JMU Libraries Pressbooks Guidelines

JMU Libraries

JMU Libraries

Harrisonburg

JMU Libraries Pressbooks Guidelines by JMU Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Contents

- Acknowledgements

- About this Guide

- Scope of Pressbooks platform

- Part I. User Policies and Guidelines

- 1. Policies and Guidelines at a Glance

- 2. Terms of Service

- 3. Accounts

- 4. Acceptable Content, Intellectual Property, and your Privacy

- 5. Copyright

- 6. Find a Book

- 7. Storage Capacity

- 8. Accessibility

- 9. Publishing Services

- Part II. Making Your Book

- 10. Process at a Glance

- 11. Create an Account

- 12. Start a New Book

- 13. Add Content

- 14. Text Formatting

- 15. Images and Graphics

- 16. Quizzes and Interactive Elements

- 17. Book and Cover Design

- 18. Add a Collaborator or Coauthor

- 19. LaTeX

- Part III. Publishing and Promoting Your Book

- 20. Publish Your Book

- 21. Apply a License

- 22. Export

- 23. Get Noticed

- 24. Deposit in JMU Scholarly Commons

- 25. Move a Book to a Different Platform

- 26. Delete or Unpublish a Book

- 27. Updates and Revisions

- 28. FAQs

- Appendix

1

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the UC Berkeley Office of Scholarly Communications for developing and publishing the original guidelines under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

These JMU Libraries Pressbooks Guidelines have been adapted from the UC Berkeley Pressbooks Guidelines (2018).

2

About this Guide

This guide is a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about using Pressbooks at James Madison University to create and publish a book. The guide does not replace the services of a publisher (copyediting, design, proofreading), but rather, the guide provides instructions for using the Pressbooks platform and its features to self-publish. The guide is maintained by JMU Libraries and is subject to ongoing updates and revisions.

We have organized our guidance into the following parts:

Part I. User Policies and Guidelines

This section summarizes the essential policies and guidelines that we expect users to follow when they create books with JMU Libraries Pressbooks.

Part II. Making Your Book

This section provides an overview of how to accomplish key tasks to get your account up and running and dive into your book project. For more comprehensive guidance, consult the general Pressbooks user guide and the PressbooksEDU (campus version) guide.

Part III. Publishing and Promoting Your Book

This section provides an overview of what to consider when you are planning to publish your book, from the technical process of exporting files to strategies for exposure and discoverability.

Appendix

This Appendix provides information about additional resources for those working on open textbooks, including examples of other books for inspiration and adaptation, and Library guidance on copyright, publishing, and other topics.

More Information

Questions or feedback? Email Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu.

3

Scope of Pressbooks platform

Scope of a JMU Libraries Pressbooks platform

JMU Libraries Pressbooks installation is a book and e-book publishing platform for materials that support teaching, learning,and scholarship. The final publication might be online, print-on-demand, and/or openly licensed. The following uses are encouraged:

- Textbooks

- Open access books

- White papers and technical reports

The following uses are outside the scope of Pressbooks:

- Journals

- Websites

- Portfolios

- Hosting of sensitive or confidential data. See JMU Policy 1205 for information about handling sensitive and confidential data.

- Publications without a JMU-affiliated account holder

Compliance with other relevant JMU and Libraries policies:

- JMU Computing policies

- JMU Research policies

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

JMU Libraries encourages the best practice of writing MOUs in the early planning stages of significant projects. MOUs describe stakeholder roles and responsibilities so all parties embark on a project with clear expectations. An MOU may be revised at any time by mutual agreement. Authors are encouraged to consult with Liz Thompson, via thomp3ea@jmu.edu or this form, as early as possible in the planning phase to learn about publishing best practices and recommendations.

I

User Policies and Guidelines

Part I.

This section summarizes the essential policies and guidelines that we expect users to follow when they create books with JMU Libraries Pressbooks.

