Advice From The Library
Open access resources are a great way to save money and make courses more accessible for students. And open access resources aren't the only way of achieving this goal.
Finding open access texts in library databases
Open access resources can be tough to find. There are some sites that collect OERs (as outlined in the "Adapting Resources" section of this guide). You may also find open materials (journals, books, and more) using some of our library databases.
- Summon (the library's discovery service) currently lists over 31,000 open-access ebooks. You can find open access items in Summon by doing a search and then checking off the "Open Access" filter on the left side of the page.
- ProQuest Central, a database with over 18,000 scholarly journal titles, includes a filter for open-access materials on their search results page. Conduct a search, and on the results page, look for "Publicly Available Content Database" under the Database filter.
- The ProQuest Ebook Central database also includes access to open access books. Conduct an Advanced Search for your intended topic, and check off "Open Access Complete" underneath the Collection filter. There are over 16,000 open-access ebooks listed here.
- JSTOR offers open-access content alongside paid collections. While there is not a filter for open content in the search experience, open access items will appear alongside other results with a green Open Access label.
Using other library resources in courses
If you are selecting materials for use in a course at MSOE, you may also consider using ebooks, journals, and other materials in the library's databases to provide your students with free alternatives to course reading. A source in our databases need not be open access in order for students to access them without cost. A librarian can help create direct links to library items that you may post in Canvas or share via email or other digital format. (You can also create these links yourself if you like, using our Linking to library resources guide.)
- Consider selecting an ebook from the library as a course textbook.
- Augment learning on specific topics by adding articles to accompany specific lectures or assignments.
- Assign required or optional video content to provide greater context. (Kanopy and Academic Video Online are both great sources for video content.)
If you need help finding library resources to accompany your planned class work, reach out to a librarian!
