California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law two bills on September 27 that guarantee 50 free, open-source textbooks to students of public California higher education institutions.
The two bills, SB 1052 and SB 1053, were introduced by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Sen. Elaine Alquist (SD 13).
“The current cost of traditional textbooks is so high, some college students are forced to struggle through a required class without the textbook, forced to drop classes or sometimes even drop out of college altogether,” said Steinberg in a statement.
SB 1052 would establish the California Open Education Resources Council (COERC) to research and select 50 textbooks to digitize for open-source sharing.
An open-source textbook is not protected under traditional copyright laws as a regular textbook.
“Open source is a movement of software developers that allow others to reuse and customize their code, under one of several different software licenses,” said Elliot Harmon, the communications manager of Creative Commons.
Creative Commons (CC) is an organization that promotes sharing creative work for reuse within certain boundaries by issuing licenses. These licenses are not an alternative to copyright law, but works instead with existing law to ensure creative protection.
“Good ideas spread more quickly when you reduce legal and technological barriers,” said Harmon.
A CC license entitles students and instructors free access to the online course texts that can be accessed via tablets, smartphones, and laptops.
“It’ll help the students,” said Raymond Concepcion, a Skyline student who spent over $300 on books this semester. “But I think they will find another way to make school expensive.”
Print editions of open-source textbooks would be available for $20 each.
“There is still plenty of opportunity for sales,” said Kevin Chak, the manager of Skyline College’s bookstore.
Chak brought up the point that there will always be consumers that prefer a hardbound copy as opposed to electronic versions, such as the older generation or people that are uncomfortable with technology.
Washington State’s technical and community colleges currently have a similar open-source textbook program.
The follow-up bill, SB 1053, would create the digital library to house the texts, called the California Digital Open Source Library.
“The Governor’s signature speaks for itself,” said Chief Deputy Press Secretary Elizabeth Ashford, who declined further comment on the matter.
