Georgie Burgess
21 October 2026: Costly, heavy and cumbersome to carry around campus, students are now able to access a growing number of free online textbooks as the University of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ expands its Open Access library.
, written by the Faculty of Science and Technology’s Distinguished Professor Arthur Georges, Dr Luis Mijangos, Dr Emily Stringer and Professor Bernd Gruber, officially launched at the start of Open Access Week on Monday.
The publication is the latest addition to the University's growing collection of , following the release of a new pharmacy textbook last week.
The free online resource is designed to help biologists gain a structured, self-paced introduction to working with genetic data in ‘dartRverse’, Professors Gruber’s and Georges' award-winning genetic analysis program.
As every dataset adds another piece to the puzzle of how species adapt, interact, and persist in a changing world, the book helps scientists extract biological meaning from it.
Around 200,000 users have already accessed the dartRverse R package in recent years, and it was downloaded in more than a hundred countries over the past 12 weeks.
“This has only been possible because so many people have consistently contributed to the project over the past seven to eight years,” Professor Gruber said.
“It is quite humbling to see people picking it up and using it. Here’s to hopefully there will be another 200,000 users in the to come in the coming months.”
More than a downloadable PDF, Getting Started with dartRverse has been designed as a dynamic learning resource featuring worked examples, exercises, podcasts and interactive web-based components.
“This means that it can be changed along the way by the authors and collaborators, without having to put out a new edition when new insights arise on how to communicate ideas,” Distinguished Professor Georges said.
Dr Stringer said the textbook combined enduring scientific principles with the flexibility to adapt alongside rapidly changing research methods.
“It takes advantage of new technologies, but it is built around a strong foundation of core principles.
“The principal text doesn’t change, but as our methods continuously develop and we have the capacity to better deal with larger datasets, the interactive exercises will be able to keep up with that change,” she said.
“I hope in doing this we’ll be able to continuously meet the needs of the growing number of genomic researchers we have in this world and facilitate the amazing things they do.”
The University’s Director of Education and Student Experience Professor Tamsin Kelly said the resource demonstrated the global impact of the University's open access publishing program, which was supported through a CreatEquity grant.
“It will not only benefit ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students undertaking genomic research, but also researchers from across the world,” she said.
“Importantly, it highlights how open book publishing can contribute not only to teaching and learning, but also to open science, which is absolutely vital.”