OER Resources

An online resource to help faculty navigate the world of OER

Online Textbook Publishing

Learn about open textbooks and adoption strategies from three of the leading publishers of online textbooks:

Open Textbook Collections

The Open Textbook movement comprises organizations who create textbooks for student and faculty use at little or no cost for educational use. In most cases, these textbooks have been reviewed by peers and scholars in the field so as not to compromise quality.

No collection is complete. It is highly recommended to visit many different sites to see the variety of content and books out there.

Openstax
Based out of Rice University, OpenStax produces high quality college textbooks in a variety of disciplines. At last count, they had produced 25 different subject specialized textbooks. More than just textbooks, OPenStax includes additional learning materials such as quizzes and assements at no charge.
Open Textbook Library
Sponsored through the University of Minnesota, the Open Textbook Library provides a catalog of open textbooks that can be downloaded at no cost (or printed at a small cost). All books have been reviewed by various college faculty and are "currently in use by multiple higher education institutions; or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization."
California Open Online Library for Education
Maintained by the California Community Colleges, CSU, and UC systems - this site hosts textbooks in the 52 most popular general education courses taught in California. Each open textbook has been peer reviewed by discipline experts. using a standardized evaluation rubric.
LibreTexts
LibreTexts is a free online textbook collaboration, creation, and collection site. It can include syllabi, lessons, and content. Sponsored by the California State Universities Affordable Textbook Initiative.
Saylor Academy
An online selection of over 100 fre online textbooks provided by this online university. Many of these books are high quality and produced by experts in their field.
MERLOT
MERLOT is "a curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services contributed and used by an international education community." MERLOT includes open textbooks as well as thousands of other OER materials. Sponsored by the California State University System.
College Open Textbooks
The mission of this consortium of OER adopters is simple: "To drive awareness, adoption, and affordability of college textbooks." This site allows you to search across multiple platforms to find appropriate textbooks for your courses.
BC Campus OpenEd
In an effort to make Higher Education more affordable, the British Columbia Minister of Advanced Education commissioned "A collection of open textbooks aligned with the top 40 highest-enrolled subject areas in the province." Subjects include Physical and social sciences as well as some humanities.
Textbook Revolution
"Textbook Revolution is a student-run site dedicated to increasing the use of free educational materials by teachers and professors." The site includes "links and reviews of textbooks and select educational resources" by student.
Open SUNY Textbooks
Open SUNY Textbooks is an open access textbook publishing initiative established by the State University of New York libraries to help publish high quality, low cost materials for students. The collection contains about 40 textbooks in a variety of subjects.