Open Access course books increase flexibility in studying
Open Access books as course books
Open Access books promote both lifelong and deep approach to learning: the books are available before, during and after the studies. Open Access books provide equal learning opportunities, because they can have several simultaneous users, and there is no separate charge for access or availability. Furthermore, Open Access books are not technically limited to a specific group of users. In general, the reuse of Open Access books can be defined using different options in Creative Commons license. The CC BY license, which allows extensive reuse rights, allows Open Access books to be shared and further developed, such as translations or adaptations.
In recent years, there have been unfortunate developments in the availability of e-books, particularly in the form of toll course books. Some popular toll course e-books can only be purchased with expensive licenses for one to three simultaneous users. The situation is difficult if the course involves several hundred students, and there are not enough printed books for everyone.
Some commercial publishers have started selling their toll e-course books only with annual licenses, the price of which is based on the number of participants in the course. These books can be expensive to buy each year. They are also very time-consuming to subscribe to, because it is necessary to find out if there is a demand for the book and how many students participate in the course. A commercial publisher may remove a toll e-book from a large e-book collection that is charged annually.
Open Access books will not be removed from collection in the middle of a course or at a critical stage of the thesis. Open Access books also help students to progress in their studies and graduate, because the material is easily accessible. And so, favouring Open Access books as course material for higher education is a great way to avoid the challenges associated with toll e-books. The table below shows the most common differences between a toll e-book and an Open Access book.
Where to find Open Access books?
There are plenty of Open Access books in the library's Andor search service, where you can limit your search to Open Access books. The Andor search service contains thousands of peer-reviewed Open Access books from different disciplines, for example, the contents of the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) and Open Research Library by Knowledge Unlatched. The library also supports various services which promote Open Science with support and membership fees.
Theme collection of open books
The library's specialists have put together a theme collection containing a selection of current peer-reviewed Open Access books from a range of disciplines. The collection is updated regularly. You can find the collection on the library's website.
More information on the topic
Course book acquisition
Open Access books as a course books
Open education and open educational resources
UNESCO recommendation on open educational resources
Text and table: Information Specialists Soile Kolehmainen, Sari Leppänen, Johanna Nummi and Kati Syvälahti