1

Policies and Guidelines at a Glance

When you create a Pressbooks account with JMU Libraries, you agree to our terms of service. The JMU Libraries makes this platform available to you at no cost. In order to ensure the platform’s stability, sustainability, and success, we expect that all users adhere to the basic set of guidelines outlined below.

These guidelines are subject to change. Email Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu, if you have questions.

1. All users must agree to our terms of service. Read the terms of service.

2. All users must have an active JMU affiliation. Read more about accounts.

3. All users agree to upload and publish content ownedonly by them, or third-party content that they have permission or a license to reuse or that falls under fair use. Read more about copyright.

4. Users are permitted to choose any license for their work, but it is recommended to adopt a Creative Commons or other open license. Read more about licensing.

5. The selection of featured works on the site is made at the Library’s discretion. In order for a book to be featured on the site and be eligible for publishing-related services, it should be openly licensed, allow for derivative works, and be intended for use in the classroom. The Library retains discretion to feature works that are not openly licensed. Read more about featured works.

6. We expect users to stay within reasonable storage limits for uploaded content. Read more about storage.

7. We encourage users to maximize the accessibility of their published works. Read more about accessibility.

8. The Library will make certain publishing-related services available for books that will be used in JMU courses, including:

- Creation of a MARC record

- Listing and/or indexing on the campus Pressbooks site

9. The Library is not able to provide the following publishing-related services:

- Assigning an ISBN

- Editorial and production work, such as proofreading, copy editing, and formatting

- Web-related services, such as web development and website administration

- Listing the book in the Directory of Open Access Books(DOAB)

10. Users are responsible for managing their own Pressbooks accounts. Users who leave JMU and wish to retain access to their accounts should make appropriate plans for transferring account ownership and files as necessary (read more about adding book collaborators and migrating files).

2

Terms of Service

When you create a Pressbooks account with JMU Libraries, you agree to the Pressbooks terms of service and our guidelines for users, which are outlined in the sections that follow.

3

Accounts

Anyone with a @jmu.edu address (faculty, staff, or affiliate) or @dukes.jmu.edu address (students) can create a Pressbooks account. You can also choose to grant access to your book to another user with an active JMU affiliation.

At this time, only users with @jmu.edu and @dukes.jmu.edu email addresses are able to create accounts and access the system. If you are working on a project with a coauthor at a different institution, you can give authorship credit to your collaborator but only you will be able to access the project in the system. If you need to give a non-JMU collaborator access to the system, email Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu, to discuss possible options.

Your account will be active for as long as you remain affiliated with JMU. If you leave JMU, you can export and download your book files to transfer to a different platform (read more about moving files).

4

Acceptable Content, Intellectual Property, and your Privacy

JMU Libraries provides several systems where the JMU community can upload and describe digital objects. To ensure the effective and efficient use of JMU resources, the Libraries has policies and guidelines related to systems containing user-contributed content. For details about acceptable content, see JMU Libraries’ User-Contributed Content policy.

You retain all your intellectual property rights that you have as a JMU author, including your right to make fair use of other works. You also grant the Libraries the non-exclusive right to publish your e-book on the Pressbooks platform and freely distribute the content electronically. This right does not include the right to sell the content or sell access to the content.

As part of JMU’s license with Pressbooks, Pressbooks is obligated to protect authorized users’ non-public information (authorized users are JMU affiliates with active @jmu.edu and @dukes.jmu.edu email accounts). This means that Pressbooks will not share any of your personally identifiable information associated with your account with any third parties, except subject to court order.

5

Copyright

As you acknowledged in the Terms of Service you accepted in creating a Pressbooks account, you should make sure that any content that you upload and publish with Pressbooks is used lawfully and with appropriate permissions. This means that the content should meet one of the following criteria:

- Content is owned by you

- Content is owned by a third-party but used with permission or a license to reuse

- Content is in the public domain

- Content is reused in accordance with the Doctrine of Fair Use

If you have questions about copyright in publishing, we have a guide for that.

