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.
Biological Sciences
- Ecology for All!, by Nathan Brouwer, Hannah Connuck, et al. (2025). License: CC BY-NC-SA
“The textbook covers a wide range of topics including Introduction to Ecology, Evolution, Adaptations to the Physical Environment, various ecological communities, Population Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Species Interactions, Ecological Succession, Biogeochemical Cycles, Landscape Ecology, Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, and Human Impact on Global Climate among others.”
Business
- Gateway to Business Analytics with Microsoft Excel, by Humberto Barreto, DePauw University (2025). License: CC BY
“Business analytics is a new, expanding subfield with fuzzy edges that overlap into a variety of other established disciplines, including economics, econometrics, computer science, data science, finance, statistics, mathematics, and even psychology. Business analytics includes such traditional techniques as regression and data visualization, but also newer methods such as web scraping, big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Its key distinguishing feature is using data to make and communicate business decisions. This textbook utilizes Microsoft Excel to present a mix of topics appropriate to an undergraduate level introduction to business analytics course with an engaging delivery style.”
Business: Fashion
- Fashion and Apparel Consumer Behavior, by Andrea Niosi and Doreen Chung, Iowa State University Digital Press (2025). License: CC BY-NC-SA
“This open textbook was designed for students studying apparel and fashion studies at an undergraduate level. It draws on the fields of marketing, business, communications, media studies, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. The book invites readers to examine the internal forces that shape consumer decision making, such as perceptions, motivations, personality, and attitudes as well as the external ones, such as social and situational influences, culture, and subcultures, especially those related to our appearances and clothing.”
Computer Engineering Technology
- Ethics in Technology, by Edward V. Weber, St. Charles Community College (2025). License: CC BY-NC-SA
“The purpose of this text is to facilitate focused discussions about contemporary issues of the ethical considerations related to technology evolution, development, deployment, and consumption, as well as issues (both known and unknown) of potential misuse and abuse of technology. It is intended to focus predominantly on the concepts of applying critical and ethical thinking to issues and subsequent decisions related to our interactions with technology in the 21st century.”
Computer Systems Technology
- Scientific Computing for Chemists with Python, by Charles J. Weiss, Augustana University (2025). License: CC BY-NC-SA
“This book serves as an introduction to coding for chemists. The tools employed in this book are the powerful and popular combination of Jupyter notebooks and the Python programming language. No background beyond first-year college chemistry and occasionally some very basic spectroscopy (for advanced chapters) is assumed for most of this book. This book starts with a brief primer on Jupyter notebooks in chapter 0 and computer programming with Python in chapters 1 and 2.”
Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Sociology of Gender: An Equity Lens, by Heidi Esbensen, Dana Pertermann, Nora Karena (2025). License: CC BY
“Sociology of gender uses the tools of sociology—sociological perspectives, traditional and novel research methods, and expansive theories of gender and sexuality—to explore how gender and dominant gender norms are socially constructed, imposed, enforced, reproduced, challenged, and negotiated. […] This textbook will introduce you to the thought leadership, research, and theories of contemporary sociologists—many of whom identify as women, LGBTQIA+, and People of the Global Majority—that are shaping this exciting field of study. This textbook also describes how social movements have influenced theories of gender and how the field of sociology has been responsive to these movements.”
Government & Political Science
- The Exciting Dynamics of State and Local Government, by Laura Merrifield Wilson, University of Indianapolis (2025). License: CC BY
“This book provides readers with both a large-scale overview of state government (including its responsibilities and rights established through federalism, political institutions such as the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and political behavior such as voting, interest groups, and the media) in addition to guiding individual examinations of states through case studies incorporated in each chapter. The text gives readers a greater understanding of the role and responsibilities of state and local government. Utilizing state comparisons and highlights, in content included in both the chapters and the accompanying case studies, readers delve into the intricate world of comparative government while analyzing the differences and similarities, as well as the reasons for them, between and among states.”
Human Services
- Personal Health and Safety, by Ches Jones, University of Arkansas (2025). License: CC BY-NC
This textbook examines personal health through factors and choices relating to both physical and mental health. Topics include managing stress, injury and violence prevention, reproductive choices, addiction and substance use, nutrition, physical activity, and environmental health.
Psychology
- Mental Disorders and the Criminal Justice System, by Anne Nichol, Kendra Harding, and Monica J. McKirdy (2025). License: CC BY-NC
“This is an introductory textbook exploring the management and treatment of people with mental disorders throughout the criminal justice system.”
Sociology
- Sociology of Gender: An Equity Lens, by Heidi Esbensen, Dana Pertermann, Nora Karena (2025). License: CC BY
“Sociology of gender uses the tools of sociology—sociological perspectives, traditional and novel research methods, and expansive theories of gender and sexuality—to explore how gender and dominant gender norms are socially constructed, imposed, enforced, reproduced, challenged, and negotiated. […] This textbook will introduce you to the thought leadership, research, and theories of contemporary sociologists—many of whom identify as women, LGBTQIA+, and People of the Global Majority—that are shaping this exciting field of study. This textbook also describes how social movements have influenced theories of gender and how the field of sociology has been responsive to these movements.”
Open Education
- Designing Learning Experiences for Inclusivity and Diversity: Advice for Learning Designers, by Keith Heggart, Mais Fatayer, Camille Dickson-Deane, et al., UTS ePress (2024). License: CC BY-NC
“The development and implementation of inclusive and diverse learning experiences is a vital consideration for educators in higher education. Increasingly, learning designers play a significant role in this process. This textbook offers postgraduate students a comprehensive guide to designing learning experiences that are accessible, equitable, and inclusive. It provides advice, principles, and practical strategies to help learning designers create a learning environment that recognizes and celebrates diversity while promoting equitable learning outcomes.”
- Emphasizing a Student-Centered Process: Open Pedagogy Course Assessments Across Disciplines, by Jean R. Hertzberg, Heather J. Hether, Christina R. Hilburger, Amanda Lohiser, Angela M. McGowan-Kirsch and Kelly Soczka Steidinger, Milne Open Textbooks (2025). License: CC BY
“Emphasizing a Student-Centered Process: Open Pedagogy Course Assessments Across Disciplines showcases how Open Educational Practices (OEP) empower students as active contributors to knowledge creation. Grounded in constructivist principles, this collection highlights student-centered assessments—from collaborative course design and renewable assignments to generative artificial intelligence—that foster critical thinking, active learning, and inclusivity. Through practical examples and reflective discussions, the book provides educators with actionable strategies to integrate open pedagogical practices across disciplines while addressing challenges such as institutional support, professional development, and resource accessibility.”
City Tech OER team:
Cailean Cooney, Assistant 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
