Research Guides: Textbook Affordability and Open Educational Resources (OER): Home

Welcome!

This guide is intended for those interested in learning more about Textbook Affordability. Textbook affordability refers to any initiative designed to reduce the cost of course materials for students.

This guide will help you:

Understand what textbook affordability is and how to get involved
Learn how students can utilize Textbook Affordability initiatives to save money
Learn about CCC's Textbook Affordability Initiatives including:
Learn more about Open Educational Resources (OER) including:
- Why lowering costs for students is important
- How to find OER to use in your courses
- The Three As of OER
- How to maintain OER you're already using
- Open Pedagogy beyond OER
Brush up on copyright and fair use in educational settings
Check out resources for continuing education related to Textbook Affordability
Read up on policies and legislation regarding Textbook Affordability at CCC and in Oregon

Textbook Affordability Announcements

Textbook Affordability Librarian Office Hours!

Have a question, comment, or recommendation you want heard? Want to chat with Justine about Textbook Affordability initiatives? Drop in to a Textbook Affordability office hour!

See the current term's office hour options below:

Wednesdays, 1:00pm-2:00pm

Location:

Remote, Zoom: https://clackamas.zoom.us/j/4548436673
In person: Dye Learning Center, D120

Thursdays, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Location:

Remote, Zoom: https://clackamas.zoom.us/j/4548436673
In person: Dye Learning Center, D120

Can't make it to office hours? Make an appointment with Justine instead!

Make an Appointment with Veronica Vold, Open Education Instructional Designer

Get one-on-one help from an Open Education Instructional Designer.

Textbook Affordability vs. OER

This guide includes information about various Textbook Affordability initiatives. It goes into great detail about Open Educational Resources (OER), but it's important to remember that OER are just one way to get involved with Textbook Affordability. See the chart below for more information on the difference between Textbook Affordability and OER.

Textbook Affordability	Open Educational Resources (OER)
Textbook Affordability is a broad term that encompasses a variety of initiatives. Any initiative designed to reduce course material costs is a textbook affordability initiative. Textbook affordability includes OER	Public domain or Creative Commons licensing Anyone can legally and freely copy, use, adapt and share. OER are not limited to textbooks! There are OER course shells, assessments, tutorials, worksheets, and more! Free does not always mean OER. Some free course materials are not openly licensed, so they are not considered OER.