New and Noteworthy is the City Tech Library OER Team’s monthly roundup of notable open educational resources. We try to include at least one open resource relevant to each school at City Tech in every post. At the end of the month, these resources will be compiled and distributed by the library liaison for your department. Please contact us if you know of new or particularly interesting OER to share with our colleagues or would like more information about open educational resources initiatives at City Tech.
Architecture
- The Design of the Built Environment: The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Campus and Its Context, by Kevin J. Hinders, Illinois Open Publishing Network (2026). License: CC BY
“Structured around thematic walking tours, the manuscript examines architectural principles and then uses the campus and its surroundings to illustrate the concepts. It delves into the evolution of public spaces, technical design considerations, and the influence of local, regional, and national planning. Through case studies, historical analysis, and design theory, Hinders illustrates how built environments reflect collective values, cultural shifts, and functional needs.”
Biological Sciences
- Applications of Control Charts for Quality Improvement in Health Care by Jerome Niyiora, SUNY Polytechnic Institute (2020). License: CC BY-NC-SA
This textbook introduces students to the application methods of control charts to improve quality in health care. The textbook is written to be accessible to any student in the areas of health information management, health care informatics, and health care industrial engineering. Having a basic background in statistics would be beneficial, but such training is not a prerequisite to understanding how to apply the techniques discussed here. Several How-To sections are included to demonstrate the implementation of the given control charts using software such as Minitab and Excel. Additionally, samples of a Python code are included and can directly be accessed in a Jupyter Notebook at https://github.com/JeromeNN.
Construction Management & Civil Engineering Technology
- Engineering Signal Analysis: From Fourier to filtering: Theory, by Christian Tiberius and Max Mulder, TU Delft Open (2026). License: CC BY
“Engineering Signal Analysis – Theory, is an introductory textbook on the analysis of signals in time and frequency. It takes an engineer’s perspective and discusses how to characterize, analyze and operate on signals. The basic theoretical concepts, Fourier series and transform, are explained in continuous time. It then introduces discrete-time signals, addressing how sampling and finite signal duration affect spectral analysis. It discusses the discrete Fourier transform and its use in spectral estimation. The book concludes with an introduction to linear systems and signal filtering.”
Electrical & Telecommunications Engineering Technology
- Embedded Controllers using C and Arduino + Lab Manual, by James Fiore, Milne Open Textbooks (2018). License: CC BY-NC-SA
“This text introduces embedded controller systems using the inexpensive and widely available Arduino hardware platform and the C programming language. It is intended for students in Electrical Engineering and Electrical Engineering Technology programs at the Associate and Baccalaureate levels. Unlike many Arduino texts, this text does not rely solely on the Arduino libraries. Rather, it “gets under the hood” and directly accesses I/O ports, pins and DDR, as would be expected in a traditional college level microprocessor/microcontroller course. The companion laboratory manual introduces embedded controller systems using the Arduino hardware platform and the C programming language. Exercises include usage of seven-segment displays, switches and analog input devices; a reaction timer; PWM; an event counter and an arbitrary waveform generator.”
Human Services
- Social Justice & Advocacy in Human Services by Cailyn F. Green, Bernadet DeJonge, Nikki Golden, Kim Brayton, Carrie Steinman and Shannon Raybold, Empire State College (2025). License: CC BY
Social Justice & Advocacy in Human Services delves into the complex realm of social justice, offering a deep dive into historical roots and theories to practical applications in the field. This text covers fundamental concepts, including power, privilege, and oppression, and explores critical issues like racism, gender, sexuality, poverty, religion, and disability in the context of the United States. The last section of the book hones in on the field of human services, discussing power, privilege, and bias in this context, and lastly exploring equitable distribution, human rights, and the systems and entry points within human services practice.
Law & Paralegal Studies
- Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System: An Equity Lens by Roxie Supplee, and Megan Gonzalez, Open Oregon Educational Resources (2025). License: CC BY-NC-SA
This introductory criminal justice textbook serves as a comprehensive resource for students to explore the key areas of the American criminal justice system. Students will examine the roles of the police, courts, corrections, and juvenile law. Additionally, the book introduces criminal theory, data, and legal principles. Beyond just studying these topics, students will have the opportunity to investigate potential careers and reflect on their roles and opinions within our legal system.
Mathematics
- Introductory Statistics by Jared Eusea; Phyllis Okwan; Rachid Belmasrour; Stephan Patterson; and Stephen Andrus, LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network (2024). License: CC BY-SA
This book is designed to be used in any Introductory Statistics course. It focuses on the interpretation of statistical results, especially in real world settings, and assumes that students have an understanding of intermediate algebra. The main sections of the text follows “traditional statistics” teaching methods by placing a significant emphasis on the development and practical application of formulas, so that students have a deeper understanding of their interpretation and application of data. However, because it is also widely known that the use of technology (graphing calculators, Excel, etc.) is used to cover the concepts in statistics, an added feature of Using Technology sections at the end of each chapter has been added. - Significant Statistics by John Morgan Russell, Virginia Tech Publishing (2025). License: CC BY-SA
Significant Statistics: An Introduction to Statistics is intended for students enrolled in a one-semester introduction to statistics course who are not mathematics or engineering majors. It focuses on the interpretation of statistical results, especially in real world settings, and assumes that students have an understanding of intermediate algebra. In addition to end of section practice and homework sets, examples of each topic are explained step-by-step throughout the text and followed by a ‘Your Turn’ problem that is designed as extra practice for students.
Social Sciences
- Leveraging Data Visualization to Communicate Effectively by Jennie L. Mitchell, PALNI (2025). License: CC BY
This textbook introduces students to the principles of effective data visualization and how to use visualization techniques to effectively communicate information and insights. Additionally, it shares presentation strategies to address communication gaps that could arise if the visualized data does not have the proper context and labeling. Students will learn how to select appropriate chart types and design effective visualizations that clearly convey data patterns and trends, to support data-driven decisions. The textbook also covers best practices for labeling, scaling, and annotating visualizations, as well as techniques for avoiding common pitfalls and biases in data visualization. Through hands-on exercises and projects, students will have the opportunity to practice creating a variety of visualizations using tools such as Excel, Power Business Intelligence (BI) and several problem-solving tools like Ishikawa, SWOT, PEST/LE, decision tree and more. Students will be able to process, analyze and visualize data to evaluate patterns and trends, and learn ways to communicate more effectively regardless of the setting or the type of audience.
City Tech OER team:
Cailean Cooney, Associate Professor, OER Librarian: ccooney@citytech.cuny.edu Joshua Peach, Adjunct OER Librarian: jpeach@citytech.cuny.edu
Jo Thompson, Adjunct OER Librarian: jthompson@citytech.cuny.edu
Sara Sarmiento, Adjunct Reference and Instruction Librarian