If you are searching for openly-licensed materials that you can incorporate into your book—particularly for a book you’re creating for classroom use—we suggest consulting the following resources:

- OpenStax

- Open Textbook Library

Note that as a member of the JMU community, when you create your own book, you will typically hold copyright as an author of your work under JMU Policy 1107. The only real exception to this rule arises in instances where the university has invested significant sums of money, typically >$10,000, in the specific creation of the work. Please check JMU Policy 1107 or contact Howard S. Carrier, carriehs@jmu.edu, for further information.  If you do hold copyright, you can choose how you want to allow others to use your publication. We talk about this more in the Apply a License section.

6

Find a Book

The JMU Libraries Pressbooks “Find a Book” section is a listing of campus works of broad interest to the JMU community. The selection of works on the site is made at the Library’s discretion.

In order for a book to be listed on the site, it should be openly licensed and intended for use in the classroom. The Library retains discretion to list works that do not meet these criteria. Authors whose works are selected will be notified prior to the work being added to the “Find a Book” list.

Use this form to request a book be listed in the “Find a Book” section or to request removal. At present, only books created with Pressbooks can be featured in this list.

7

Storage Capacity

In order to ensure that the Pressbooks publishing platform is accessible to all users on campus, we expect you to stay within reasonable limits with regard to file size when uploading files. As a general rule, please limit your media uploads to 5 MB per item.

8

Accessibility

Pressbooks features and outputs are designed to support accessibility. Pressbooks is committed to making its code and user interface comply with WCAG 2.0 (level AA) standards, and it is developing additional tools to help authors maximize the accessibility of published work.

Use this short checklist to make sure your book is optimized for accessibility. This guidance is based on the excellent accessibility resources created by the University of British Columbia.

- Use headings to structure text

- Write meaningful hyperlinks (not “click here”)

- Include alt-text for all uploaded images

- Include transcripts for uploaded media

- Use a readable font size

- Use high-contrast colors

Learn More

Read more about accessibility features in Pressbooks.

9

Publishing Services

Pressbooks is intended to be a self-service publishing platform. JMU Libraries administers the site but does not provide direct support or assistance for publishing projects, which would include services such as proofreading, copyediting, or website development. As a member of the OEN Publishing Co-op, you have access to a range of publishing services through Scribe for a fee. Contact Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu, to learn more.

The Library does provide some support and guidance for publishing-related integrations and registrations. See the Publish Your Book section for a detailed breakdown of services.

II

Making Your Book

Part II.

This section provides an overview of how to accomplish key tasks to get your account up and running and dive into your book project. For more comprehensive guidance, consult the general Pressbooks user guide and the PressbooksEDU (campus version) guide.

10

Process at a Glance

The book creation and publishing process in Pressbooks consists of five major tasks. Depending on the type of book you are creating and the level of involvement you wish to have, the process may include a number of smaller details as well.

Once you have created an account, you will move through the following steps:

1. Add a new book

2. Add content to the book

3. Select a theme

4. Apply a license

5. Publish and export

If your project is collaborative, be aware that Pressbooks does NOT allow synchronous co-editing. Only one person at a time can be actively making changes in Pressbooks.

The Pressbooks YouTube channel offers helpful short videos in a variety of series including:

- Getting Started with Pressbooks

- Using Key Features in Pressbooks

- PressbooksEDU Features and Tutorials (April 2018)

- Pressbooks for Academic Publishing

11

Create an Account

1. Click the Sign Up link in the top navigation menu.

2. Enter a username (you won’t be able to change this).

3. Enter your @jmu.edu email address.

4. Enter a password.

5. You will be prompted to either register (start creating) your book immediately or choose to do so later.

1. Select the “register now” option if you are ready to start working on a book right away. On the next screen, you will enter your book details.

2. Choose the “later” option if you are not yet ready to start working on your book.

6. Regardless of whether you register your book now or later, you will need to check your email for a link to activate your account.

