Web not yet the answer to college-text costs | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/08/2010

Web not yet the answer to college-text costs | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/08/2010:

"Nicole Allen, textbook advocate for the Student Public Interest Research Groups, believes textbooks should be less expensive for students than the price CourseSmart offers. A 50 percent cut is barely below the cost of rentals or used books, she said. Her group is advocating for professors at campuses nationally to use 'open textbooks' - free digital versions - whenever possible. 'We just want to make sure that open textbooks are on the table,' she said.

At Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus, students last year got about a dozen professors to sign a pledge to use more affordable book sources, said Lindsey Swoap, 19, a sophomore from southern Virginia.

The American Federation of Teachers passed a resolution in 2009 in support of open textbooks."