Step 2: Identify Format
For this step, you’ll want to identify the format of the open textbook you’d like to modify. All books in the Open Textbook Library are available in at least one portable format (PDF, EPUB, or MOBI). Textbooks may also be available online (HTML) and via platforms such as Pressbooks or OpenStax CNX.
File Type |
How Do I Read It? |
Example |
| Adobe Reader | Beyond Lean: Simulation in Practice |
|
| HTML | Any internet browser | Human Relations |
| EPUB | eBook readers (except Kindle), iPhone and Android apps, Firefox and Chrome add-ons, Google Play books | Foundations of Academic Success: Words of Wisdom |
| MOBI (.AZW3) | Kindle eBook | Financial Accounting |
| Pressbooks (.WXR) | Any internet browser | Financial Accounting |
| OpenStax | Any internet browser | Anatomy and Physiology |
The PDF Reality
It’s common for open textbooks to be available only in PDF. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to make major changes to a PDF, so you may want to look for a different file type. Here are some possibilities:
- Use the publisher link (included in the Open Textbook Library) to look for source files.
- Search GitHub for other file formats (computer science and mathematics textbooks often have original files available on GitHub).
- Contact the author to request an editable format.
Contributors: Cherl Cuillier, Amy Hofer, Annie Johnson, Kathleen Labadorf, Peter Potter, Richard Saunders, Anita Walz