Finding Free OER Textbooks Online: Untangling the Web
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Textbooks and Open Educational Resources
1.2. Deficiencies of Many OER Directories
- Present works about OERs or Open Education as if they were OERs appropriate for student use;
- Make no distinction between OERs and other Open Access books;
- Make no distinction between OER textbooks and other kinds of OERs (videos, lesson plans, class activities, etc.);
- Label resources in ways that misrepresent their content (e.g., using a textbook code/limiter for resources other than textbooks);
- Provide ineffective oversight for user-added items so that low-quality OERs are not excluded [21];
- Duplicate other OER directories, either entirely or partially;
- Include works that are out of date or no longer available;
- Place great emphasis on licensing terms and formal accessibility standards while ignoring important practical concerns such as ease of downloading and printing;
- Highlight locally produced resources (or those funded by the sponsoring agency) even when those resources are clearly less useful than those created elsewhere;
- Provide limited information on the methods used in their construction, so that users have no way to readily judge the completeness, reliability, or comparative utility of the directory or its contents.
1.3. Research Design
- What are the characteristics of the OER directories currently available online?
- To what extent do these directories support the discovery of OER textbooks (i.e., texts that can be used as the central reading material for an undergraduate course or module of at least 10–15 weeks’ duration)?
- Which particular OER directories are most likely to be useful to postsecondary instructors?
- In what ways are the most useful OER directories systematically different from the others?
1.4. Previous Research on OER Directories
2. Materials and Methods
- Collections or databases rather than individual titles;
- Books other than OERs (e.g., Open Access books more appropriate for research than for teaching);
- Items that require a subscription or payment for access;
- Items available only to users affiliated with particular institutions;
- Items that are no longer available online (e.g., broken links);
- Non-text materials (videos, images, data), unless intended for language learning;
- Textbooks meant for grades K–8.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. “Directories” That Are Not Helpful for the Identification of Textbooks
3.2. Survey of OER Directories Included in the Analysis
- A: the name of the directory;
- B: the producer or sponsor;
- C: the producer/sponsor type: university, government agency, for-profit corporation, consortium of universities, scholarly society, or other non-profit organization;
- D: the URL;
- E: the broad subject emphasis (Supplementary Table S1) or the subjects included in the directory (Supplementary Table S2).
- F: the total number of items in the directory, rounded to the nearest 10;
- G: the limiter/filter, if any, that restricts the results to textbooks rather than other types of OERs;
- H: the number of items that are retrieved when the textbook limiter is applied, rounded to the nearest 10;
- I: recall; the estimated number of textbooks in the directory, rounded to the nearest 10; for each directory, this is based on a review of at least 60 OERs—those ranked highest, by relevance, on the results pages—or of all the titles in the directory, if fewer than 60; in each case, I searched for subject areas where it would be easy to distinguish between textbooks and other OERs—chemistry, economics, and statistics, in particular; the column I value is generally different from the column H value because the directories’ textbook designations are often applied to resources other than textbooks;
- J: precision; the percentage of directory items that are textbooks, rounded to the nearest 5%; this is based on all the items in the directory, if there is no textbook filter, or on all the items that remain after the filter is applied.
- K: high recall; coded 1 if the directory includes an especially high number of textbooks as well as a reasonably high percentage of textbooks—for Supplementary Table S1, a value of at least 500 for column I and a value of at least 80% for column J; for Supplementary Table S2, a value of at least 40 for column I and a value of at least 80% for column J;
- L: high precision; coded 1 if the directory includes an especially high percentage of textbooks as well as reasonably many textbooks—for Supplementary Table S1, a value of at least 90% for column J and a value of at least 100 for column I; for Supplementary Table S2, a value of at least 90% for column J and a value of at least 20 for column I;
- M: coded 1 if the directory has explicit and meaningful selection criteria;
- N: coded 1 if the textbooks themselves are of consistently high quality—a subjective assessment based on completeness and rigor of content, appropriateness for the intended audience, and effectiveness of presentation (writing, tables, and images); these criteria are consistent with those set forth in previous research [60,61,62];
- O: high overall utility, coded 1 if the sum of columns K–N is two or higher.
- P: the number of times the directory was mentioned on the websites evaluated for this study;
- Q: coded 1 if the directory is among those that US librarians most often recommend to faculty and students [59].
- R: developed and submitted by OER authors commissioned by the organization responsible for the directory;
- S: submitted by other OER authors;
- T: found online by the staff of the organization;
- U: submitted by users of the directory; this sometimes requires user registration and generally requires staff approval of the submitted/recommended items;
- V: found within (taken from) other directories of OERs, usually on a selective basis;
- W: submitted by agencies that have partnered with the organization that produces the directory;
- X: coded 1 if all, or nearly all, of the textbooks in the directory are written by authors associated with the organization that produces the directory.
- Y: the directories that are themselves publishing platforms (i.e., those that host OER content), even if only some of the OER textbooks in the directory are actually hosted there;
- Z: those that are subsets or spin-offs of a university’s institutional repository;
- AA: those associated with the BCcampus software/platform (any version);
- AB: those associated with OER Commons (any version);
- AC: those associated with Pressbooks (any version).
3.3. Multidisciplinary Directories
3.3.1. Overview
3.3.2. The Top 17 Multidisciplinary Directories
3.3.3. Prominence versus Utility
3.4. Subject-Limited Directories
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Hanson, M. Average Cost of College Textbooks. Education Data Initiative. Available online: https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-textbooks (accessed on 3 November 2023).
