Open Educational Resources

What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?

OER are openly licensed educational materials that are freely available to be used and remixed by anyone.  Examples of OER 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 No-cost course materials & Open Educational Resources guide.

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

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.

Affordable Course Materials Awards Awards

Tisch Library provides financial support for faculty and instructors in the Schools of Arts, Sciences & Engineering who would like to reduce costs for their students by identifying no-cost course materials to incorporate into their syllabus. . Find out more about the Tisch Library Affordable Course Materials Awards.