Open Educational Resources (OER): Find Open Textbooks

"Open textbooks are full, real textbooks, used by many faculty across the country, and licensed to be freely used, edited, and distributed." (Miami University OER) They can be found in a wide range of online sources.

Step 1: Search the OERCommons

Step 2: Explore the sites below

Some of these sites share their content on OER Commons so you may encounter duplicate resources.

George Mason University has developed a "Metafinder" that simultaneously searches common open repositories, including the Library of Congress, Merlot, Project Gutenberg, the OER Commons, & more! Go to their Metafinder, or use the search form below.

Provide your students an alternative to expensive textbooks by following these steps:

1. Search for the appropriate textbooks for your course using the OERCommons, the OER Discipline Lists, or the other resources listed in the box above. 
2. Review and evaluate the textbooks based on the content and whether it suits your teaching style and your students.  See the box that outlines evaluation criteria. You can also print and download the adoption worksheet below.
3. Decide if you want to use the textbook as is, edit, or modify the contents. One of the benefits of open textbooks is flexibility to customize them for specific course designs as much or as little as you desire. If you want to make edits or append content, make sure the licensing allows that. Different repositories will have different options for editing and publishing revised copies.
4. Show your students how to access the new text by providing a link in Blackboard (if using a textbook without changing it) or by adding a downloadable PDF to your course. Be sure to indicate if the original publisher offers low-cost print copies of the text. 

Source: Adopted with adaptations from Open Education Resources By Regina Gong; Licensed under CC BY 4.0

Adoption Worksheet

Problems viewing? Watch it on YouTube.

More info on open textbooks: