Open Textbook Initiative

On September 27th 2016, Governor Gina Raimondo announced a statewide Open Textbook Initiative (OTI) during a press conference at Rhode Island College (RIC).

The initiative challenges Rhode Island’s higher education institutions to reduce college costs by saving students $5 million over five years using open licensed textbooks.

Through the course of the OTI, all eleven Rhode Island higher education institutions have engaged in the Governor’s challenge. Librarian leaders from each institution comprise the OTI Steering Committee and are working with faculty to identify openly licensed textbooks and other openly licensed materials that fit their class needs,

Additional partners for the work include the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, Open Textbook Network, and SPARC.

Why Open?

Exorbitant textbook prices have become a barrier to student success. Over the last decade college textbook prices have increased by 88%. In addition, traditional textbooks carry restrictive licenses that prevent innovation by faculty and schools. That is why we need openly licensed textbooks, which can be freely distributed online and updated and improved by faculty. Hundreds of high-quality openly licensed textbooks are available, and greater use of these books could help Rhode Island students save money, learn more, and graduate faster.  Digital textbooks can also address accessibility requirements, such as text-to-speech and translation supports.

What is Open?

View the interactive version of the below image at http://library.ric.edu/what-is-open

Learn more:

• Open Licensed Educational Resources [video]

Steering Committee Member: Sarah Evelyn

Steering Committee Member: Meagan Joseph

Read Bryant’s OER LibGuides

Steering Committee Member: Jim Salisbury

Steering Committee Member: Kerry Caparco

Read JWU’s OER LibGuides

Steering Committee Member: Tom Thibodeau

Check out NEIT’s OER page

Steering Committee Member: Andria Tieman Michney

Steering Committee Member: Dragan Gill (co-chair)

Read RIC’s SPARC Institutional Profile

Read RIC’s OER LibGuides

Rhode Island School of Design

Steering Committee Member: Emily Coxe

Read RISD’s OER LibGuides

Steering Committee member: Lindsey Gumb (co-chair)

Read RWU’s OER LibGuides

Read RWU’s Press Books

* Previous Steering Committee member: Lisa Richter

Steering Committee member: Diane Goldsmith

Social Media Coverage

Media Coverage

• “Open Matters: A Brief Intro,” New England Board of Higher Education, January 2020

• “Rhode Island: Making Progress with the Open Textbook Initiative,” OpenStax, November 2018

• Five questions with Lindsey Gumb,” Providence Business News, October 2018

• “Cutting the cost of college textbooks,” op-ed, Governor Gina Raimondo, Brown Daily Herald, October 2017

• “Rhode Island OER Celebrates First Birthday with Savings of $870K,” Campus Tech, September 2017

• “Rhode Island figured out how to eliminate the biggest way college students are ripped off,” Business Insider, October 2016

• “Governor says open-textbook initiative will save RI college students $5 million,” Providence Journal, September 2016

• “Rhode Island launches textbook savings initiative,” Inside Higher Education, September 2016

• “Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative to save students $5 million,” Campus Tech, September 2016