What is the Open Textbook Library?

The Open Textbook Library (open.umn.edu/opentextbooks) is a catalogue of free, peer-reviewed open educational resources (OER) for higher education, maintained by the University of Minnesota. It lists over 1,000 textbooks across subjects including biology, chemistry, economics, history, mathematics, nursing, psychology, and sociology. All books are free to download, adapt, and use. Most are available as PDF; many also offer direct EPUB downloads.

Do Open Textbook Library books already come as EPUB?

Many do — look for the 'EPUB' download button alongside the PDF button on each book's page. If an EPUB version is already available, download it directly rather than converting the PDF. If only a PDF is available, or if the EPUB version has formatting issues, converting the PDF via toolkit.bot often produces a cleaner reflowable EPUB for e-reader reading.

What subjects does the Open Textbook Library cover?

The library covers a wide range of higher education subjects: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, economics, business, accounting, history, literature, political science, psychology, sociology, nursing, public health, philosophy, engineering, and more. It's particularly strong in STEM introductory courses and social sciences. All books are peer-reviewed by faculty who have used them in courses.

Are Open Textbook Library books legally free to download and convert?

Yes. Open textbooks in the library are published under Creative Commons licences (typically CC BY or CC BY-SA), which explicitly allow free download, reproduction, and adaptation. Converting a PDF to EPUB for personal reading is well within the terms of these licences. You may also adapt and redistribute the converted version under the same licence terms.

What other sources offer free open educational textbooks?

Other major OER textbook repositories include: OpenStax (openstax.org) — high-quality peer-reviewed textbooks for introductory college courses, most available as PDF and EPUB; MIT OpenCourseWare (ocw.mit.edu) — lecture notes and readings in PDF form; LibreTexts (libretexts.org) — modular open textbooks with PDF export; Saylor Academy (learn.saylor.org) — free course materials with PDF readings. All can be converted to EPUB for e-reader reading.

Are government and National Academies reports free to convert?

Yes for personal reading. US federal works are public domain; UK Crown Copyright works fall under the Open Government Licence; EU documents are covered by the EU open data policy; WHO publications are free for non-commercial use. National Academies Press reports are copyright-protected but free to download as PDF with a free account. Check the document's terms before redistributing a converted copy.

Free Textbooks and Reports as EPUB — Open Textbook Library, OpenStax, National Academies Press and Government Sources

Updated June 2026 · Research

The Open Textbook Library offers over 1,000 free, peer-reviewed textbooks for higher education — all legally free to download and use. OpenStax, the National Academies Press and the major government publishers (GOV.UK, EUR-Lex, WHO, NIST, US federal agencies, OECD) add thousands more free textbooks and long-form reports. Most are available as PDF; some also offer EPUB downloads. For documents only available as PDF, or where the provided EPUB has formatting issues, converting the PDF to EPUB gives you a clean reflowable version with chapter navigation for comfortable reading on Kindle, Kobo, or your phone.

Free textbook and report sources

Source	URL	What you get	Formats and access
Open Textbook Library	open.umn.edu/opentextbooks	1,000+ peer-reviewed textbooks, all higher-ed subjects (University of Minnesota)	PDF, EPUB (many); CC BY or CC BY-SA
OpenStax	openstax.org	Peer-reviewed introductory college textbooks: Biology 2e, Anatomy & Physiology, University Physics, Calculus, Psychology, US History (Rice University)	PDF, EPUB, web; CC BY or CC BY-NC-SA; "Get the book" on each title
LibreTexts	libretexts.org	Modular STEM and social science textbooks	PDF export, web
MIT OpenCourseWare	ocw.mit.edu	Lecture notes and readings for MIT courses	PDF
Saylor Academy	learn.saylor.org	Free course materials across higher ed	PDF
Project Gutenberg	gutenberg.org	Classic literature and history, public domain	EPUB, PDF, TXT
National Academies Press	nap.edu	Consensus study reports, workshop proceedings and rapid expert consultations in science, engineering, medicine and policy; 50–500+ pages	Free PDF with a free account; some titles also as EPUB; copyright-protected but free to read
UK Government (GOV.UK)	gov.uk	Policy, guidance, research, consultations, inspection frameworks	PDF; Open Government Licence
EU Commission / EUR-Lex	eur-lex.europa.eu	Directives, regulations, decisions, reports, impact assessments	PDF; EU open data policy
World Health Organization	who.int/publications	Clinical guidelines and health reports	PDF; WHO licence (free, non-commercial)
US federal agencies	congress.gov, cdc.gov, epa.gov	Legislation, agency reports, surveillance and guidance documents	PDF; public domain (US federal works)
NIST	nist.gov/publications	Technical standards and cybersecurity frameworks	PDF; public domain
OECD	oecd.org/publications	Economic, social and education policy reports	PDF; mixed — many free

