OER Repositories and Tips for Searching

If you wish to do your own searches for OER, there are a variety of repositories available to discover more resources.

Keep these points in mind when searching for OER:

OER repositories are often multidisciplinary.
Resources come in a variety of types and formats.
Not all repositories are created equal or organized the same way. Those that offer mediated deposit usually have more accurate cataloguing details or metadata. Also, some offer filters and reviews to help refine search results.
The quality of the metadata associated with each resource will vary greatly, which can make it difficult to apply filters or perform a federated search of multiple repositories simultaneously.
Some repositories include resources that are “free” but not necessarily “open”. Take the time to verify the copyright or licence terms of each item to confirm if it is an OER.
You may not find an exact replacement for the commercial resource you are currently using. Some adaptations and the use of more than one OER may be required.

Search by discipline or subject first.
If searching by keyword, start with broader concepts and then narrow down using discipline-specific terms and/or limiters available on the platform.
If available, use the “advanced search” function.
Look for a copyright notice, conditions of use, or a licence to confirm if the resource is not just “free” but also “open”.

See also “Finding Open Content” and “Repositories and Search Tools” by Ariana Santiago in OER Creation Toolkit, edited by Isaac Mulolani (University of Regina), CC BY 4.0.

Here are some repositories and indexes that were used to find OER for this guide (in alphabetical order):

B.C. Open Collection (BCcampus)	Multidisciplinary
eCampusOntario Open Library	Multidisciplinary Some recent resources that were created as part of the Virtual Learning Strategy have an Ontario Commons licence, which is more restrictive than a Creative Commons licence. See Introduction – The What and Why of OER for more details.
LibreTexts and LibreCommons	Multidisciplinary
Lumen Learning	Multidisciplinary
Mason OER Metafinder (MOM)	Federated searching This tool makes it possible to search two types of collections: OER repositories and “Deeper Search”, i.e. archives and other content in the public domain.
MERLOT	Multidisciplinary, federated searching MERLOT includes copyright-protected content. Search results are presented in three categories: “MERLOT Collection” (mostly OER), “Other Libraries” (pointing to other open collections), and “The Web” (including education and government sites).
Milne Open Textbooks (formerly OpenSUNY)	Multidisciplinary
OASIS (Openly Available Sources Integrated Search)	Federated searching
OER Commons	Multidisciplinary
Open Michigan	Organized by discipline
OpenStax	Multidisciplinary
Open Textbook Library	Multidisciplinary
PennState University Libraries ROAM	Multidisciplinary
Pressbooks Directory	Multidisciplinary This directory includes copyright-protected content

Consult the uOttawa Library OER guide for more suggested repositories and sources.

If you would like to suggest other OER repositories, please use this Suggestions, Comments, and Corrections form.

Not sure how to evaluate an OER you are considering for a course? Consult Evaluating OER in this guide.

Need help finding OER? Contact the uOttawa Library OER service at reloer@uottawa.ca.

License

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