The Open Course Library is a collection of open course materials developed for 82 high‑enrollment courses in Washington State colleges. It includes textbooks, readings, course lessons, activities, and assessments.
In October 2011, 42 courses with open content were released (Phase 1); 40 more will be ready in March 2013 (Phase 2).
Key goals
To lower textbook costs for students to $30 or less per book.
To give faculty a flexible approach to controlling course content through high-quality open resources.
To provide learning opportunities to everyone in the state as well as contribute to the global open education movement.
encourage the creation of free online textbooks by offering grants for pilot projects that produce high-quality open-access textbooks, especially for courses with large enrollments.
Grant money would also be available to help faculty members find and review such textbooks
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday would encourage the creation of free online textbooks by offering grants for pilot projects that produce high-quality open-access textbooks, especially for courses with large enrollments.
Grant money would also be available to help faculty members find and review such textbooks, as well as to conduct research on how well open-access textbooks meet students’ and faculty members’ needs.
Affordable College Textbook Act, was introduced by two Democratic senators, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Al Franken of Minnesota.