- Van Malderen, G. Higher Education Must Remain a Right for All Despite Rising Costs. The Standard. Available online: https://www.standard.co.uk/business/higher-education-books-working-class-costs-ucas-b1111646.html (accessed on 6 October 2023).
- University of Toronto Libraries. Support of Textbooks Remains a Challenge for Libraries in Online Environment. Available online: https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/copyright/support-textbooks-remains-challenge-libraries-online-environment (accessed on 16 August 2023).
- Walters, W.H. E-Books in academic libraries: Challenges for acquisition and collection management. Portal Libr. Acad. 2013, 13, 187–211. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- BibliU. 70% of UK Students Have Skipped Buying Course-Required Textbooks. Available online: https://bibliu.com/in-the-news/uk-students-skipped-buying-textbooks (accessed on 18 November 2021).
- Jenkins, R. Almost a quarter of UK university students can’t afford to buy textbooks. The Scotsman. Available online: https://www.scotsman.com/read-this/almost-a-quarter-of-uk-university-students-cant-afford-to-buy-textbooks-3708989 (accessed on 25 May 2022).
- Sutton Trust. Cost of Living and University Students. 26 January 2023. Available online: https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/cost-of-living-and-university-students-2023/ (accessed on 26 January 2022).
- Mosharraf, M. Introducing Open Educational Resources typology to digital libraries. Open Learn. 2024. advance online publication. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ehlers, U.-D. Extending the territory: From Open Educational Resources to open educational practices. J. Open Flex. Distance Learn. 2011, 15, 1–10. [Google Scholar]
- Hegarty, B. Attributes of open pedagogy: A model for using Open Educational Resources. Educ. Technol. 2015, 55, 3–13. [Google Scholar]
- Allen, I.E.; Seaman, J. Opening the Textbook: Educational Resources in US Higher Education, 2015–2016; Babson Survey Research Group: Wellesley, MA, USA, 2016; Available online: http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/openingthetextbook2016.pdf (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Colvard, N.B.; Watson, C.E.; Park, H. The impact of Open Educational Resources on various student success metrics. Int. J. Teach. Learn. High. Educ. 2018, 30, 262–276. [Google Scholar]
- Hilton, J. Open Educational Resources, student efficacy, and user perceptions: A synthesis of research published between 2015 and 2018. Educ. Technol. Res. Dev. 2020, 68, 853–876. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Seaman, J.E.; Seaman, J. Digital Texts in the Time of COVID: Educational Resources in US Higher Education, 2020; Bay View Analytics: Oakland, CA, USA, 2021; Available online: https://www.bayviewanalytics.com/reports/digitaltextsinthetimeofcovid.pdf (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Atenas, J.; Havemann, L.; Priego, E. Opening teaching landscapes: The importance of quality assurance in the delivery of Open Educational Resources. Open Prax. 2014, 6, 29–43. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Luo, T.; Hostetler, K.; Freeman, C.; Stefaniak, J. The power of open: Benefits, barriers, and strategies for integration of Open Educational Resources. Open Learn. 2019, 35, 140–158. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mullens, A.M.; Hoffman, B. The affordability solution: A systematic review of Open Educational Resources. Educ. Psychol. Rev. 2023, 35, 72. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- De los Arcos, B.; Farrow, R.; Pitt, R.; Perryman, L.-A.; Weller, M.; McAndrew, P. OER Research Hub Data 2013–2015: Educators; Open Education Research Hub: Milton Keynes, UK, 2015; Available online: https://oro.open.ac.uk/47931/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Wood, C. No One Wants to Pay $200 for a Textbook. EdScoop. Available online: https://edscoop.com/digital-services-oer-textbooks/ (accessed on 15 April 2021).
- Drumond, G.M.; Méxas, M.P.; Angulo Meza, L. Opening the horizons for education: Reflections on repositories of Open Educational Resources in higher education. Em Questão 2024, 30, 133916. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Perifanou, M.; Economides, A.A. Repositories of open textbooks for higher education: A worldwide overview. In Open Educational Resources in Higher Education: Future Education and Learning Spaces; Olivier, J., Rambow, A., Eds.; Springer: Singapore, 2023; pp. 203–227. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Santos-Hermosa, G.; Ferran-Ferrer, N.; Abadal, E. Repositories of Open Educational Resources: An assessment of reuse and educational aspects. Int. Rev. Res. Open Distrib. Learn. 2017, 18, 84–120. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Perifanou, M.; Economides, A.A. Analyzing repositories of OER using web analytics and accessibility tools. Univers. Access Inf. Soc. 2023, 22, 1243–1257. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Perifanou, M.; Economides, A.A. Measuring quality, popularity, demand and usage of repositories of Open Educational Resources (ROER): A study on thirteen popular ROER. Open Learn. 2023, 38, 315–330. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Creative Commons. Creative Commons. 2024. Available online: https://search.creativecommons.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Internet Archive. Internet Archive: Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://archive.org/details/education (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- HathiTrust. HathiTrust Digital Library. 2024. Available online: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?a=page;page=advanced (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Google. Google Advanced Search. 2024. Available online: https://www.google.com/advanced_search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Directory of Open Access Books. DOAB: Directory of Open Access Books. 2024. Available online: https://www.doabooks.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- IntechOpen. IntechOpen. 2024. Available online: https://www.intechopen.com/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- OAPEN Foundation. OAPEN. 2024. Available online: https://library.oapen.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Open Book Publishers. Open Book Publishers. 2024. Available online: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Project Gutenberg. 2024. Available online: https://www.gutenberg.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Knowledge Unlatched. Open Research Library. 2024. Available online: https://openresearchlibrary.org/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Orange Grove. Orange Grove. 2024. Available online: https://theorangegrove.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- EdTech Books. EdTech books. 2024. Available online: https://edtechbooks.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- United States Library of Congress. Library of Congress Open Access Books. 2024. Available online: https://www.loc.gov/collections/open-access-books/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- United States Library of Congress. Library of Congress World Digital Library. 2024. Available online: https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-digital-library/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- National Library of Medicine. National Library of Medicine Bookshelf. 2024. Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/browse/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- ITHAKA Open Access Books on JSTOR. 2024. Available online: https://about.jstor.org/librarians/books/open-access-books-jstor/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Digital Public Library of American. Digital Public Library of America. 2024. Available online: https://dp.la (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- National Academies Press. National Academies Press Open Books. 2024. Available online: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/topic/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- World Bank Group. World Bank Open Knowledge Repository. 2024. Available online: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Athabasca University Press. AU Press Remix. 