LibGuides: Open Educational Resources (OER): Library Educational Resources (LER)

LER vs OER

Library Educational Resources (LER) are materials the library purchases or licenses that can be used as course content. While they are not considered OER because they are purchased or licensed and cannot be revised, they are still accessible to students and do lower course costs.

In most cases, database articles and eBooks can be assigned as course readings.

When incorporating library resources into your course, follow these best practices:

Provide links in Canvas rather than uploading PDFs. This respects copyright and allows the library to maintain accurate usage statistics.
Use permanent links with the proxy prefix for off-campus access.
Consult with a librarian before assigning an eBook, as some titles may limit the number of simultaneous users and may have licensing restrictions.

Explore the library resources below to incorporate into your course curriculum.

Library Databases

Academic OneFile (Gale)
Upgrade to General OneFile provides peer-reviewed, full-text articles from leading journals and reference sources. Includes coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and, other subjects.

Funded by: State Library of Florida
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)
Academic Search Complete, designed specifically for academic institutions, is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
JSTOR
(JSTOR) - Access back issues of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Over 700 titles available.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation

Databases by Subject
Browse and search in other databases by subject.

eBooks

eBook Central (ProQuest)
Find scholarly eBooks in multiple subjects from world-renowned publishers.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
eBook Collection (EBSCO)
(EBSCO) - EBSCO is now a key provider of eBooks to libraries and other institutions worldwide. The synergy of eBooks with EBSCOs multifaceted collection of electronic content provides libraries with even more options for fulfilling their growing electronic information needs. Making eBook content accessible via the popular EBSCOhost interface will provide for a more powerful, fully-integrated user experience and prove valuable to librarians, students, and researchers. EBSCO offers a rapidly growing collection of eBooks available via convenient Subject Sets that have been hand-crafted by collection development experts.

Funded by: College and Statewide
Gale E-Books (Gale)
(Gale) - This product offers more than 85 reference sources including encyclopedias, series and more, allowing libraries to provide respected authoritative essays on varied topics from numerous subject areas. Users can search across a single eBook or an entire eBook collection.

Funded by: College and Statewide
OverDrive Digital Media Library
(Overdrive) - OverDrive provides access to popular and bestselling eBooks and eAudiobooks. OverDrive’s “Libby” app syncs your loans across all your devices

Funded by: College

Videos

Films on Demand (Infobase Publishing)
Streaming video from large and small production companies covering a wide range of subjects to enhance college courses. These videos include public performance rights that allow them to be used in the educational setting.

Funded by: College (FLVC Group License)
Kanopy
Watch thousands of streaming films, documentaries and training videos. Kanopy’s award-winning collection includes PBS, Criterion Collection, New Day, California Newsreel, First Run Features, and hundreds of other leading producers -- on every topic imaginable.

Funded by: College
Swank Motion Pictures
Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.®, founded in 1937, is the major non-theatrical movie distributor, online CE/CME education distributor, and public performance licensing agent in venues where feature movies are shown publicly.

Funded by: College

Other Streaming Video Databases
Includes Bates' Visual Guide to Physical Examination (Ovid), Digital Theatre+, Medici.tv, National Theatre Collection, Nursing and Mental Health in Video, and PBS Video.

Open Educational Resources (OER) by Miami Dade College Libraries is licensed under CC BY 4.0