Through June 2026, Northern Illinois University has an institutional account to LibreTexts, an Open Education Resource (OER) platform that, in addition to hosting open textbooks and learning objects, allows users to adapt and create OER course materials for free. The platform provides a location to gather, design, write, and share course materials. Those teaching courses can register for an instructor account. This guide provides information and links to resources and tutorials to help you plan and complete your OER project.
For questions about LibreText, contact CARLI support at support@carli.illinois.edu.
Request an instructor's account at https://one.libretexts.org/.
To register, you will have to provide an Email account and a password. Please use your NIU email and include a URL which clearly shows that you are an instructor (you’re your department directory or your faculty profile page). Accounts are usually approved within a few days.
When you log in with your instructor’s account, you will have access to the Libraries and the Conductor tool.
To create a new project, click on Projects in the top header. Then click on "Create a Project."
You will be asked to give your project a title and about visibility. While developing your OER, you should keep the project private.
Once you have created a project, you can add team members (they must have a LibreTexts account), create a timeline, assign tasks, and coordinate peer review of the project.
You can upload supporting/ancillary files (syllabi, PPTs, PDF assignments) under Assets, near the bottom of the page. Access to these materials can be public or restricted. Files with public access will be visible on the Commons via your book’s catalog entry.
Click on the green “Create Book” link to create a rudimentary book shell. Select the appropriate subject library and enter a title for your book, which you can change later.
Once created, the “Textbook Link” will go to your book.
To complete building the structure of your book, use the Remixer tool.
In addition to creating the structure of your book, you can easily add material from existing OER in LibreTexts using the Remixer. Search for OER in LibreTexts Commons.
IMPORTANT: Before developing your book in LibreTexts, it is important to construct a Remixing Map, essentially a table of contents or outline of your book.
Once you have created the skeleton of your book using the Remixer, you can manually copy and paste your content into LibreTexts. This Harvesting Checklist provides an overview of the process (including formatting equations). Additional information about the different harvesting workflows is also available.
8: Basic Editing includes information for adding videos, images, predefined template code, and more.
9: Advanced Editing includes information on how to reuse content, adding and editing