2024. Available online: https://www.aupress.ca/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Johns Hopkins University Press. Project MUSE: Open Access Content Results. 2024. Available online: https://muse.jhu.edu/search?action=oa_browse&limit=subscription:n&limit=funder_id:6&min=1&max=30 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Unglue.it. Unglue.it. 2024. Available online: https://unglue.it/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- VIVA: Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium. VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal. 2024. Available online: https://vivalib.org/va/open/faculty-portal (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- George Mason University. Mason OER Metafinder. 2024. Available online: https://oer.deepwebaccess.com/oer/desktop/en/search.html (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Wikimedia Foundation. Wikibooks. 2024. Available online: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Fox Valley Technical College. Wisc-Online. 2024. Available online: https://www.wisc-online.com/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- National Science Digital Library. NSDL: National Science Digital Library. 2024. Available online: https://oercommons.org/hubs/NSDL (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Association of American Medical Colleges. MedEdPORTAL. 2024. Available online: https://www.mededportal.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Colorado, Boulder. PhET. 2024. Available online: https://phet.colorado.edu/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- NROC Project. HippoCampus. 2024. Available online: https://www.hippocampus.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Khan Academy. Khan Academy. 2024. Available online: https://www.khanacademy.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Open University. OpenLearn. 2024. Available online: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Alison. Global Text Project. 2024. Available online: https://alison.com/publisher/global-text-project (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Network for Computational Nanotechnology. nanoHUB. 2024. Available online: https://nanohub.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Library Journal. Open Access Content/Open Educational Resources in Academic Libraries: Survey Report. 2022. Available online: https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/oa-oer-in-academic-libraries-survey-report-2022-lj220601 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Baas, M.; van der Rijst, R.; Huizinga, T.; van den Berg, E.; Admiraal, W. Would you use them? A qualitative study on teachers’ assessments of Open Educational Resources in higher education. Internet High. Educ. 2022, 54, 100857. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Teplitzky, S.; Hardy, S.; Johnson, K.; Tolliver, R.; Tschirhart, L.; Vardakosta, I. A review of Open Educational Resources in the geosciences: Guidelines and criteria. Earth ArXiv 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zawacki-Richter, O.; Müskens, W.; Marín, V.I. Quality assurance of Open Educational Resources. In Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education; Springer: Singapore, 2022; pp. 1–19. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- University of Minnesota. Open Textbook Library. 2024. Available online: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- BCcampus. B.C. Open Collection. 2024. Available online: https://collection.bccampus.ca/search/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of California, Davis. LibreTexts Commons (LibreCommons). 2024. Available online: https://commons.libretexts.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Open Culture. Open Culture: 200 Free Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://www.openculture.com/free_textbooks (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University System of Georgia. OpenALG: Affordable Learning Georgia. 2024. Available online: https://alg.manifoldapp.org/projects/project-collection/textbooks?collectionOrder=textbooks (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Maryland Open Source Textbook Initiative. MOST: Maryland Open Source Textbook Commons. 2024. Available online: https://most.oercommons.org/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- OhioLINK OhioLINK Open Course Content Library. 2024. Available online: https://ohiolink.oercommons.org/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Sacred Heart University. Open Textbook Guide. 2024. Available online: https://library.sacredheart.edu/opentextbooks (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- City University of New York. OpenEd CUNY. 2024. Available online: https://opened.cuny.edu/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Aesoph, L.M.; Gray, J. OER by Discipline Directory. 2024. Available online: https://opentextbc.ca/oerdiscipline/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Kehoe, J.; Perkovic, O.; Bains, S. OER By Discipline Guide Version 2. 2024. Available online: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/mcmasteroerdiscipline/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- California State University. HBCU Affordable Learning Community Portal. 2024. Available online: https://www.hbcuals.org/general_education.html (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Dermody, K.; Ludbrook, A.; Savicevic, N.; Schwartz, M.; Steinberg, R.; Wilson, S. Now Is the Time for Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/ryersonoerdiscipline/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- San Bernardino Valley College. OER by Discipline. 2024. Available online: https://www.valleycollege.edu/open-education-resources/faculty/oer_by_subject.php (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Victoria. OER by Discipline Directory. 2024. Available online: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/oerguideuvic/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Thiessen D. OER by Subject Directory. 2024. Available online: https://pressbooks.saskpolytech.ca/oerdiscipline/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Quiring, A.; Mulolani, I.; Niessen, S. University of Regina OER by Subject Directory. 2024. Available online: https://opentextbooks.uregina.ca/ureginaoerdirectory/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Rice University. OpenStax. 2024. Available online: https://openstax.org/subjects (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- California State University. MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. 2024. Available online: https://www.merlot.org/merlot/advSearchMaterials.htm (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- SUNY College at Geneseo. OASIS: Openly Available Sources Integrated Search. 2024. Available online: https://oasis.geneseo.edu/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- SUNY College at Geneseo. Milne Open Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://milneopentextbooks.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University System of Georgia. GALILEO Open Learning Materials. 2024. Available online: https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/do/search/advanced/?fq=virtual_ancestor_link:%22 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- eCampusOntario. eCampusOntario Open Library. 2024. Available online: https://search.ecampusontario.ca/?itemTypes=6&itemTypes=12&sortCol=2 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- California State University. COOL4Ed: California Open Online Library for Education. 2024. Available online: https://www.cool4ed.org/course-materials (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Oregon State Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Open Oregon Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://openoregon.org/resources (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Kansas State University. New Prairie Press Open Access Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://newprairiepress.org/textbooks/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Middlesex College. OpenNJ. 