7. Activate your account and then sign in again.

12

Start a New Book

There are a few different ways to start a new book project.

1. When you sign up for a new account: Choose the option “Register my book now” on the account creation screen. On the next screen, you will be prompted to enter more details about your book.

2. From the JMU Libraries Pressbooks homepage: Once you have created an account, you can start a new book project at any time by clicking “Create” on the site homepage.

3. From the Dashboard: Hover over “My Catalog” in the upper left-hand corner of the window, and choose “Add a New Book.”

Tips

- It’s a good idea to make your book private while you’re still setting it up. You can turn on the privacy setting on the screen where you first create your book. You can also turn privacy on and off from the Dashboard in the Text > Organize section.

- Your book will have a unique URL (“webbook address”). This cannot be changed, so choose it wisely. You can change the actual book title at any time and as many times as you wish.

13

Add Content

Before you begin adding content,

decide whether you will be working with a publishing service for copyediting, design, and proofreading services. If you plan to contract with a publishing service, the last step in the process will be to add content to Pressbooks.

Reminder

- If your project is collaborative, remember that Pressbooks does NOT allow synchronous co-editing. Only one person at a time can be actively making changes in Pressbooks.

Copy-Paste Method

We recommend that you first prepare your book using word processing software and then transfer the contents to Pressbooks. Copy-pasting text is the most straightforward and reliable way to import content into your book. Always double-check the formatting after you paste so that you can catch any styling inconsistencies.

Microsoft Word Import

Alternatively, you can experiment with importing content via an uploaded Word file (Tools > Import > Microsoft Word). This requires that you go chapter-by-chapter and that you prepare each file with structured styling, i.e., by applying headers. Consequently, this approach can be labor-intensive and prone to technical difficulties.

Learn More

Read about how to prepare a Word file for import.

Other Methods

- Import EPUB files: If you previously created a book with another publishing platform, you can import the EPUB files into Pressbooks (Tools > Import > EPUB). Create a new book in Pressbooks first, and then start the import.

- Clone another Pressbooks book: If you created a book on the Pressbooks.com site (as opposed to the JMU Libraries Pressbooks site), or if you find another Pressbooks book that you wish to adapt, you can clone the files as long as the book is publicly available and licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows derivatives.

Learn More

Read about cloning.

14

Text Formatting

Use the formatting toolbar to make adjustments to the text in your editing pane. Many of the formatting options are similar to those found in word processing software. Click the toolbar toggle button (first row, top right) to reveal the full set of formatting tools.

The editing window has two different tabs where you can enter your content:

- Visual: A WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) window that displays formatting changes as entered and in real time. This is the primary and best option for most users.

- Text: An HTML-based editor that uses markup language. If you are familiar with HTML, you can use this tab for troubleshooting or customizations. We do not recommend extensive use of this option because heavy customizations could have downstream effects on book themes and on export formats.

Learn More

See the full list of formatting options along with their descriptions.

Ready to preview and publish your book? Read on.

15

Images and Graphics

Use the Add Media button in your editing window to upload images as well as audio or video files. Uploaded files will be stored in a media library so that if you are using an item more than once, you do not need to upload it multiple times.

Image adjustments (cropping, shading, etc.) should be made prior to uploading. It is possible to make basic size adjustments within Pressbooks, but the tool is not meant to provide a full suite of graphics editing functions.

Any uploaded media should be:

- Optimized for accessibility (read more)

- Either owned by you, used with permission, or uploaded under the guise of fair use (read more)

- Smaller than 5MB

Tip

- Visit JMU Libraries guide to Free Media for Creative Use. Look for the

icon to find openly licensed and public domain files.

Learn More

Read more about uploading media.

16

Quizzes and Interactive Elements

Add interactive elements like quizzes or games to your book using the H5P plugin. You can see these types of elements in action in this University of Wisconsin Portuguese textbook and the VIVA Introduction to Petrology textbook.

