Open textbooks are free to use and distribute, and are licensed to be freely adapted or changed with proper attribution. Many in the open education community believe that the most appropriate license for open textbooks is the Creative Commons Attribution International (CC BY) license. The CC BY license means anyone can retain, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute open textbooks.
The textbooks are usually available as a computer file or through an online platform like Pressbooks or Lumen. Some open textbooks are also available in paper for a small printing fee.
There are many advantages to open textbooks. An open textbook can be used in whole or in part by a class with no fee for the content. It can be modified to fit the needs of the particular course. Students will not lose access or have to sell their textbooks back at the end of the course.
This work, Open Textbook Definition, is a derivative of Open Textbook Criteria by The Open Education Network used under CC-BY 4.0. Open Textbook Definition is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 by TCC Libraries