2024. Available online: https://opennj.net/all (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of British Columbia. UBC OER Collection. 2024. Available online: https://oer.open.ubc.ca/open-catalogue/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Textbook Equity Open Education. Open College-Level Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://www.textbookequity.org/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Oregon State University. Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://open.oregonstate.education/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Saskatchewan. OPENPRESS.USASK.CA Catalog. 2024. Available online: https://openpress.usask.ca/catalog/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Libraries: Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://www.lib.umn.edu/publishing/works/textbooks (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Affordable Learning LOUISiana. Affordable Learning LOUISiana OER Repository. 2024. Available online: https://louis.oercommons.org/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Alberta. Open Education Alberta. 2024. Available online: https://openeducationalberta.ca/home/catalog/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong: Textbooks for Tertiary Institutions. 2024. Available online: https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/tertiary-institutions (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of North Georgia University Press. Textbooks and OERs. 2024. Available online: https://ung.edu/university-press/books/textbooks-and-oers.php (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- BCcampus. Adoption Finder. 2024. Available online: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PiYkOQOgTTrrI77J9-sO9HkqdX7c5BtEL_A5F9Yc3Wk/edit#gid=0 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Linn-Benton Community College. CommunityArchive@LBCC: Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: http://libarchive.linnbenton.edu/collections/vd66vz95s (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Iowa State University. Disciplinary Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/oer/findbysubject (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- William Paterson University. OER by College and Academic Unit. 2024. Available online: https://guides.wpunj.edu/c.php?g=823441&p=5878601 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Brunet, M.; Lachaîne, C. OER by Discipline Guide: University of Ottawa (version 2.0, June 2022). 2024. Available online: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/uottawaoerdisciplineversion2/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Yoshida, A.; Huot, A.; Winkler, J.; Níelsdóttir, K.; Feenstra, K.; Askin, N. OER by Discipline: University of Manitoba. 2024. Available online: https://pressbooks.openedmb.ca/umanitobadisciplineguide/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania. OER by Subject. 2024. Available online: https://libraryguides.lib.iup.edu/oer/subject (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Harris, R.; Ahmad, S.; Fakhri, S.; Koonings, J. OER Discipline Resource Guide: Concordia University Library, 2nd ed.; Concordia University: Montreal, QC, Canada, 2024; Available online: https://opentextbooks.concordia.ca/oerbydiscipline2/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://libguides.wpi.edu/oer/find (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. Open Educational Resources by Discipline. 2024. Available online: https://asccc-oeri.org/open-educational-resources-by-discipline/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Lehman College, City University of New York. Open Educational Resources: OER by Discipline. 2024. Available online: https://libguides.lehman.edu/c.php?g=612694&p=4255682 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Madison College. Open Educational Resources: OER by Subject. 2024. Available online: https://libguides.madisoncollege.edu/OER/OERbySubject (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Tennessee Open Education Hub. 2024. Available online: https://oercommons.org/hubs/86/browse (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- ISKME. OER Commons: Open Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://oercommons.org/hubs/19/browse?__hub_id=19 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Pressbooks. Pressbooks Directory. 2024. Available online: https://pressbooks.directory/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT OpenCourseWare. 2024. Available online: https://ocw.mit.edu/search/?type=resourcefile (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Saylor Academy. Saylor Academy open Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://www.saylor.org/books/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Lumen Learning. 2024. Available online: https://www.lumenlearning.com/courses/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Michigan. Open Michigan: Find Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://open.umich.edu/find/find-open-educational-resources (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Teaching Commons. 2024. Available online: https://teachingcommons.us/publication_type.html#textbooks_2 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- California State University, Long Beach. Skills Commons. 2024. Available online: https://www.skillscommons.org/discover?query=¤t-scope=&rpp=10&sort_by=score&order=desc&advanced-search=true (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- National Science Foundation. AMSER: Applied Math and Science Education Repository. 2024. Available online: https://www.amser.org/browse (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. OERTX Repository. 2024. Available online: https://oertx.highered.texas.gov/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- State University of New York. SUNY Digital Repository: Open Courses. 2024. Available online: https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/collections/859c20af-1b0b-4ad5-90f1-07a49bec5760 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Portland State University. PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/pdxopen/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Commonwealth of Learning. OAsis: COL’s Open Access Repository. 2024. Available online: https://oasis.col.org/search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Grand Valley State University. ScholarWorks@GVSU. 2024. Available online: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/books/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Virginia Department of Education. #GoOpenVA. 2024. Available online: https://goopenva.org/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. ASCCC OERI Resources. 2024. Available online: https://asccc-oeri.org/asccc-oeri-resources/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Lumen Learning. Boundless. 2024. Available online: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/catalog/boundlesscourses (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- College of the Canyons. OER Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://www.canyons.edu/academics/onlineeducation/ztc/textbooks.php (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- North Carolina Community College System. openNCCC. 2024. Available online: https://opennccc.nccommunitycolleges.edu/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of North Dakota. Scholarly Commons: Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://commons.und.edu/do/search/advanced/?fq=virtual_ancestor_link:%222024 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech Open Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/collections/a2d17483-d5d5-4733-9326-d64dd88f258d (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- British Columbia Institute of Technology. BCIT Institutional Repository: Open Education Collection. 2024. Available online: https://circuit.bcit.ca/repository/islandora/object/repository%3Aopen_ed (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- German National Library of Science and Technology. OERSI: Open Educational Resources Search Index. 2024. Available online: https://oersi.org/resources/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks. PA-ADOPT Bookshelf. 