Rutgers-Camden students laud open source textbook recommendation | NJ.com

A group of Rutgers-Camden students are celebrating what they see as a huge step toward the university offering an alternative to traditional -- and traditionally expensive -- textbooks. The University Senate Student Affairs Committee has issued a recommendation to Rutgers President Robert Barchi to promote the use of open source textbooks -- which would be free for online use, or in print at a reduced cost. The university senate report proposes creating a competitive grant program awarding faculty members who convert their assigned readings to open source books. The report, approved by the committee on March 27, comes amid a campaign led by members of the Rutgers-Camden chapter of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, trying to raise awareness of open source libraries at other colleges across the U.S.