Open Educational Resources (OER)

Replace costly textbooks with free or low cost educational resources!

LCC calls these resources Alternative Educational Resources (AER), and they include all course resources that cost students less than $50 to use. Some AER courses may include resources that are not openly licensed but still reduce costs for students, such as used or inexpensive books, library resources, and other alternatives to costly commercial textbooks.

Interested in adopting OER for your class?

I would like to use OER in my class. Where do I start?

Locate the resource(s) you want to use. Several places to find OER are identified on the right side of this page. Librarians can assist with finding OER and understanding copyright - contact the library at library.reference@lowercolumbia.edu.
Upload your resource(s) into Canvas. eLearning can assist with this - contact them at (360) 442-2520.

I am ready to prepare my OER for publication. What are the steps?

Faculty need to make sure items have an open license or that permission to print is granted. For example, CC-BY or another open license.
For printing, faculty are expected to identify which chapters of a text they want printed. Any given item must be no more than 700 PDF pages, or the equivalent of 350 pages printed on both sides. If the item is too large, faculty need to divide the file into two volumes.*
Faculty need to create a cover page for each item. The cover page must identify the course, text title, and include an OER license or copyright statement.*
Items to be shared to the web should either:
1. be ADA accessible, or
2. have an accessibility statement and link to an ADA accessible version, such as: "for an accessible copy of this item, please see https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-economics-2e”

*Adobe Pro is available in the eLearning office. eLearning staff can answer questions about editing your OER documents.

How do I submit my OER for printing?

Faculty need to email the EPUB or PDF file to both the library and the bookstore:
1. Library: Librarians will add the file to the OER repository for student/faculty/staff access. Email the file to iking@lowercolumbia.edu
2. Bookstore: Bookstore staff will upload the file into the AER shared folder. Email the file to bookstore@lowercolumbia.edu
Bookstore staff will confirm the course number and item.
Bookstore staff may add an ISBN to the OER item(s).
Bookstore staff will send the formatted file to the print shop, identifying how many copies are needed.
The print shop will print the files and return them to the bookstore.
Students can then elect to purchase the printed copy of the OER from the bookstore or read the material online via the OER repository.