2024. Available online: https://paadopt.org/bookshelf/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre. Sask DLC. 2024. Available online: https://resourcebank.ca/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Wisconsin–Madison. University of Wisconsin Pressbooks Catalogue. 2024. Available online: https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/catalog/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- VIVA: Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium. VIVA Open! 2024. Available online: https://vivaopen.oercommons.org/search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- GoOpenMichigan. #GoOpenMichigan. 2024. Available online: https://goopenmichigan.org/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of South Florida. Digital Commons Textbooks Collection. 2024. Available online: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Louisville. Finding Open Educational Resources: OER by Subject. 2024. Available online: https://library.louisville.edu/oer/finding/subject (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Kansas. KU Libraries Open Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://opentext.ku.edu/catalog/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- City University of New York. Manifold@CUNY. 2024. Available online: https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/all (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- College of Staten Island, City University of New York. OER by Discipline. 2024. Available online: https://library.csi.cuny.edu/oer/discipline (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Mukundan, R.; Adams, S. OER by Discipline Guide: University of Calgary. 2024. Available online: https://openeducationalberta.ca/oerguideucalgary/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Washington. OER By Subject. 2024. Available online: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/oer/bysubject (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Virginia Tech. Open Education: Find OER (by Discipline). 2024. Available online: https://guides.lib.vt.edu/oer/subjects (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Red Deer Polytechnic. Open Educational Resources (OER). 2024. Available online: https://guides.rdpolytech.ca/oer/find (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Mount Saint Vincent University. Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://libguides.msvu.ca/c.php?g=713738&p=5087336 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Washington Bothell & Cascadia College. Open Educational Resources Guide: OER by Subject. 2024. Available online: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/bothell/open/subjectoer (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Wyoming Department of Education. Open Range Wyoming. 2024. Available online: https://oercommons.org/hubs/61/browse?__hub_id=61 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Penn State University. ROAM Repository of Open and Affordable Materials. 2024. Available online: https://roam.libraries.psu.edu/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Tennessee Open Education Hub: Tennessee Collection. 2024. Available online: https://oercommons.org/hubs/TNopeneducation#tennessee-collection (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Sacramento City College. Textbook Affordability: OER. 2024. Available online: https://researchguides.scc.losrios.edu/oer-textbooks/home (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Regina Press. U of R Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://www.uregina.ca/oer-publishing/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. WISELearn Resources. 2024. Available online: https://wlresources.dpi.wi.gov/advanced-search (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Hostos Community College, City University of New York. ZTC/OER Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://guides.hostos.cuny.edu/ztc-oer-textbooks (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- McGreal, R. Special Report on the role of Open Educational Resources in supporting the Sustainable Development Goal 4, quality education challenges and opportunities. Int. Rev. Res. Open Distrib. Learn. 2017, 18, 292–305. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- McGreal, R.; Anderson, T.; Conrad, D. Open Educational Resources in Canada. In Open Educational Resources: Policy, Costs and Transformation; Miao, F., Mishra, S., McGreal, R., Eds.; UNESCO: Paris, France, 2016; pp. 63–76. Available online: https://redined.educacion.gob.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11162/118481/244365e.pdf?sequence=1 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Smarthistory: The Center for Public Art History. Smarthistory Books. 2024. Available online: https://smarthistory.org/smarthistory-books/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Pratt Institute. History of art OER. 2024. Available online: https://libguides.pratt.edu/oer/HAD (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Downey, A.B. Green Tea Press. 2024. Available online: https://greenteapress.com/wp/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- FreeTechBooks. FreeTechBooks. 2024. Available online: https://www.freetechbooks.com/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Interaction Design Foundation. Open-Source, Open-Access Literature. 2024. Available online: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Lyryx Learning. Lyryx Learning Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://lyryx.com/subjects-2/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- CORE Econ. CORE Econ Ebooks. 2024. Available online: https://www.core-econ.org/ebooks/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Bristol. Economics Network: Text and Notes for Economics. 2024. Available online: https://economicsnetwork.ac.uk/teaching/Text%20and%20Notes (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- American Society for Engineering Education. Open Textbooks for Engineering. 2024. Available online: https://libguides.lib.fit.edu/OEREng (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Alberta. Open Educational Resources. 2024. Available online: https://engcourses-uofa.ca/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Lakostik, N. Composition Reading Bank. 2024. Available online: https://library.cscc.edu/compreadingbank/welcome (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- WAC Clearinghouse. Open-Access Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/writing/textbooks/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Dastrup, R.A. Open Geography eTextbook Resources. 2024. Available online: https://www.opengeography.org/etextbooks.html (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- University of Texas Austin. COERLL: Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning. 2024. Available online: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/collections/0e5b85d8-7bd4-47ba-b6b4-591cefe0f9a1 (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Indigenous Storybooks. 2024. Available online: https://indigenousstorybooks.ca/stories/hdn/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. CALI: eLangdell Bookstore. 2024. Available online: https://www.cali.org/the-elangdell-bookstore (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- American Institute of Mathematics. AIM Approved Textbooks. 2024. Available online: https://aimath.org/textbooks/approved-textbooks/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- OpenTextBookStore. OpenTextBookStore. 2024. Available online: https://www.opentextbookstore.com/catalog.php (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Open Access Texts. Open Access Texts. 2024. Available online: https://openaccesstexts.com/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Chippewa Valley Technical College. Open RN: Open Resources for Nursing. 2024. Available online: https://www.cvtc.edu/landing-pages/grants/open-rn (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Diener Education Fund. Noba. 2024. Available online: https://nobaproject.com/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Roberts, S.; Curtis, R.; Selterman, D. OpenPSYC. 2024. Available online: https://sites.google.com/view/openpsyc/home (accessed on 1 October 2023).