To use H5P in a book, first activate the plugin:

1. Go to Dashboard > Plugins

2. Click the Activate link under H5P

Then open the H5P menu:

1. Go to Dashboard > H5P Content

2. Click Add New

Choose one of the H5P options from the dropdown menu. The first time you select an option, click the Get button. If you have previously used one of the options, the button will say Details.

Once you select an option, fill out the required fields and then click the Create button in the upper right-hand corner of your window.

You will see a preview of the component you just created. You can also test the component to make sure it works.

In the upper right-hand corner of your window, copy the shortcode.

Open your text editor and paste in the copied shortcode.

Save your work and preview the page. The H5P component is now live.

Learn More

Read more about working with H5P.

Note that there are a couple of drawbacks to using interactive elements. H5P is not (currently) integrated with Canvas, so if you intend to use the plugin for diagnostic purposes, you will need to record and track student performance separately. Using H5P in your Pressbook provides dynamic, formative ways for students to check their understanding and engage with the content, but summative, graded evaluations will still need to be delivered in Canvas or in-person.

If you are planning to make your book available in non-web-based format, the plugin content cannot be exported so you will need to insert placeholder text marking the non-exported content.

17

Book and Cover Design

Themes

Pressbooks provides a set of professional ready-made theme designs to customize the look and feel of your book. You can switch to a different theme at any time and as many times as you wish. To select a theme, go to Appearance > Themes in your Dashboard. You can preview a theme before activating it.

Learn More

Read more about themes.

Book cover

To upload a cover for your book, open the Book Info section of your Dashboard and scroll down to the Cover Image section. Upload your cover image and scroll back to the top of the page to click Save. Note that the thumbnail preview of your cover image may not load the first time.

The cover image should conform to the following specifications:

- Dimensions: 2500px x 3750px

- Maximum size: 2 MB

- File format: JPEG or PNG

- Aspect ratio: 1:1.5

Your cover image will be used only on the web and ebook formats of the book. Covers for PDFs intended for print-on-demand purposes need to be prepared separately.

Learn More

Read more about working with book covers.

18

Add a Collaborator or Coauthor

You can choose to add a collaborator to your book and customize the role and permissions for each added user. Collaborator accounts are restricted to users with @jmu.edu and @dukes.jmu.edu email addresses. If you need to give a non-JMU collaborator access to the system, email Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu, to discuss possible options.

Reminder

- If your project is collaborative, remember that Pressbooks does NOT allow synchronous co-editing. Only one person at a time can be actively making changes in Pressbooks.

Learn More

Read more about adding collaborators.

19

LaTeX

LaTeX is supported in Pressbooks. When you are working in the text editor, select the “Visual” tab and insert LaTeX inside brackets, like this:

Learn More

Read more about LaTeX in Pressbooks.

III

Publishing and Promoting Your Book

Part III.

This section provides an overview of what to consider when you are planning to publish your book, from the technical process of exporting files to strategies for exposure and discoverability.

20

Publish Your Book

When is your book considered published? Whenever you decide!

You can make your book publicly available online and make it available for export at any point. It’s easy to make changes and updates, so you can “publish” as many times as you need to.

We encourage you to share your book freely under an open license (discussed in the next chapter). However, you may wish to offer your book for sale through an online bookseller such as Amazon Marketplace, or another ebook platform. It’s your responsibility to ensure you have the rights necessary to enter into a commercial agreement with a vendor.

There are some factors that should be considered if you are hoping to feature your book in the JMU Libraries catalog or make it more widely available. The following table presents an overview (in no particular order) of these considerations and the circumstances in which they might be relevant to your needs and goals.

Step

Library Service?

Purpose

Guidance

Proofreading and copyediting

No

Finalize text for publication

Contact Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu, for details about contracting with Scribe for these services.

