There are many other tools that may be used to create or publish various types of OER.
This page is openly licensed.
Creating and Publishing OER © 2024 by Evangeline Reid is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 
When creating OER, it is best practice to work with openly licensed materials. See the tab about using OER for more detailed guidance about remixing and using openly licensed works.
However, works that are not openly licensed may also be incorporated in certain ways, such as through copyright exceptions made possible under the United State's fair use doctrine. Use the tools below to see if something may fall under a fair use exception. Always provide full attribution for these sources to help users who may face different copyright policies in other countries.
Always keep a record of where you found outside materials like images, articles, or charts. This ensures your OER can meet license requirements and academic integrity expectations with appropriate attribution.
Accessibility is hugely important to digital textbooks. Taking a few steps will ensure the resource can be used by all students.
LibreTexts is a free platform that supports creating and publishing OER.
LibreTexts is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization funded by the Department of Education and the California Education Learning Lab. It began as Chemwiki in 2008 and hosts an “ecosystem” of OER tools today.
Since OER are often "published" outside of typical publishing workflows, some effort should be taken to ensure others know about your new resource.
1. If the platform you are using to share your work allows specifies the license (such as in page settings or item details), please do so. This ensures your resource will appear in searches filtered for openly licensed material.
2. Add your materials to some OER discovery systems, like those listed below. The best option may vary for different materials. Feel free to ask a librarian for advice.
3. If you are an Aurora University faculty or staff member, let a librarian know about your OER to have it added to curated collections.
Share the good news! A brief summary, link, and cover image is easy to share.
1. Share your work with OER groups that your institution and its library belong to. A few relevant to Aurora University are linked below.
2. Identify relevant professional networks, listservs, and contacts to share your resource. Don't forget your colleagues on campus.
3. Notify your institution's communication team. They may be interested in sharing your resource in some way.
Authors: Melissa Falldin and Karen Lauritsen
This guide is for faculty authors, librarians, project managers and others who are involved in the production of open textbooks in higher education and K-12. Content includes a checklist for getting started, publishing program case studies, textbook organization and elements, writing resources and an overview of useful tools.