- Matt DeCarlo; Kimberly Pendell. Open Social Work. 2024. Available online: https://opensocialwork.org/textbooks/ (accessed on 1 October 2023).
Directory | No. of Website Mentions | Includes Many OA Books Other than OERs | Includes Many OERs That Are Not Textbooks |
---|---|---|---|
Creative Commons [25] | 15 | 1 | 1 |
Internet Archive: Open Educational Resources [26] | 11 | 1 | 1 |
HathiTrust Digital Library [27] | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Google (with usage rights filter) [28] | 2 | 1 | 1 |
DOAB: Directory of Open Access Books [29] | 31 | 1 | |
IntechOpen [30] | 18 | 1 | |
OAPEN [31] | 15 | 1 | |
Open Book Publishers [32] | 15 | 1 | |
Project Gutenberg [33] | 14 | 1 | |
Open Research Library [34] | 11 | 1 | |
Orange Grove [35] | 7 | 1 | |
EdTech Books [36] | 5 | 1 | |
Library of Congress Open Access Books [37] | 5 | 1 | |
Library of Congress World Digital Library [38] | 5 | 1 | |
National Library of Medicine Bookshelf [39] | 5 | 1 | |
Open Access Books on JSTOR [40] | 5 | 1 | |
Digital Public Library of America [41] | 4 | 1 | |
National Academies Press Open Books [42] | 4 | 1 | |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository [43] | 4 | 1 | |
AU Press Remix [44] | 3 | 1 | |
Project MUSE: Open Access Content Results [45] | 3 | 1 | |
Unglue.it [46] | 3 | 1 | |
VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal [47] | 3 | 1 | |
Mason OER Metafinder [48] | 67 | 1 | |
Wikibooks [49] | 18 | 1 | |
Wisc-Online [50] | 14 | 1 | |
NSDL: National Science Digital Library [51] | 12 | 1 | |
MedEdPORTAL [52] | 6 | 1 | |
PhET [53] | 6 | 1 | |
HippoCampus [54] | 5 | 1 | |
Khan Academy [55] | 5 | 1 | |
OpenLearn [56] | 4 | 1 | |
Global Text Project [57] | 3 | 1 | |
nanoHUB [58] | 3 | 1 |
Col. A: Directory. | Col. F: Total No. of Items | Col. H: No. of Items with Limiter | Col. I: Actual No. of Textbks. | Col. J: Pctg. of Items That Are Textbks. | Col. K: High No. of Textbks. | Col. L: High Pctg. of Textbks. | Col. M: Meaningful Selectn. Criteria | Col. N: Good Textbk. Quality | Col. O: High Overall Utility | Col. P: No. of Website Mentns. | Col. Q: Rec. by Librarians [59] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open Textbook Library [63] | 1400 | 1380 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 127 | 1 | |
B.C. Open Collection [64] | 1520 | 370 | 360 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100 | ||
LibreTexts Commons (LibreCommons) [65] | 7330 | 2620 | 2360 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 1 | ||
Open Culture: 200 Free Textbooks [66] | 210 | 170 | 80 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||||
OpenALG: Affordable Learning Georgia [67] | 140 | 130 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||
MOST: Maryland Open Source Textbook Commons [68] | 4370 | 850 | 750 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
OhioLINK Open Course Content Library [69] | 3470 | 970 | 870 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
Open Textbook Guide [70] | 290 | 280 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
OpenEd CUNY [71] | 6380 | 620 | 560 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
OER by Discipline Directory [BCcampus] [72] | 610 | 580 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
OER By Discipline Guide Version 2 [73] | 190 | 190 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
HBCU Affordable Learning Community Portal [74] | 180 | 180 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Now is the Time for Open Educational Resources [75] | 240 | 240 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
OER by Discipline [San Bernardino] [76] | 680 | 650 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
OER by Discipline Directory [Victoria] [77] | 640 | 580 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
OER by Subject Directory [78] | 1000 | 950 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
University of Regina OER by Subject Directory [79] | 710 | 670 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
OpenStax [80] | 60 | 60 | 100 | 1 | 129 | 1 | |||||
MERLOT [81] | 104,680 | 9970 | 8680 | 85 | 1 | 113 | 1 | ||||
OASIS: Openly Available Sources Integrated Search [82] | 455,500 | 4350 | 3700 | 85 | 1 | 81 | 1 | ||||
Milne Open Textbooks [83] | 50 | 40 | 90 | 1 | 60 | 1 | |||||
GALILEO Open Learning Materials [84] | 740 | 150 | 130 | 85 | 1 | 21 | . | ||||
eCampusOntario Open Library [85] | 8120 | 480 | 460 | 95 | 1 | 17 | . | ||||
COOL4Ed [86] | 180 | 100 | 90 | 90 | 1 | 11 | 1 | ||||
Open Oregon Educational Resources [87] | 800 | 560 | 70 | 1 | 10 | ||||||
New Prairie Press Open Access Textbooks [88] | 20 | 20 | 95 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
OpenNJ [89] | 550 | 40 | 30 | 75 | 1 | 5 | |||||
UBC OER Collection [90] | 90 | 40 | 30 | 80 | 1 | 5 | |||||
