Open Access Textbooks

I am taking a free, non-credit course through P2PU.org on Open Access Textbooks. Many colleges, especially community colleges, are trying to deal with a crisis in textbook costs. I was down by our bookstore at the beginning of the semester and overheard some students comparing receipts. Someone had spent over $1000. Textbooks can be a real burden to some students, and financial aid doesn't always cover books and supplies.

One possible method of assistance is open access textbooks. I am hoping to learn more sources of textbooks, how instructors are using them, and how to "sell" the idea of an open textbook to faculty.

I will be giving two workshops through Faculty Development this semester, one on publishing via open access, and one on open educational resources. I've assembled an open access resource guide: http://libguides.southernct.edu/openaccess and I'm focusing my attention this semester on teaching materials and textbooks (mostly under the Books category). Some of the sites I have listed may not meet stringent qualifications for open access, but if it's freely accessible, legal, and of educational use, I'm willing to include it.

For any faculty reading this, I would be very interested in working with you if you'd like to consider open access for your courses. Just contact me.