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Open Educational Resources (OER)

Find and evaluate OER materials such as ebooks, images, videos, case studies, simulations and more. Understand copyright and Creative Commons (CC) licences.

Finding OER textbooks

This video demonstrates how to search for OER textbooks via several search engines, how to access the texts, and how the texts can be used for teaching by identifying the Creative Commons licence.

DRM-free resources

What is DRM-free?

Digital Rights Management (DRM) regulates how online resources can be accessed, downloaded, copied and printed.

DRM-free resources are online resources purchased by the Library with copyright restrictions that offer far greater accessibility and flexibility for individual use. DRM-free resources can be copied and downloaded in their entirety and accessed by an unlimited number of users at the same time.

Benefits of DRM-free

  • Simultaneous online access for an unlimited number of users
  • Unlimited chapter downloads that never expire
  • Allowing students to freely download, print, copy and save content
  • Availability for use at any time, from anywhere
  • Maximising an e-book's portability and usability

Copyright restrictions include:

  • Cannot be modified or shared
     
Open Educational Resources DRM-free

Open licensed, so resources may be:

  • Copied and distributed
  • Edited and modified

Traditional copyright applies, so:

  • Cannot be edited and modified
  • Each user must download their own copy from the library website
Free to access online Purchased by the library and available through the library website
Wide variety of different publishers and authors and formats Published by traditional academic publishers

OER & DRM Free Resources (3:20 mins) by RMIT College of Business and Law (YouTube)

Finding DRM-free books

While many publishers include DRM-free books within their existing collections, below are some publishers that provide extensive DRM-free resources.

EBSCO Faculty Select (2.34 min) by EBSCO (YouTube)

If you would like the library to purchase a DRM-free textbook, please submit a Purchase Request Form.