Open College-Level Textbooks [91] | 80 | 70 | 90 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
Open Educational Resources [Oregon State] [92] | 50 | 50 | 95 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
OPENPRESS.USASK.CA Catalog [93] | 40 | 30 | 85 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
University of Minnesota Libraries: Textbooks [94] | 20 | 20 | 100 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
Affordable Learning LOUISiana OER Repository [95] | 7070 | 2590 | 2070 | 80 | 1 | 2 | |||||
Open Education Alberta [96] | 60 | 50 | 75 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
Open Textbooks for Hong Kong [97] | 100 | 100 | 100 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
Textbooks and OERs [98] | 20 | 20 | 100 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
Adoption Finder [99] | 720 | 580 | 80 | 1 | . | 1 | |||||
CommunityArchive@LBCC [100] | 120 | 110 | 90 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Disciplinary Open Educational Resources [101] | 480 | 410 | 85 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
OER by College and Academic Unit [102] | 150 | 140 | 95 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
OER by Discipline Guide: University of Ottawa [103] | 920 | 790 | 85 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
OER by Discipline: University of Manitoba [104] | 1050 | 890 | 85 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
OER by Subject [IUP] [105] | 120 | 120 | 100 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
OER Discipline Resource Guide: Concordia [106] | 330 | 320 | 95 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Open Educational Resources [WPI] [107] | 170 | 160 | 95 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Open Educational Resources by Discipline [108] | 900 | 700 | 80 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Open Educational Resources: OER by Discipline [109] | 180 | 170 | 95 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Open Educational Resources: OER by Subject [110] | 200 | 180 | 90 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tennessee Open Education Hub [111] | >10,000 | 3440 | 2060 | 60 | 1 | 1 | |||||
OER Commons: Open Textbooks [112] | 6963 | 4556 | 2440 | 55 | 135 | 1 | |||||
Pressbooks Directory [113] | 6410 | 4150 | 65 | 52 | |||||||
MIT OpenCourseWare [114] | >10,000 | 10 | 10 | 100 | 49 | ||||||
Saylor Academy Open Textbooks [115] | 90 | 90 | 100 | 36 | |||||||
Lumen Learning [116] | 50 | 50 | 100 | 29 | 1 | ||||||
Open Michigan: Find Open Educational Resources [117] | 430 | 220 | 50 | 21 | |||||||
Teaching Commons [118] | 25,830 | 600 | 420 | 70 | 16 | ||||||
Skills Commons [119] | 16,760 | 2160 | 1610 | 75 | 15 | ||||||
AMSER [120] | >10,000 | 190 | 140 | 75 | 9 | ||||||
OERTX Repository [121] | >10,000 | 1940 | 970 | 50 | 7 | ||||||
SUNY Digital Repository: Open Courses [122] | 10 | 10 | 90 | 6 | |||||||
PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources [123] | 40 | 30 | 75 | 5 | |||||||
OAsis: COL’s Open Access Repository [124] | 5270 | 210 | 170 | 80 | 4 | ||||||
ScholarWorks@GVSU [125] | 22,080 | 30 | 30 | 90 | 4 | ||||||
#GoOpenVA [126] | >10,000 | 330 | 180 | 55 | 3 | ||||||
ASCCC OERI Resources [127] | 60 | 40 | 70 | 3 | |||||||
Boundless [128] | 20 | 20 | 100 | 3 | |||||||
OER Textbooks [129] | 70 | 70 | 95 | 3 | |||||||
openNCCC [130] | >10,000 | 1150 | 690 | 60 | 3 | ||||||
Scholarly Commons: Open Educational Resources [131] | 30 | 30 | 85 | 3 | |||||||
Virginia Tech Open Textbooks [132] | 50 | 30 | 60 | 3 | |||||||
BCIT Institutional Repository [133] | 40 | 20 | 60 | 2 | |||||||
OERSI: Open Educational Resources Search Index [134] | 81,210 | 9510 | 6850 | 70 | 2 | ||||||
PA-ADOPT Bookshelf [135] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 2 | |||||||
Sask DLC [136] | >10,000 | 120 | 90 | 75 | 2 | ||||||
University of Wisconsin Pressbooks Catalogue [137] | 60 | 30 | 50 | 2 | |||||||
VIVA Open! [138] | 4960 | 2320 | 1500 | 65 | 2 | ||||||
#GoOpenMichigan [139] | >10,000 | 500 | 400 | 80 | 1 | ||||||
Digital Commons Textbooks Collection [140] | 10 | 10 | 85 | 1 | |||||||
Finding Open Educational Resources [141] | 170 | 140 | 85 | 1 | |||||||
KU Libraries Open Textbooks [142] | 20 | 10 | 75 | 1 | |||||||
Manifold@CUNY [143] | 300 | 190 | 65 | 1 | |||||||
OER by Discipline [Staten Island] [144] | 50 | 40 | 95 | 1 | |||||||
OER by Discipline Guide: University of Calgary [145] | 1130 | 770 | 70 | 1 | |||||||
OER By Subject [Washington] [146] | 50 | 50 | 100 | 1 | |||||||
Open Education: Find OER (by discipline) [147] | 70 | 60 | 85 | 1 | |||||||
Open Educational Resources (OER) [148] | 50 | 40 | 70 | 1 | |||||||
Open Educational Resources [Mount Saint Vincent] [149] | 280 | 220 | 80 | 1 | |||||||
