Many factors go into selecting a textbook for your course, but an increasingly important factor to consider is student access.
The textbook publishing market is changing. UC Library is finding that some publishers are offering increasingly restrictive and expensive licenses for e-textbook that limit the number of users and/or chapter downloads. Some publishers will not sell e-textbooks to the library. Others publishers will not sell e-textbooks individually, thereby putting pressure on library budgets by requiring institutions to pay for textbook access for all students.
Selecting an OER textbook for your course will ensure all students will be able to access the textbook. OERs (open educational resources) are freely available, openly licensed educational materials that can be linked in LEARN and added to the library catalogue. There are many repositories online for finding OERs: this page identifies useful repositories for each college, showcasing several textbooks as example of open textbooks.
If you have any questions, or would like assistance in identifying an appropriate open textbook for your course, please contact your Subject Librarian.
A collection of peer-reviewed textbooks affiliated with universities, scholarly societies or professional organisations.
An open textbook publishing initiative established by State University of New York libraries and supported by SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grants and SUNY Geneseo.
Promotes and supports the transition to open access for academic books – works with publishers to build a quality-controlled collection of open access books.
A tool for finding OER (i.e. free) textbooks and DRM-free (i.e. need to be purchased but have unlimited access conditions for library provision) textbooks.
A Concise Introduction to Logic (2017). Author: Craig DeLancey (SUNY OSWEGO). Source: Open SUNY Textbooks. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA.
Ovid, Amores (Book 1) (2016). Author: William Turpin (Vassar College). Source: Open Textbook Library. Licence: Attribution-CC BY
Gallipoli, Anzacs and the Great War (2017). Author: Sarah Midford (La Trobe University) Source: La Trobe University eBureau Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NonDerivatives-CC BY-NC-ND
The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) includes a large number of relevant education and health books. Includes open access content from Springer, Routledge and other large publishers.
A collection of textbooks affiliated with universities, scholarly societies or professional organisations that are peer reviewed.
A tool for finding OER (i.e. free) textbooks and DRM-free (i.e. textbooks that need to be purchased but have unlimited access conditions for library provision)
Creating Online Learning Experiences (2018). Editors: J. T. Dellinger (University of Texas), R. Heiser (Penn State University), K. Riviou (Open University of Netherlands) & B. Usman (University of Texas). Source: Open Textbook Library. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC).
Leadership in early education in times of change (2019). Editors: J. Heikka (University of Tampere), E. Hujala (University of Tampere), J. Rodd, P. Strehmel, (Hamburg University of Applied Sciences) & M. Waniganayake (Macquarie University). Source: EBSCO Faculty Select. Licence: Attribution-ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA)
Public health ethics: Global cases, practice and context (2016). Editors: D. H. Barrett (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Atlanta), A. Dawson (University of Sydney), L.W. Ortmann (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Atlanta). Source: Open Textbook Library. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)
An education initiative that publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks that are absolutely free online and low cost in print.
A tool for finding OER (i.e. free) textbooks and DRM-free (i.e. need to be purchased but have unlimited access conditions for library provision) textbooks.
Customizable or build-your-own textbooks that cover the traditional scope of introductory psychology and more.
Chemistry 2e (2020). Authors: Paul Flowers (University of North Caroline at Pembroke), Klaus Theopold (University of Delaware), Richard Langley (Stephen F. Austin State University), William R. Robinson (PhD), et. al. Source: OpenStax. Licence: Attribution-CC BY
Astronomy (2020). Authors: Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College), David Morrison (NASA Ames Research Center), Sidney C. Wolff (National Optical Astronomy Observatory), et. al. Source: OpenStax. Licence: Attribution-CC BY
Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective (2017). Authors: Martha Lally (College of Lake County) & Suzanne Valentine-French (College of Lake County). Source: Open Textbook Library Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike-CC BY-NC-SA
A tool for finding OER (i.e. free) textbooks and DRM-free (i.e. need to be purchased but have unlimited access conditions for library provision) textbooks.
An education initiative that publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks that are absolutely free online and low cost in print.
A collection of peer-reviewed textbooks affiliated with universities, scholarly societies or professional organisations.
Fundamentals of Business - 2nd edition (2018). Author: Stephen J. Skripak (Virginia Tech). Source: Open Textbook Library. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike-CC BY-NC-SA
Principles of Accounting - Volume 1: Financial Accounting (2020). Authors: Mitchell Franklin (LeMoyne College), Patty Graybeal (University of Michigan-Dearborn), Dixon Cooper (Ouachita Baptist University), et. al. Source: OpenStax. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike-CC BY-NC-SA
Contemporary Issues in Human Rights Law: Europe and Asia (2018). Editor: Yumiko Nakanishi (Hitotsubashi University). Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs-CC BY-NC-ND
The American Institute of Mathematics maintains an approved list of textbooks for use in traditional university courses, ranging from pre-calculus to upper division analysis and algebra.
A collection of peer-reviewed textbooks affiliated with universities, scholarly societies or professional organisations.
An education initiative that publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks that are absolutely free online and low cost in print.
A tool for finding OER (i.e. free) textbooks and DRM-free (i.e. need to be purchased but have unlimited access conditions for library provision) textbooks.
University Physics Volume 1 (2020). Authors: William Moebs (Formerly of Loyola Marymount University), Samuel J. Ling (Truman State University), Jeff Sanny (Loyola Marymount University), et. al. Source: OpenStax. Licence: Attribution-CC BY
Number Theory: In Context and Interactive (2020). Authors: Karl-Dieter Crisman (Gordon College). Source: American Institute of Mathematics. Licence: Attribution-NoDerivatives-CC-BY-ND
Fundamentals of Infrastructure Management (2017). Authors: Donald Coffelt (Carnegie Mellon University) & Chris Hendrickson (Carnagie Mellon University) Source: Open Textbook Library Licence: Attribution-ShareAlike-CC BY-SA
