Google's Gemini Notebook can now pull in a textbook as a source, and the catalog doesn't cost anything. In a Google blog post on October 29, Gemini Notebook software engineer Priya Venkatraman wrote that students can now access "hundreds of textbooks" from providers in the U.S. and India, "right in Gemini Notebook at no charge."
Here's what the feature is, what it does with a book, and where to find it.
What was added
Google names three providers: OpenStax, Open Textbook Library and S Chand Publishing. The post frames this as an expansion of Expert Intelligence, a cross-Google initiative for working with trusted sources in Google's AI products. Before this, the post says, you could already add eligible ebooks you'd bought from Google Play Books. The textbook catalog is aimed at course material.
Tom's Guide lists the catalog's categories, which include Business, Computer science, Economics, Engineering, Health & Medicine, History & Philosophy, Languages & Writing, Law & Politics, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Psychology, Sociology & Culture and Student Success. Among the OpenStax titles it picks out are Biology 2e, Chemistry 2e and Psychology 2e. Tom's Guide also notes that Gemini Notebook is the product previously known as NotebookLM.
What it does with a book
The mechanism is the useful part. According to Google, once you add a textbook, "every answer is grounded directly in the textbook, with inline citations and direct links back to the original source." In other words, Google says the answers are grounded in the book you've chosen, and each one links back to that source, so you can check it.
From there, Google says, Gemini Notebook can turn the textbook's content into study guides, practice quizzes, flashcards and more. Digital Trends describes the practical flow: add a book, then ask about specific chapters or concepts, and have it build quizzes or flashcards from the material.
How to find it
The steps are short. Per Google, open a notebook, select Add sources, then select Textbooks to see the available catalog.
Part of a run of student features
This isn't a one-off. Digital Trends reports that over the past few weeks Google has also given Gemini Notebook a built-in lecture recorder on mobile and tools to review slides and video outlines before generating them, while the main Gemini app has gained interactive visual lessons on subjects such as how jet engines work.
What Google's post doesn't say is just as worth noting. It doesn't give an exact title count beyond "hundreds", and it doesn't spell out whether access differs by country or by plan. The providers are U.S. and Indian, so the catalog's coverage may lean that way.
Cole's take: The "free" part needs a little context. OpenStax, a nonprofit initiative of Rice University, already makes every textbook in its library free to read online or download. What Google adds is the plumbing: the book becomes a cited source the model works from, which is the right way to point an AI study tool at course material. The citations are the feature to use. If an answer matters for a grade, follow the link and read the source for yourself.
Reporting notes