Citing OpenStax texts

This article will show you where to locate pre-formatted attributions and citation information for your OpenStax book.

Locating your book's Citation/Attribution Dropdown Menu

At the bottom of every page in the online format of your book, there is a "Citation/Attribution" dropdown menu that contains pre-formatted attributions, citation information, and a link to a citation generator that can create style-specific citations (i.e., MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).

To find the "Citation/Attribution" tab for your book, follow these steps:

1. Go to openstax.org

2. Hover over the Subjects tab and select your subject from the drop-down menu (openstax.org/subjects). In the example below, we are looking for the OpenStax Algebra and Trigonometry 2e book, so we will select Math. 

 

3. Select the book you wish to cite.



4. Click "View Online" from under the Get the book drop-down menu



 

5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Citation/Attribution" to expand the list.

Please note, the online format of the book does not have page numbers. Page numbers can be found in PDF format and printed versions of the textbook.  All OpenStax textbooks have PDF formats available to download for free.

Redistribution and Adaptation 

If you are redistributing, remixing, or adapting OpenStax content, we ask that you include the pre-formatted attribution at the bottom of every print or digital page using OpenStax content. This is the only notation we require to use our content. (We have included the other citation information for those who use stylized citations in their syllabus or publications).

To learn more about the Creative Commons licenses and commercial use of OpenStax content, visit the following help article: Commercial use under the Creative Commons License.

To learn more about connecting students with their OpenStax book, please refer to our Help Center article Directing Students to their Online Textbook.