Buzz
Are you a library director or librarian at a university? Do you want to build an open educational resource library at your institution but don’t know where to find examples? This article might be just what you need.
Steps
Introduction to the Open Textbook Library at the University of Minnesota
Visit the homepage of the University of Minnesota’s Open Textbook Library at http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/. The homepage is divided into three sections: (1) the header; (2) the body; and (3) the footer. Below is an overview of each section.
Introduction to the Header Section- Accounting & Finance - Finance & Accounting.
- Business, Management & Marketing - Business, Management & Marketing.
- Computer Science & Information Systems - Computer Science & Information Systems.
- Economics - Economics.
- Engineering - Engineering.
- Foreign Languages - Foreign Languages.
- General Education - General Education.
- Humanities & Language - Humanities & Language.
- Law - Law.
- Mathematics & Statistics - Mathematics & Statistics.
- Natural & Physical Sciences - Natural & Physical Sciences.
- Social Sciences - Social Sciences.
About UsFriendsOpen Textbook Network
- Definition of open textbooks. Open textbooks are funded, published, and licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. These books have been reviewed by educators from various colleges and universities to ensure their quality. They can be downloaded for free or printed at a low cost. All textbooks are used in numerous higher education institutions; or at their branches, learning societies, or professional organizations.
Introduction to the body section. This section is divided into three columns:
- Column 1: Browse Subjects - Explore topics. It lists all 12 textbook subjects categorized in the open textbook library, with links to each subject's page.
- Column 2: New Books - New releases. It features thumbnail images of new books, representing the three subjects listed consecutively in Column 1, with links to the new book's information page. You can view more new books by clicking on the phrase See more books at the bottom of Column 2.
- Column 3: Recent Reviews - Latest reviews. It provides two recent reviews for two books, representing the three subjects listed consecutively in Column 1, along with star-rated evaluations (up to 5 stars) and corresponding links. You can read more reviews by clicking on the phrase Read more reviews at the bottom of Column 3.
Introduction to the footer section. This section includes:
- An introduction to the Open Textbook Network - OTN (Open Textbook Network) with icons of its members scrolling across the screen.
- Contact information for the Center for Open Education at the University of Minnesota.
- A statement licensing the content on the page with the note: Except where otherwise noted, content on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
How each topic and each textbook is presented
Presentation of each topic. The presentation of each of the 12 topics mentioned above is identical: at the top is the topic title, followed by a list of textbooks belonging to that topic.
How each open textbook is presented according to its topic.- Year of publication
- International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
- Publisher; often accompanied by a link to the publisher's website.
- Star rating for each review, with 5 stars being the highest.
- Personal information of the reviewer: full name, academic title, degree, workplace, and the date the review was completed.
- The content of the reviewer's feedback on the textbook.
Recommendation
- If you or your university library are interested in creating an open textbook library, this serves as an excellent model to reference for various aspects.
