SPARC: “Congress Introduces Bill to Tackle College Textbook Costs while Renewing Open Textbook Pilot Grant Program”
From a SPARC Post:
In recognition of international Open Education Week, members of Congress reintroduced the Affordable College Textbook Act, a bicameral bill to address the cost of course materials for college students across the country. The bill would establish a competitive grant program to support the creation and use of free, openly licensed textbooks, while strengthening existing federal price disclosure requirements to help students and faculty make informed choices. Congress also cleared a federal spending package that includes $11 million in new funding for the successful Open Textbook Pilot grant program, which has distributed $24 million in federal funding to date for projects that are already saving students millions through open textbooks.
The Affordable College Textbook Act (H.R.7040/S.3818) is sponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), along with U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO-02).
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.