Peer -review

No

Finalize text for publication

Learn about peer review at Rebus’ Peer Review Process Guide

Add subject areas

No

Facilitate discoverability if book is featured in the catalog

Authors can add terms in Pressbooks in Book Info > Subjects

Get set up to sell your book online

No

Provide students and/or other readers with an option to purchase a hard copy via print on demand services

Pressbooks recommends IngramSpark or Amazon’s CreateSpace.

Get an ISBN (International Standard Book Number)

No

Unique identifier for published books, used for distribution in libraries and bookstores

Visit Bowker for details about securing ISBNs

Create a MARC record

Yes

Enable book to be discoverable in the JMU Libraries catalog

Request via email to Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu

Deposit the work in JMU Scholarly Commons

No

Exposure beyond campus.

Download PDF from Pressbooks and upload to JMU Scholarly Commons

List the work in the Open Textbook Library

No

Exposure beyond campus. Encourage other textbook authors to adopt or adapt your work.

Four requisite criteria for listing (Notably: Must be Creative Commons licensed and allow derivatives). Submit your book here.

List the work in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)

No

Exposure beyond campus. Support scholarly credibility.

Book must be peer reviewed and your department will need to qualify as a publisher.

Register work with the Library of Congress

No

Exposure beyond campus. Online, searchable public record of your work. Necessary to pursue litigation for any infringement.

Copyright Office charges $45 for single-author registration (see form).

21

Apply a License

As you prepare to publish your book, you should consider how to manage your copyrights, and what rights you want to keep or grant to others. The way you can grant rights to others is by applying a license. Before you apply a license to your work, be sure to confirm first that you hold copyright in your book, since your affiliation with JMU determines what you own (JMU Policy 1107). If you are remixing Creative Commons licensed content, be sure you are applying licenses correctly.

Pressbooks allows you to select any (or no) license at a page, chapter, or book level. You will be able to choose from the full suite of Creative Commons licenses, which allow copyright owners to retain copyright but grant certain rights to copy, distribute, etc., depending on the copyright owner’s preferences. Creative Commons licenses also specify that anyone who uses your work must attribute you as the owner. Check out the Creative Commons Choose Your License Tool for help selecting a license.

As you’re choosing whether to apply a license, you should keep in mind a number of benefits from selecting a Creative Commons License:

- Increased citation and impact: Choosing Creative Commons licenses that promote re-use of your work by others mean that your book is likely to get wider readership and accrue greater citations. Readers feel more comfortable reading and citing works that clearly allow them to make various uses.

- Increased discoverability: Choosing a Creative Commons license that allows the creation of derivative works is the only way to get your book listed in the Open Textbook Library, which can greatly enhance how easy your book is to find.

22

Export

Pressbooks offers a number of options for exporting your work in online formats depending on how you want to make it available to others to read.

Summary of the available export options:

Format

Purpose

Notes

PDF (print)

Optimized for print-on-demand.

Export will not include a cover image. Does not support transparent images or internal links.

PDF (online)

Optimized for all PDF uses besides print-on-demand.

Export will not include a cover image.

EPUB

For eBook readers.

Compatible with all eBook readers except Kindle (see below)/

MOBI

For eBook readers.

Compatible with Kindle readers.

Learn More

Read more about exports.

23

Get Noticed

With an openly licensed book in Pressbooks, you have a number of options for getting exposure and attracting readers. Read more in the Publish Your Book section.

- On campus

- Submit your work to be included in the JMU Libraries catalog

- Deposit a PDF in JMU Scholarly Commons open access repository

- Teach it in your courses

- Share it with your subject liaison librarian

- Beyond campus

- Add a link to your web book on your departmental or personal website, social network profile, ORCiD iD, or CV

- List your book in the Open Textbook Library

- Get listed in the Directory of Open Access Books (Note: Your book will need to be peer reviewed, and your department will need to qualify as a publisher)

Tip

Citing open textbooks

We recommend citing open textbooks as follows (format adapted from the University of Hawaii at Manoa):

Structure: [author last name, author first name]. (Year of publication). [Book title]. [Institution where published]. Retrieved from [URL].

