Research Guides: Open Educational Resources (OER) &amp; Textbook Equity: Write an Open Textbook/Resource

Rod Library Services for Publishing Open Educational Resources (OER)

"My students were absolutely thrilled when they found out they did not have to purchase a textbook for this course."
-Dr. Erika Bass, Assistant Professor of English Education, editor of Critical Writing about Literature: ENG 2120.

Whether you want to adapt existing openly-licensed material, share your own teaching materials with the world, or create a new workbook, textbook, or lab manual entirely from scratch, Rod Library can provide various levels of support for open publishing projects.

Services we currently provide for OER authors:

Project management support
Assistance with determining and documenting fair use of copyrighted materials
Assistance considering accessibility best practices
Guidance about licensing options for the final free work
Assistance facilitating peer review for open textbooks
Archiving final works in UNI ScholarWorks & assistance with publicizing
Providing resources for faculty to advocate that OER-related work “count” for promotion, tenure, and faculty evaluation
Advocacy for consistent funding to support faculty author time and labor
- UNI OER authors have been compensated more than $100,000 since 2021. Only $15,000 of that was university funds & the remainder was CARES Act funding distributed by the Iowa Dept. of Education through the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund.

We do not currently provide:

Copyediting (note that Research & Sponsored Programs may maintain a list of freelance editors; we can also provide referrals to outside companies that provide high-quality publishing support on a paid basis)
Extensive work with copyright permissions
Support for publishing projects that will charge readers or subscribers.
Support for publishing projects that will not bear a Creative Commons license. (Though we do archive such projects in UNI ScholarWorks)

Want to find out more? Contact your liaison librarian and Anne Marie Gruber, Textbook Equity Librarian. We will meet with you to discuss your project and determine how Rod Library can best support you.

Software Now Available to Create Ebooks!

Manifold
UNI, through our membership in the Open Education Network, has access to the software program Manifold, which allows for formatting existing or new openly-licensed and/or public domain content into ebook format that is easy to navigate. There are social annotation features built in that could be used in courses. It also supports media such as images and video. Whether you have a course "packet" you'd like to beautify, a few open textbook chapters you want to combine, or an idea for an ebook you want to create from scratch, Manifold is for you! Those interested in exploring Manifold should contact Anne Marie Gruber to schedule a meeting.
- UNI projects created with Manifold

OER Primer for Iowa Regents Institutions

OER Primer for Iowa Regents Institutions
This book is intended to help guide Iowa Regents instructors and students working on all types of OER projects. Whether you’re getting ready to use an OER for the first time, adapting or remixing existing OER, or creating your own materials, this short handbook should have some useful tips for you. Feel free to skip around to sections that are directly relevant to your particular OER projects. This guide is itself an OER and is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and is able to be shared, reused, and adapted by anyone, anywhere, for free. Creation of this book was supported by the Regents OER Grant Program through CARES Act funding (Governor's Emergency Education Relief).

Resources supporting open textbook authors

Iowa OER Module: Adapting, Creating, & Sharing OER
Short, self-paced module.
The OER Starter Kit
Abbey Elder
Authoring Open Textbooks
Melissa Falldin and Karen Lauritsen
The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far)
Apurva Ashok and Zoe Wake Hyde. Will evolve over time as contibutors share knowledge.
Open Textbook Publishing Orientation (PUB 101)
Free online, self-paced course from Open Education Network (UNI is a member)
A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students
Elizabeth Mays (Ed.)
Self-Publishing Guide
Lauri Aesoph
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources: A Guide for Authors, Adapters & Adopters of Openly Licensed Teaching and Learning Materials
Citation vs. Attribution
Section of BCcampus Self-Publishing Guide.
Attribution Builder
Open Washington. Fill in form for an existing work you want to use. Attribution language is automatically created.
Best Practices for Attribution
Creative Commons
Guidelines for Using Generative AI in OER
Affordable Learning Georgia
Create an OER? Share it!
Rod Library archives faculty- and student-created OERs, ranging from entire open textbooks to assignments, lesson plans, and more!

Equity and Accessibility

Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion
OER authors should ensure they review accessibility best practices when creating and modifying materials.
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism (IDEA) in Open Publishing
An excellent resource round-up from Gabby Hernandez of UT-Rio Grande Valley.

Writing with Students?

Open Pedagogy
Want to create open educational resources in collaboration with students? See this guide to view case studies and more!

Promotion/Tenure/Evaluation and Other Faculty FAQs

Faculty FAQs
For information about how faculty OER work relates to promotion, tenure, and faculty development as well as other commonly-asked questions.

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Textbook Equity

OER Librarian