Open Educational Resources Guide: OER by Subject [150] | 70 | 50 | 65 | 1 | |||||||
Open Range Wyoming [151] | 9710 | 140 | 110 | 80 | 1 | ||||||
ROAM Repository of Open and Affordable Materials [152] | 260 | 150 | 60 | 1 | |||||||
Tennessee Open Education Hub: Tennessee Collection [153] | 430 | 220 | 50 | 1 | |||||||
Textbook Affordability: OER [154] | 210 | 180 | 85 | 1 | |||||||
U of R Open Educational Resources [155] | 10 | 10 | 80 | 1 | |||||||
WISELearn Resources [156] | >10,000 | 460 | 400 | 85 | 1 | ||||||
ZTC/OER Textbooks [157] | 60 | 50 | 85 | 1 |
Category | Top 17 | Others |
---|---|---|
Producer/sponsor type (Col. C): | ||
University | 71 | 68 |
Government | 0 | 11 |
Other non-profit | 6 | 9 |
For-profit | 12 | 6 |
Consortium | 12 | 5 |
Scholarly society | 0 | 0 |
Usefulness (Cols. K-O): | ||
High no. of textbooks | 59 | 8 |
High pctg. of textbooks | 94 | 12 |
Meaningful selection criteria | 29 | 12 |
Good textbook quality | 35 | 10 |
High overall utility | 100 | 0 |
How identified or added (Cols. R–X): | ||
Commissioned authors | 12 | 19 |
Other authors | 29 | 50 |
Directory staff | 65 | 35 |
Directory users | 35 | 27 |
Other directories | 18 | 3 |
Partner agencies | 0 | 5 |
Affiliated authors only | 6 | 26 |
Platform characteristics (Cols. Y–AC): | ||
Publishing platform | 29 | 55 |
Institutional repository | 0 | 10 |
BCcampus | 18 | 1 |
OER Commons | 18 | 15 |
Pressbooks | 35 | 13 |
Subject/Col. A: Directory | Col. F: Total No. of Items | Col. I: Actual No. of Textbks. | Col. J: Pctg. of Items That Are Textbks. | Col. K: High No. of Textbks. | Col. L: High Pctg. of Textbks. | Col. M: Meaningful Selectn. Criteria | Col. N: Good Textbk. Quality | Col. O: High Overall Utility | Col. P: No. of Website Mentns. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Art and art history | |||||||||
Smarthistory Books [160] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 1 | 3 | ||||
History of Art OER [161] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 1 | |||||
Computer science | |||||||||
Green Tea Press [162] | 20 | 20 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
FreeTechBooks [163] | 1240 | 930 | 75 | 2 | |||||
Open-Source, Open-Access Literature [164] | 10 | 10 | 80 | 1 | |||||
Economics and business | |||||||||
Lyryx Learning Textbooks [165] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 1 | 4 | ||||
CORE Econ ebooks [166] | 20 | 20 | 90 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Economics Network: Text and Notes for Economics [167] | 320 | 160 | 50 | 3 | |||||
Engineering | |||||||||
Open Textbooks for Engineering [168] | 280 | 240 | 85 | 1 | 3 | ||||
Open Educational Resources [Alberta] [169] | 10 | 10 | 90 | 1 | |||||
English composition | |||||||||
Composition Reading Bank [170] | 260 | 240 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Open-Access Textbooks [171] | 20 | 20 | 95 | 1 | 3 | ||||
Geography | |||||||||
Open Geography eTextbook Resources [172] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 2 | |||||
Languages | |||||||||
COERLL [173] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 5 | |||||
Indigenous Storybooks [174] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 1 | |||||
Law | |||||||||
CALI: eLangdell Bookstore [175] | 70 | 70 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
Mathematics and statistics | |||||||||
AIM Approved Textbooks [176] | 70 | 70 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
OpenTextBookStore [177] | 40 | 40 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
Open Access Texts [178] | 120 | 120 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Lyryx Learning Textbooks [165] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 1 | 4 | ||||
FreeTechBooks [163] | 1240 | 930 | 75 | 2 | |||||
Nursing | |||||||||
Open RN: Open Resources for Nursing [179] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 1 | 4 | ||||
Physics | |||||||||
Open Access Texts [178] | 120 | 120 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Psychology | |||||||||
Noba [180] | 10 | 10 | 100 | 9 | |||||
OpenPSYC [181] | 1 | 1 | 100 | 1 | |||||
Social work | |||||||||
Open Social Work [182] | 70 | 60 | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2024 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Walters, W.H. Finding Free OER Textbooks Online: Untangling the Web. Publications 2024, 12, 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications12040032
Walters WH. Finding Free OER Textbooks Online: Untangling the Web. Publications. 2024; 12(4):32. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications12040032
Chicago/Turabian StyleWalters, William H. 2024. "Finding Free OER Textbooks Online: Untangling the Web" Publications 12, no. 4: 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications12040032