Google adds free textbooks to Gemini Notebook for students

Google has added a catalog of free textbooks to Gemini Notebook, giving students worldwide access to hundreds of academic titles without charge. The collection features materials from OpenStax, the Open Textbook Library, and India’s S Chand Publishing. Because college textbooks often carry steep prices, this addition allows learners to obtain required course reading without paying out of pocket.

Study tools and citation support

After adding a textbook to Gemini Notebook, users can ask questions about specific chapters or individual concepts. The tool generates flashcards and study guides from the material, and it can also create practice quizzes. Every answer provided by the AI includes citations and direct links back to the original passage. These references let students verify the source of the information or explore the topic further. Users can browse the collection in Gemini Notebook by selecting Add sources and choosing Textbooks.

Recent student updates and lecture recording

The textbook catalog follows several other educational tools that Google introduced over the past few weeks. The company recently equipped Gemini Notebook with a built-in mobile lecture recorder, as well as tools to review presentation slides and video outlines prior to generating them. Meanwhile, the main Gemini app added interactive visual lessons that explain complex topics, including how jet engines operate and the physics behind lightning.

This combination helps students record classroom lectures and research unfamiliar concepts in assigned reading. They can then test what they have learned using self-generated quizzes. By offering digital textbooks alongside automated study aids, the platform provides students with practical academic resources at no cost.