The UNT Libraries, with generous support from UNT’s Student Innovative Fund for Teaching, have joined the Open Textbook Network (OTN), a network of institutions committed to access, affordability, and student success through open textbooks, as part of a pilot program in support of open educational resources (OER). Use of open textbooks (academic textbooks that are free, openly licensed, and complete) creates a measurable, positive impact on student success. Besides fostering this national network of open-education practitioners, OTN staff maintain the Open Textbook Library, the premier catalog of peer-reviewed open textbooks.

As part of UNT’s membership, OTN experts will lead a workshop for UNT faculty in February 2017 to offer an introduction to open textbooks and how they benefit students both financially and academically faculty. During their visit, they will also participate in discussions with staff and administrators from across campus who have a stake in the use of textbooks. More information on the workshop for faculty will be forthcoming early in 2017.