This small collection of OER textbooks were developed by faculty at Bay College. The topics include career exploration and U.S. History.
This collection of open textbooks focus on computer science topics.
The NOBA project features textbooks, modules, and test bank questions for general psychology textbooks.
This open textbook was developed by faculty at West Chester University.
Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are in the public domain or released with an open license, allowing free access, use, adaptation, and redistribution by others. They can include textbooks, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio, video, and any other materials used to support learning.
Here's how OER and textbook affordability connect, and what they mean for a library's open access repository:
Textbook Affordability: One of the main motivations behind OER is the rising cost of textbooks. Many students struggle with the expense of purchasing required texts for their courses. OER provides high-quality alternatives at little to no cost, making education more affordable and accessible.
Customization: Traditional textbooks offer a one-size-fits-all approach, but educators using OER can tailor materials to better fit their instructional needs. This flexibility enhances the learning experience and ensures content relevancy.
Collaboration and Innovation: OER allows for collaborative efforts in content creation, where educators from around the world can contribute, refine, and update materials. This collective approach ensures that resources are continuously improved and stay current.
Library's Open Access Repository Role:
Supporting Academic Freedom: OER allows educators to choose resources they deem best for their students rather than being constrained by traditional textbook choices, which might be driven by budgetary concerns rather than educational value.
Promotion of Lifelong Learning: With OER freely available, learning is not confined to traditional educational settings. Anyone, anywhere, can access and benefit from these resources, supporting a global culture of lifelong learning.
In essence, OER and textbook affordability initiatives aim to democratize access to knowledge, reduce educational costs, and promote innovative teaching practices. Libraries, with their open access repositories, play a pivotal role in achieving these goals by providing the infrastructure, expertise, and advocacy needed to support the OER movement.
The LibreText Project is a non-commercial open textbook organization encompassing twelve widely used college-level disciplines from chemistry to humanities.
Portal to hundreds of open access college textbooks across the curriculum.
Collection of open books and textbooks from a variety of sources.
Open textbooks are real, complete textbooks licensed so teachers and students can freely use, adapt, and distribute the material. Open textbooks can be downloaded for no cost, or printed inexpensively.
OpenStax College is a nonprofit organization committed to improving student access to quality learning materials, affiliated with OpenStax CNX. Our free textbooks are developed and peer-reviewed by educators to ensure they are readable, accurate, and meet the scope and sequence requirements of your course.
Contains nearly 3,000 open content textbooks across a variety of subjects
The University of British Columbia created the BC Open Textbook Project which features 152 open textbooks in various subjects. A number of textbooks feature faculty review and supplemental resources.
Lumen Learning is an organization working towards expanding OER resources and reducing college costs for students. They have a variety of texts and other resources available.
This project is based at SUNY and it includes books on various topics from English composition to nursing. Additional features, like integration within Blackboard are available to faculty for a small fee.
G.R. Little Library
Elizabeth City State University