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Open vs. closed
So, you’ve decided to Author an Open textbook. Before you begin, it’s important to understand the differences between an open textbook and a standard textbook, and how these contrasting characteristics might affect the open textbook author and publishing process
Open textbooks are open educational resources or instructional resources created and shared or published in ways that allow more people to access them.
The traditional textbook-publishing model assumes that the author owns the copyright for the textbook and that these rights are not shared with others. In other words, all rights are reserved so the textbook is essentially closed.
If the author owns the copyright, they can sell to a publisher the right to print and distribute their work. The conditions of this sale are typically outlined in a contract between the author and publisher, a document that should be reviewed by a lawyer familiar with copyright law.
On its’ Copyright Guidance: Copyright for Authors & Creator’s page [New Tab], the Yale University Library offers advice to writers who are thinking about using a publisher. They say:
Most authors of books or journal articles are required to sign an agreement with their publisher as a condition before publication. It is important to read these agreements as they are legally binding and may have an impact on how the author can use or reuse the work. Like any agreement, the publisher agreement should be negotiable so that the author retains some or all of the copyrights associated with the work.[1]
However, the distinction between publishing open textbooks, as an individual or with an open-publication press, and the more traditional textbook publishers, is beginning to blur.
In a January 29, 2018 blog, David Wiley ponders:
(t)he open education community’s willingness or unwillingness to be more inclusive, welcoming, and supportive of newcomers – even those from private enterprise – will largely predict its ability to grow and have the kind of dramatic impact we all want it to have. Can you imagine a day when many of the most important contributions to many of the most important OER and open textbook projects are made by people who work for for-profit publishers and other companies, and who contribute to OER as part of their formal job responsibilities? Can you imagine a day when many of the world’s most-used OER were originally published by companies, who continue to invest in their ongoing updates and maintenance? Can you imagine a day when companies are releasing millions of new words, images, videos, and interactives under open licenses each year?[2]
You are the Author and Copyright holder, and The Claremont Colleges Library is the Publisher
Too many choices
Textbooks are often built in an online platform (software system or website) where content can easily be changed (intentionally and not) and many features can be added. Some argue that an online textbook should take full advantage of media beyond the text in a bo