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Introduction to Affordable Instructional Materials START HERE

A one-stop shop for course instructors - all things affordable instructional materials, making textbooks affordable for students, and putting books on reserve with UAB Libraries.

The WHAT

Affordable Instructional Materials are resources that either:

  • the library already pays for and thus is free to you

  • are in the public domain

  • have a license that allows them to be used for free, including Open Educational Resources (OER)

These items are licensed and have some use restrictions, but they are completely free to students.

One example of AIM is UAB Libraries' Course Reserves collection, where students can check out their course textbooks for free!

The WHY

Why use Affordable Instructional Materials?

AIM materials are high-quality, flexible materials that save students thousands of dollars. They create greater equity in access to higher education.

Reach out to me at jkchapma@uab.edu, or your Liaison Librarian, for more information on including AIM in your course and saving your students money!

The HOW

This guide will provide you with actionable items to make your course materials for affordable.


To learn how the library can purchase your course materials and put them on Reserve for you: Click Here!

To learn how to use open and public resources to create your own course materials: Click Here!

For copyright resources and to contact our Copyright Librarian: Click Here!

To make sure your Canvas links are permalinks and thus reliable for student access: Click Here!

To learn about the impact you're making at UAB by using affordable materials: Click Here!

For a quick summary of EVERYTHING you can do to make higher education more equitable for your students: Click Here!

And last but not least...

To see everything UAB Libraries has on Reserve for Fall 2025 and share this resource with your students: Click Here!