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Why publish an open textbook?

Open textbooks are a type of Open Educational Resource (OER). They remove the cost burden of traditional textbooks for students, eliminating the cost of course materials as a barrier to education and creating a more equitable and inclusive learning environment. There are many benefits beyond this for authors, instructors and students. OER:

  • Are easily remixed, adapted or built upon to create a contextualised learning experience
  • Promote collaboration
  • Are updatable to remain current, include diverse perspectives, and be culturally relevant
  • Are easily shared, downloaded and printed in full

Creating customisable, adaptable and equitable teaching resources also aligns with UniSA’s values of diversity and social justice, engagement and collaboration, and agility and innovation.

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Publishing options at UniSA

Publishing an open textbook with a commercial publisher would generally involve expensive Book Processing Charges (BPCs) which the author is responsible for covering. UniSA is currently taking part in an Open Textbook Pilot through the CAUL OER Collective, providing staff with a platform to create a peer reviewed open textbook free of charge.

See the table below for details on how these options compare.

  Commercial Publishing Open Textbook Pilot
Cost to Author Expensive book processing charges (BPS) Free of charge to authors
Copyright Retained by publisher Retained by authors
Flexibility of Text

Text cannot be altered or built upon:

  • Must be used 'as is'
  • Cannot be updated with developments in the field so becomes outdated

Text can be updated, reused and remixed:

  • Can be tailored to match the course content, be culturally relevant and inclusive, include latest developments in the field, etc.
  • Promotes collaboration 
Access May not be available for the Library to purchase. Is likely to include access, print and download limits Available for free to anyone, anywhere in the world. Can be shared, downloaded, and printed in entirety
Cost to Student Students are required to purchase a copy Free for students to use
Open Access conditions Open Access options only available for a fee Open Access built into the pilot, free of charge to authors

Publishing workflow

CAUL OER Collective Publishing Workflow Diagram, click to link through to the CAUL website

The CAUL OER Collective publishing workflow is designed to guide authors and Library staff through the basics of open textbook publishing in Australia. There are 7 stages to the workflow: Initiate, Plan, Draft, Design, Review, Publish, and Evaluate.

More information on each of these stages is available from CAUL:

Using Pressbooks

Pressbooks is the publishing platform UniSA is piloting for open textbook publishing.

A wide range of help resources are available to help you get the most out of the Pressbooks. Check out the list below and, if you need assistance or have any questions, contact Ask the Library.

Grants

An open textbook grants program is a key part of the OER Collective model. The 2023 grant round closed Friday 24 February. Grant recipients will be notified on Wednesday 5 April. Check out the link below for details.

FAQs

What support is available from the library?

The Library can provide technical support with using the Pressbooks platform as well as copyright and licensing advice. We can facilitate peer review through the CAUL OER Collective.

The Library cannot provide assistance with content creation or copy editing. We recommend joining the Community of Practice where you can seek advice and share tips with other authors. For details, contact Ask the Library.

Who owns the copyright in UniSA textbooks published through the pilot?

As textbooks are scholarly works, copyright will rest with the author, in line with section 4.2 of the University’s IP Policy.

Please note: Under the University’s Open Access Policy, you will need to lodge a copy of your published text in our institutional repository (ROR).

Who is responsible for ongoing maintenance of textbooks?

As the copyright holder, authors have overarching ownership and ongoing responsibility of textbooks they create through the Collective. The Library will house a copy permanently in the institutional repository (ROR).

Can I get a DOI for my textbook?

Once your textbook has been added to the Research Outputs Repository (ROR), the Library can mint a DOI on your behalf. You can add a note requesting this when you submit the details to ROR or submit your request via Ask the Library.

Please note: The DOI will link to the record in ROR. For options to mint a DOI that links directly to your textbook, see the CAUL OER Publishing Workflow.

What if I am not ready to publish this year but am interested in creating an open textbook?

We would be happy to help you get ready to publish next year, or further into the future. The OER Collective pilot is running for two years at this stage, but we are investigating options for publishing open textbooks at UniSA moving forward. Please contact Ask the Library to find out how we can support you.

Where can I find openly licensed images to include in my textbook?

See the Find OER tab for help finding a wide range of openly licensed resources including images, videos, sound files, and more. For help with copyright, check out the Copyright Guidelines or contact Ask the Library.