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Getting Started: Scholarly Communication

Open Educational Resources

Coming soon to Texas State University, Pressbooks!

The Texas State University Libraries will be hosting Pressbooks for OER publishing beginning in Fall 2022. Pressbooks is online software that enables authors and publishers to design and format any kind of book, including:

  • PDF: for print or print on demand
  • EPUB: for Apple iBooks, Nook, Kobo, Kindle and most other ebook platforms
  • Webbook: private or public

Pressbooks is used by independent authors, small and medium-sized publishers, and educational institutions around the world. All book formats are produced using templates that are optimized to look great in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. File exports produced with Pressbooks can be exported and downloaded from Pressbooks and distributed or shared however you like. The advantages of Pressbooks include:

  • A simple, familiar interface
  • Professionally-designed book files, without complex software
  • Unlimited ability to edit, update, and (re)export books
  • Ability to collaborate with other authors and editors
  • A variety of book formats
  • Affordable access
  • Complete control over your own content

For questions or more information, contact Isabelle Antes, Open Educational Resources Librarian: isabelle.antes@txstate.edu

OER @TXST

See the OER and Library Resources by College for information on open educational resources in specific disciplines. 

To view the courses currently being offered fully with Open Education Resources, please see the Registrar's website at http://www.registrar.txstate.edu/resources/oer

Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely accessible online teaching and learning materials. They can be videos, textbooks, quizzes, learning modules and more. Using OER in your classroom will improve student engagement and success, provide immediate, equitable access to resources, save money for your students, and provide you a venue to use flexible, high-quality learning materials in your individualized curriculum. This guide collects the best-of-the-best OER and organizes them by college and department. Take a look and see what is available in your discipline.

  • Open Textbook is a term used to indicate a Textbook that is fully OER.
  • Public Resources are materials that are free, but licenses still protect the content in some way.
  • Library Resources do not cost your students any money, and should also be considered as a means to lower the total cost of learning for your students.
  • Low-cost resources: course materials that cost students $25 or less, in total.

Tips for finding and using OER and other affordable content:

  1. There are lots of OER materials out there. It takes time and persistence to find the ones that best fit your students' academic and research needs.
  2. Instead of focusing on the textbook that you want to replace, focus on what you want your students to know or do.
  3. Use the resources in this guide to find OER relevant to your discipline and courses. These links are great starting points but if you are not finding the OER that work for you, contact your subject librarian for personalized help.
  4. If you find an article in a library database that you want to use in a course, Library staff can help you with copyright considerations and provide access to the resource through reserves, embed in an online course, or on a website.
  5. Talk with your subject librarian with any questions you have about finding and using OER. 

Links to more detailed information about OER and copyright: