently, published twice a year by Outdoor Council of Australia.

“In late 2017, JOEE returned to OEA. With this change – and the support of some generous academic partners – we have been able to provide greater value to the OEA community through the launch of the OEA Digital Library”, said Peter McKenna, Chairman of Outdoor Education Australia.

“In the past, Outdoor Educators from across Australia would receive a printed A4 version of JOEE, as part of their membership to their state or territory-based OEA affiliated organisation. This arrangement will continue with the change to an online version, however with additional benefits,” said Peter.

OEA Springer Partnership Benefits

The Online JOEE Subscription includes:
• 3 x JOEE digital magazines. JOEE is a truly international publication with 20 Academic Editors across Australia and the globe.
• Advanced access to individual papers – they will be uploaded once accepted for publication.
• Searchable database (coming soon) of all past JOEE magazines since 1995 – that’s over 20 years of articles and research findings.

“This new digital JOEE offering is one of the best things about joining a state or territory organisation that is part of the OEA community,” said Peter. “It means wherever they are they can access and read the latest issue or search back issues, including individual articles.”

Another dynamic new part of the digital library is that for each issue OEA will produce six highlight videos where contributing authors will introduce their ‘paper’. This will be posted to OEA’s YouTube Channel, OEA TV, and be featured on the OEA website and on our Facebook page.

How do people access the OEA Digital Library?
When outdoor education practitioners and under/post graduate students pay their annual state or territory membership fees they will be sent a confirmation email with their association’s password for that calendar year, along with the OEA password for that calendar year. They then hop onto the Login to Library page to complete a short log-in process.

The Outdoor and Environmental Education Curriculum Resources section of the Digital library
This section will include links to online curriculum documentation relevant for outdoor and environmental education in each state or territory across Australia. It will be the most current and most accessible source of curriculum information.