Open textbooks and other open educational resources (OER) remove cost barriers to education and help professors tailor course materials to meet their needs.

About Open Educational Resources (OER)

What are OER?

  • Textbooks, curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, audio, video, animation, and more
  • Free for anyone to use
  • Usually licensed through Creative Commons to allow adaptation and revised editions

Why use OER?

  • Free (no cost barrier for students, the library, or anyone else)
  • Immediately available online (no waiting for shipping or other delays)
  • Adaptable (can be revised to better suit the needs of your class)

Where do I find OER?

  • Open Textbook Library: A collection of openly licensed online textbooks with reviews by faculty
  • OER Commons: A digital public library containing OER of all types
  • OASIS: A search tool for open textbooks and other materials, created by SUNY Geneseo
Remote video URL

Creating and Adapting OER

How do I make changes to existing OER?

  • Most open textbooks and other OER are licensed so that anyone can adapt the content to meet their needs.
  • Modifying an Open Textbook: A guide to revising the content of an existing textbook

How do I create new open material?

How does Dartmouth support support the use and creation of OER?

  • The Dartmouth Library has a grant program for Dartmouth faculty to adopt, adapt, or create OER for their courses.
  • Librarians can help faculty find and use OER for specific topics.
  • Dartmouth is a member of the Open Education Network.