Free, open-source textbooks are catching on at colleges - The Orange County Register

" ... Since these books are published under an open license, they’re usually free to download or are sold for roughly what it costs to print. This strategy addresses the ever-growing issue of textbook affordability. College textbook costs have risen more than three times the rate of inflation since 1978, according to a 2015 report from the Student Public Interest Research Groups. In the upcoming semester, Mis plans to use an open text published by OpenStax, a Rice University-based non-profit program that produces such materials. The program is funded by foundations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation. OpenStax says more than 540,000 students across the country, including nine schools in Orange County, use their books ..."