Source-specific notes

OpenStax — most titles ship a direct EPUB; try it first. Biology, economics, sociology, history and psychology texts convert excellently from PDF; Calculus, Physics and Chemistry render equations as images, and statistics tables may simplify.
National Academies Press — reports are numbered by chapter with an executive summary and recommendations section, all of which become the EPUB table of contents. Complex data tables may simplify but stay readable. Cite the nap.edu record and its DOI, not the converted file.
Government reports — long narrative documents (policy reviews, consultations, regulatory guidance, inquiry reports, strategies) are single-column and convert very cleanly; EUR-Lex legislation gets navigation from its Article headings. Budget documents with multi-column tables are the weak case — the tables simplify while the narrative sections still convert. Always check the agency site for the current version before relying on a converted copy.

How to convert a free textbook or report PDF to EPUB

Find the title at open.umn.edu/opentextbooks, openstax.org, nap.edu or the agency site
Check if an EPUB version is available — click the EPUB button if so (nap.edu asks for a free account before the "Free PDF" or EPUB download)
If only PDF is available, click Download PDF
Go to toolkit.bot/pdf2epub and upload the PDF
Download the EPUB with chapter navigation built from section headings
Send to Kindle via email, or transfer to Kobo by USB

Frequently asked questions

What is the Open Textbook Library?: The Open Textbook Library (open.umn.edu/opentextbooks) is a catalogue of free, peer-reviewed open educational resources (OER) for higher education, maintained by the University of Minnesota. It lists over 1,000 textbooks across subjects including biology, chemistry, economics, history, mathematics, nursing, psychology, and sociology. All books are free to download, adapt, and use. Most are available as PDF; many also offer direct EPUB downloads.
Do Open Textbook Library books already come as EPUB?: Many do — look for the 'EPUB' download button alongside the PDF button on each book's page. If an EPUB version is already available, download it directly rather than converting the PDF. If only a PDF is available, or if the EPUB version has formatting issues, converting the PDF via toolkit.bot often produces a cleaner reflowable EPUB for e-reader reading.
What subjects does the Open Textbook Library cover?: The library covers a wide range of higher education subjects: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, economics, business, accounting, history, literature, political science, psychology, sociology, nursing, public health, philosophy, engineering, and more. It's particularly strong in STEM introductory courses and social sciences. All books are peer-reviewed by faculty who have used them in courses.
Are Open Textbook Library books legally free to download and convert?: Yes. Open textbooks in the library are published under Creative Commons licences (typically CC BY or CC BY-SA), which explicitly allow free download, reproduction, and adaptation. Converting a PDF to EPUB for personal reading is well within the terms of these licences. You may also adapt and redistribute the converted version under the same licence terms.
Are government and National Academies reports free to convert?: Yes for personal reading. US federal government works are public domain by default (17 U.S.C. § 105); UK Crown Copyright works fall under the Open Government Licence, which permits reproduction; EU documents are covered by the EU's open data policy; WHO publications are free for non-commercial use. National Academies Press reports are copyright-protected but free to download as PDF with a free account. Check the specific document's terms before redistributing a converted copy.
What other sources offer free open educational textbooks?: Other major OER textbook repositories include: OpenStax (openstax.org) — high-quality peer-reviewed textbooks for introductory college courses, most available as PDF and EPUB; MIT OpenCourseWare (ocw.mit.edu) — lecture notes and readings in PDF form; LibreTexts (libretexts.org) — modular open textbooks with PDF export; Saylor Academy (learn.saylor.org) — free course materials with PDF readings. All can be converted to EPUB for e-reader reading.