Example: Potter, Harry. (2018). Encyclopedia of Wizardry. Hogwarts. Retrieved from pressbooks.lib.jmu.edu/encyclopediaofwizardry.

24

Deposit in JMU Scholarly Commons

We encourage you to deposit your open books in Scholarly Commons, JMU’s repository for open scholarship. Adding your Pressbooks publication to the JMU Scholarly Commons is a great way to get more exposure for your publishing projects, and to preserve a copy of them in according to the preservation guidelines for Scholarly Commons.

To deposit your work, export it from Pressbooks as a PDF and then upload the PDF to Scholarly Commons. If you make further revisions to your book, remember to export a new version and replace the file in Scholarly Commons.

Learn More

Read more about depositing work in Scholarly Commons.

25

Move a Book to a Different Platform

If you want to move your book to a different platform, you are free to export the files to migrate or use elsewhere. For maximum portability, we recommend that you download the EPUB files along with any other formats that you anticipate needing in the future.

Learn More

Read more about exports.

26

Delete or Unpublish a Book

You have several different options for deleting or unpublishing a book, depending on how and where you have made your book available as well as on your desired outcome(s).

Option

Description

How-To

Delete book

Remove book entirely

From your Dashboard, hover over the book title in the top navigation bar until a menu appears, then click Delete.

Make book private

Restrict visibility of book to be completely private only to you and any viewers designated by you

From your Dashboard, go to Text > Organize and change visibility to Private.

Un-feature

Remove a book from the “Find a Book” list

Email Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu, or submit this form.

27

Updates and Revisions

Pressbooks makes it easy to update and revise books on an immediate and ongoing basis. You can implement and publish new changes instantaneously. If you have made your book available as a PDF or in another file format, make sure to run new exports of the latest version as these files will not update automatically.

Learn More

Read more about exports.

If you obtained a MARC record for your book and are revising the work, you may need to release the updated version as a new edition. Email Liz Thompson, thomp3ea@jmu.edu, for more guidance.

28

FAQs

FrequentLY Asked Questions

How is publishing in Pressbooks different than WordPress or even Microsoft Word?

JMU Libraries Pressbooks installation is a book and e-book publishing platform for materials that support teaching, learning, and scholarship. The final publication might be online, print-on-demand, and/or openly licensed. The following uses are encouraged:

- Textbooks

- Open access books

- White papers and technical reports

The following uses are outside the scope of Pressbooks:

- Journals

- Websites

- Portfolios

- Hosting of sensitive or confidential data. See JMU Policy 1205 for information about handling sensitive and confidential data.

- Publications without a JMU-affiliated account holder

Compliance with other relevant JMU and Libraries policies:

- JMU Computing policies

- JMU Research policies

What’s the difference between a Pressbooks “Part” and a “Chapter”?

The Pressbooks hierarchy of book organization looks like this:

- Book

- Part

- Chapter

For more details about Parts and Chapters, watch

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://pressbooks.lib.jmu.edu/guidelines/?p=58

1

Appendix

Example Textbooks Created with Pressbooks

- Introduction to Petrology

- Environmental Biology

- Antología abierta de la literatura hispana

- Português para principiantes

- Beginning Excel

- Introduction to Psychology

- Canadian History: Post-Confederation

- Media Studies 101

- Concise Introduction to Logic

- Greek and Latin Roots: Part 1 – Latin

- Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology

- eCampus Ontario site

General Resources on Creating Open Textbooks

- Authoring Open Textbooks

- The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far)

- A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students

- Modifying an Open Textbook: What You Need to Know

- Faculty OER Toolkit

- Rebus Community

JMU Scholarly Communication Resources

- Search for open textbooks in the JMU Libraries catalog

- Copyright guide

- Open Educational Resources (OER) guide

- Free Media for Creative Use guide

- Use OSF to store files associated with your book (sign in using your JMU e-ID, password, and DUO)