Gemini Notebook adds free OpenStax and S Chand textbooks for students

Google has added a textbook catalog to Gemini Notebook, according to an official post from software engineer Priya Venkatraman. Students can open hundreds of textbooks from U.S. and Indian providers inside a notebook at no charge.

How students add a textbook to a notebook

Google names three providers: OpenStax, Open Textbook Library and S Chand Publishing. The post does not give the exact number of titles, the subjects covered or the languages, saying only “hundreds” from providers in the U.S. and India.

To use it, a student selects “Add sources” inside a notebook, then “Textbooks,” which shows the available catalog. Google says the books are free to add. The post does not say whether Gemini Notebook itself needs a paid plan, nor does it list countries where the feature is live or any age limits.

Once a book is added, Google says every answer is grounded in that textbook, with inline citations and direct links back to the original source. The notebook can also turn the material into study guides, practice quizzes and flashcards.

The catalog builds on Expert Intelligence, which Google introduced last month as a cross-Google initiative for working with trusted sources through its AI products. Until now, the post notes, users could add eligible ebooks bought from Google Play Books. The new catalog means a student no longer has to buy or find a book first, at least for the titles on offer.

What changes compared with uploading your own files

Gemini Notebook already worked with sources a user supplied. The difference here is that the sources come pre-selected and licensed for this use, so a student starting a course can skip hunting for a legitimate PDF. Answers tied to a named book with links back to it are also easier to check than a general chatbot reply.

The mix of providers matters. OpenStax says on its site that its books are free to read online or download as PDFs, and cites 43.3 million students reached. S Chand Publishing is an Indian publisher, which points to coursework in India as a target alongside U.S. college classes. The post does not say which textbooks from which providers are included.

What to watch before calling it a study aid

The announcement describes how the tool works, not whether it improves learning. Google gives no accuracy figures for the citations, no usage numbers and no outside evaluation. Grounding in a book lowers the odds of invented answers, but the post does not claim to eliminate them, and a student still has to follow the links to confirm.

Google’s own recent education research shows why that caveat matters. In a UK trial covered in our report on Google’s AI math tutor, more than 1,100 students aged 12 to 15 used AI tutoring over 10 weeks. It matched human tutors on in-platform tasks, yet standardized test scores did not improve. That trial used a custom setup with human experts reviewing responses, so it does not directly apply to Gemini Notebook, but it shows that smooth practice tools and measured results can diverge.

Three signals would show whether the textbook catalog is useful:

• Whether Google publishes the full list of titles and adds more providers or regions beyond the U.S. and India.
• Whether it releases any data on citation accuracy or on student outcomes.
• Whether the feature stays free, since the post gives no price commitment beyond “no charge” for the textbooks.

Related Gemini education features have been arriving in quick succession; we recently covered Gemini’s zoomable explorations for students. The textbook catalog is the first of these that ties answers to a specific, named book.