Open Textbook Library Collection Reaches 1,000

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (3/16/2022) – This month the Open Textbook Library’s collection of open educational resources (OER) reached 1,000 titles, all available at no cost to higher education students. The searchable, online catalog of openly licensed materials is hosted by the Open Education Network (OEN) based at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Open Education.

In March, Botany in Hawaiʻi by Daniela Dutra Elliott and Paula Mejia Velasquez pushed the Library’s collection to the four-digit mark. OEN leadership anticipates this impressive growth will continue as OER garners increasing acceptance and approval from faculty, and as the broader open education movement continues to gain momentum. 

“The Library visibly demonstrates our commitment to a more equitable higher education system,” said David Ernst, executive director of the OEN and founder of the Open Textbook Library which launched in 2012. “At this 10-year milestone mark, we’re thrilled with the Library’s success and see it as a reflection of the community’s generosity with their time, expertise, and resources.”

The Library offers resources on a variety of subjects including business, computer science, education, engineering, humanities, journalism, law, mathematics, medicine, natural and social sciences, and student success. Visitors to open.umn.edu/opentextbooks can access faculty book reviews and download textbooks in several formats including PDF, ODF, XML and Ebook.

Merinda McLure, OER Co-Lead and Health & Human Sciences Librarian at the University of Colorado Boulder, describes the Library as a “critical gift” to the open education movement. “It has been exciting to watch the Open Textbook Library’s continuing development,” said McLure, “and it is difficult to describe adequately the central importance of the Library to supporting educators’ adoption, adaptation, and creation of open textbooks across higher education institutions.” 

Author Chelsea Green’s first open textbook, Sight-Reading for Guitar, became part of the Open Textbook Library’s humanities collection in 2020. A professional guitarist and music instructor at The American University in Cairo, Green wrote this open textbook to share her passion for music as well as her vision for open education. “I continue to be curious as to how the content will be adopted and transformed,” said Green. “I believe in the mission of open education to bring quality, free and accessible learning opportunities to anyone, anywhere.”

The OEN community works together to make open the default in higher education and promote student success. Its members represent more than 1,600 colleges and universities throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

About the Open Education Network - With support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Open Education Network (OEN) community members, the OEN champions open education as the means to enhance student success, empower faculty, and foster a more equitable future. OEN’s engagement and training programs leverage open educational resources (OER), which are created and licensed to be freely distributed, adapted and used. Resources can be downloaded for no cost, providing students with free, continuous access to course materials. In addition, OER offer faculty the flexibility to customize their course content and pedagogy to meet students’ learning needs.

Contact:
Tonia Johnson
Open Education Network
joh20849@umn.edu