Library and Academic Success: Open Educational Resources for Faculty: OER Textbooks

OER Librarian

What are they?

Open textbooks are textbooks licensed under an open copyright license and made available online to be freely used by students and instructors. They are available as online versions and in a variety of file formats (e.g., for eReaders, editable files like XML and HTML) and as low-cost printed versions. Open textbooks are a way to reduce student textbook costs and improve equal access to information while giving instructors the flexibility to create, reformat and customize their own course material. They are an affordable and alternative model to traditional textbooks. Some open textbooks even contain supplemental materials such as test banks, quizzes, PowerPoint slides and videos.

From: BCcampus. (2020). Open textbooks. Retrieved from https://open.bccampus.ca/open-textbook-101/

Copyright at Georgian Research Guide
The Copyright at Georgian research guide is an excellent source of information on copyright aspects and their implications on open educational resources. The guide provides guidance on copyright basics for faculty and students, tips for online delivery of content, information on fair dealing, eReserves and Creative Commons' licenses.
Open Educational Resources (OER) Research Guide
The Open Educational Resources research guide, which resides on our library's homepage, defines OER, provides key OER repositories and offers a listing of relevant, authoritative potential textbooks for instructors to review in the areas of mathematics, health, engineering, skilled trades, business, communications and more. Faculty and students are free to review all of the resources in this guide and make recommendations.

Find Open Textbooks in Repositories

Open Access Content/Open Educational Resources in Academic Libraries Survey Report

SirsiDynix. (2020). Open Access Content/Open Educational Resources in Academic Libraries Survey Report. Library Journal. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ImageCloud/Research/Academic%20OA%20OER%20Survey%20Report%20FINAL.pdf

These OER repositories, while not an exhaustive listing, represent core repositories which are recommended to locate reliable, relevant and authoritative textbooks. It may be helpful to consult with a library staff for assistance in searching for and locating open textbooks.

BCcampus Open Textbooks
Curated collection of open textbooks in subjects including Arts, Business, Health, Recreation/Tourism, Sciences, and Social Sciences.
eCampusOntario Open Library
200+ textbooks in subjects including arts, business, health, recreation, sciences and social sciences.
OpenStax College
20 peer-reviewed texts in science, math, social sciences written by content experts. Supported by additional learning resources.
Open Suny Textbooks
Free textbooks in a variety of disciplines including Art, Science, Humanities, and Physical Education.
Open Textbook Library
Free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks covering many subjects including Science, Math, Business, Social Sciences and Education. From Centre for Open Education, University of Minnesota.