What are Open Textbooks?
- Open textbooks fall under a broader category of a much larger movement called Open Educational Resources.
- Open textbooks have an open copyright license, making them freely accessible to the public.
- They are free to view and download online, and often have the option to distribute in other formats such as print (at little or no cost).
- Many of these open textbooks are vetted by experts or through the use of peer reviews.
- Open textbooks aims to decrease the financial burden of purchasing educational resources, in turn making education more accessible.
To learn more about how to use open educational resources within the proper legal limitations, please read the information on the OER guide home page
Featured Open Textbooks
Find Open Textbooks
- ABOER Repository - Opens in a new windowResources featured here (unless stated otherwise) were funded by the Alberta Open Educational Resources (ABOER) Initiative, which is made possible through an investment from the Alberta government.
- Directory of Open Access Books - Opens in a new windowDOAB offers free downloadable books, most of which fall under a share for non-commercial use license.
- eCampus Ontario - Opens in a new windowSearch the collection of open textbooks; many of which have been reviewed by educators across the country and include top subject areas in post-secondary education. In partnership with BCcampus.
- InTech - Opens in a new windowScience, Technology and Medicine open access book publisher; full chapters available for download.
- LibreTexts - Opens in a new windowA non-profit organization committed to freeing the textbook from the limitations and costs of traditional textbooks. Explore their selection of open and freely accessible libraries.
- Lyryx Learning - Opens in a new windowOffers free open textbooks combined with affordable high quality online homework in the areas of Calculus, Linear Algebra, Business Math, Financial Accounting (Intro and Intermediate), and Micro and Macroeconomics.
- MIT - Opens in a new windowSome of these online textbooks are open-licensed electronic versions of print books. Others are self-published online books, or course notes which are so thorough that they serve as an alternative to a conventional textbook.
- National Science Digital Library - Opens in a new windowProvides educational resources for teaching and learning, with an emphasis on the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.
- Noba Project - Opens in a new windowReady made textbooks that can be used as-is or customized to fit your needs.
- OAPEN Library - Opens in a new windowThe OAPEN Library contains freely accessible academic books, mainly in the area of humanities and social sciences.
- OASIS - Opens in a new windowEasily search open content from a large variety of different sources.
- OpenStax - Opens in a new windowA nonprofit with a mission to improve student access to education through the publication of open textbooks.
- Open Textbook Library - Opens in a new windowAll these textbooks are either used at multiple higher education institutions; or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.
- Pressbooks Directory - Opens in a new windowThis directory provides an index of over 3500 books published across 119 Pressbooks networks.
- Saylor Academy Open Textbooks - Opens in a new window100+ books freely available for download, online reading, and sharing, under one of various open licenses. Check each book for specific terms.
- Skills Commons - Opens in a new windowA free and open online library containing learning materials and program support development. These OERs are produced by community colleges across the nation and can be found, reused, revised, retained, redistributed and remixed by individuals, institutions, and industry.
- SOL*R - Opens in a new windowA repository service provided by BCcampus that allows educators to access free online learning resources. It facilitates sharing, discovery, reuse, and remixing of a growing collection of content created by BC post-secondary educators.
- SPARC* - Opens in a new windowSPARC is committed to empowering people to solve big problems and make new discoveries through the adoption of Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education.
- Wikibooks - Opens in a new windowThe open-content textbooks collection that anyone can edit.