Textbooks

Textbooks

Below is a selection of tools to find open textbook materials. You don’t have to find just one perfect book. Openly licensed materials allow you to remix/reuse content so you can develop a brand-new work out of a variety of sources.

Looking for OER being used in Illinois? Check out the OEN OpenIllinois Hub! (COD’s list)

Metasearch Tools

OER metasearch tools query a variety of OER repositories or, in the case of Google, the open web. Keep your search narrow and, when possible, use search limiters or source selectors for manageable results.

OASIS
Openly Available Sources Integrated Search (OASIS) cross-searching of 117 collections of open educational materials. The strength of this took is the hand-selection of collections by librarians at SUNY. Developed by SUNY Geneseo’s Milne Library.

Mason Metafinder
Developed by the George Mason University, the Mason Metafinder (MOM) is a federated search tool that simultaneously queries 21 sources of open materials. MOM includes OER and select sources of Open monographs and images. Details on using MOM are here.

Google Advanced Search
Advanced search has a variety of limiters. Under Usage Rights, choose “Creative Commons licenses.”

Open Textbook Collections

OpenStax
Rice University’s OpenStax collection covers many General Education subjects. OpenStax “textbook projects” are developed and peer-reviewed by educators to ensure they are readable and accurate, are supported by instructor ancillaries, and are available with the latest technology-based learning tools. COD is an OpenStax Institutional Partner. These are high quality materials, most with lots of ancillaries!

Open Textbook Library
The books in this collection have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities to assess their quality. Can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost. “All textbooks are either used at multiple higher education institutions or [are] affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.”

Open Repositories

These resources contain a variety of teaching materials including textbooks.

OER Commons
The OER Commons attempts to be a full service OER provider. “Search, browse, and evaluate resources in this growing collection of over 50,000 high-quality OER.” Includes tools to build OER texts, modules, and lessons. Focus on K-12 and Higher Ed. Also has some excellent OER training materials.

Merlot II
Merlot is a user-curated repository of a variety of instructional materials and tools. K-12 through Higher Ed. User rated materials.

Learn how to use what you’ve found!