Open Educational Resources

What are Open Educational Resources (OERs)?

OERs are openly licensed educational materials that are freely available to be used and remixed by anyone.  Examples of OERS include: textbooks, lesson plans, syllabi, entire courses, and other supplemental educational materials. The movement towards openness has continued to gain momentum as a result of the increasing costs associated with higher education.  For more information, please see our Textbook Affordability & Open Educational Resources Guide.

Below is a short list of resources where you can find open textbooks and other OERs:

Open Textbooks

    • Open Textbook Library is a collection of textbooks that have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities. All textbooks are either used at multiple higher-ed institutions, or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.
    • OpenStax is a nonprofit organization based out of Rice University providing textbooks that have been peer-reviewed by educators.
    • LibreTexts is a non-commercial open textbook organization initiated at the University of California, Davis.
    • NCBI Bookshelf provides free online access to books and documents in the life sciences and healthcare.
    • OER Commons contains a curated collection of open textbooks and supplementary resources for your classroom.
    • Merlot II is a curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services.

OER Awards

Tisch Library provides financial support for faculty and instructors in the Schools of Arts, Sciences, & Engineering who are interested in adopting or creating open educational resources (OER) for their courses. Find out more about the Tisch Library OER Awards.