Create or use open textbooks

Open book iconOpen textbooks are a type of open educational resource (OER) that are free for everyone to use. Open textbooks provide an alternative to commercial textbooks and offer many benefits to you, your students and the community. Find out how you can author, adapt or adopt open textbooks.

edit book iconAuthor an open textbook

Open Textbooks @ UQ, on the Pressbooks platform, enables you to author a new open textbook or adapt an existing open textbook for your course. You can:

  • tailor content to enhance deeper learning and engagement.
  • add local context, Indigenous perspectives and a diversity of viewpoints.
  • update your textbook immediately and easily.
  • add rich multimedia and interactivity.
  • co-create content with your students.

Visit the Open Textbooks @ UQ catalogue to find open textbooks by UQ authors.

Submit an expression of interest form to use Pressbooks to create an open book. 

search iconAdopt an open textbook

Find open textbooks to use in your course. Open textbooks and other OER usually have Creative Commons licences that allow others to freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them.

Benefits for your students:

  • Free access to the open textbook. The cost of textbooks can be a barrier to student success.
  • No limitations on access. This can be of particular concern during assessment time.
  • An increased sense of belonging due to the inclusion of local context and a diversity of viewpoints.

Find other types of OER, including images, software, audio, video and whole courses.

Open Textbook Grant Program

Apply for a grant to create an open textbook

There are two types of grants available:

  • Substantially adapt an existing open textbook to your instructional needs – $2,000
  • Create an open textbook to replace a commercially published textbook for your course – $4,000.

Open Textbooks @ UQ snapshot has information about the use of Open Textbooks @ UQ books in courses and a text version of the following infographic:

Open Textbooks @ UQ snapshot

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20

Open Textbooks @ UQ books

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1316

Students using Open Textbooks @ UQ books in their course in semester 2, 2023

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3770

Total number of students who have used Open textbooks @ UQ books in their course

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$129,851

Total savings for students not having to purchase a textbook

What do UQ students think about open textbooks?

smile on laptop icon"I don’t have to stress about purchasing and it is more accessible... It is way more engaging and makes learning easy!"

idea icon"I liked my experience using the Social Cost Benefit Analysis book by Dr Suzanne Bonner. I wish more instructors would follow her lead.”

pay money icon"Education (and academic success) should not be hidden behind paywalls …”​

Our Textbooks today blog has more information on issues UQ students have with commercial textbooks and what they think about open textbooks.

Discover more about open textbooks at UQ

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Open Textbooks @ UQ catalogue

Find more open textbooks created by UQ authors.

information iconAbout Pressbooks

Learn more about our open book creation platform.

analytics iconGoogle Analytics for our Pressbooks

You can adjust the date via the drop down option or view the full dashboard for more analytics.