Need more information? Contact Your Subject Specialist Librarian
Your Subject Specialist Librarian can help you locate Creative Commons and other freely available resources to use in your course as a textbook or supplemental learning materials.
What Is An Open Textbook?
An Open Textbook is an instructional textbook publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on computers or other electronic devices, such as e-readers or tablets, that is made freely available through a host or online organizational service. Open textbooks may have certain copyright restrictions, but these restrictions do not limit dissemination, repurposing, or creating derivative works for use for educational purposes.
Although rapidly evolving, textbooks in electronic form are available in three dominant models:
- Open Textbooks
- Commercial Electronic Textbooks
- Hybrid of Open Access/Commercial E-Textbooks
This guide aims to expand your knowledge of open textbooks in areas such as:
- Open textbook publishing models
- Finding and evaluating open textbooks
- Adopting open textbooks for your course
- Current research of print vs. digital textbooks and learning
If you have comments, suggestions, or would like more information about these topics or library services, please direct them to the Feedback Form below.
Definitions
- Open TextbookGenerally, open textbooks are available for free online under an open-source license, which allows professors to customize the text. A printable or downloadable version may or may not be available. For some hybrid platforms, students who would like a hard copy or other downloadable format of a book can get one for a fee.
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Get Certified
Complete the MI ExplOER Certification modules to learn more about OER, copyright, open licensing, and how to adapt, adopt, or create your OER for your course.
