Open textbooks are textbooks that have been funded, published, and licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. These books have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities to assess their quality. These books can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost. All textbooks are either used at multiple higher education institutions; or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.
The Open Textbook Library started in 2012 at the University of Minnesota as a way for Dave Ernst to share a collection of open textbooks with faculty and encourage them to consider open textbooks for their courses. His interest and work in expanding the use of open textbooks was a direct response to escalating textbook costs in higher education and their negative impact on students’ academic success, especially on those who are most financially vulnerable.
In 2014 the Open Textbook Network launched. Its goal was to support institutions in engaging faculty with the Open Textbook Library so that faculty could potentially adopt open textbooks. The Open Textbook Network thrives today as an active community that promotes access, affordability, and student success through open education. The leadership, actions, and results of the community are transforming higher education.
The library currently includes 708 textbooks, with more being added all the time.The Open Textbook Library is supported by the Center for Open Education and the Open Textbook Network
Source: https://open.umn.edu/otn/about/
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