Answers & FAQ's: FAQs for Faculty

Open Access Resources (OARs)

Open Access Resources (OARs) are teaching, learning, and research materials available at no cost online for anyone to use. However, these materials are not permitted to be revised, remixed, or adapted. The term “open access” is usually used to refer to scholarly works (journal articles, books, etc.), but it can also apply to other material types. 

Examples of OARs: 

• Scholarly articles from Open Access journals
• Government documents
• White papers and reports published by organizations

For more information about OARs, please visit SPARC’s webpage on Open Access. 

Open Educational Resources (OERs)

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are freely and publicly available teaching, learning, and research materials. These materials differ from OARs because they are published in the public domain or under an open Creative Commons license allowing for no-cost access, use, adaptation, and redistribution. 

OERs are essentially “living documents” that can be revised and updated over time, keeping in mind that the original and subsequent authors must be credited for their work. For instance, an instructor may download an OER, revise the material to fit their course needs, save a copy locally to share with their students, and redistribute the remixed OER with appropriate creator attribution. 

Examples of OERs: 

• Textbooks and course materials
• Lesson plans and course modules
• Tests and assignments
• Videos and audio files
• Educational tools and software

For more information about OERs, please visit SPARC’s webpage on Open Education and EGCC Library’s OER Guide.

Library-Licensed Resources

Library-licensed resources are materials that are available free to library users. These materials may include unlimited user license ebooks which would allow for multiple users to use the material simultaneously. It is important to note that library-licensed ebooks may or may not be downloadable; they may or may not be accessed offline; and the license may allow only one user to use the material at a time.  

Library-licensed materials with unlimited user licenses can be used as course materials. While these resources are free and available for library users, they have been purchased by the library and they are not open access materials. In addition, these materials cannot be remixed or redistributed like OERs.

EGCC faculty can use a library e-book as an alternative to print textbook for their course to help make education more affordable for their students. However, not all library content is a part of our permanent collection, so it is important to work with a librarian to ensure you find suitable library content to use for your course. For more information or assistance, please visit the Course Development Resources page of our Faculty LibGuide or contact the EGCC Library at libhelp@egcc.edu.