Pennsylvania State University announced on Tuesday that its library system has joined the Open Textbook Network, a consortium of higher education institutions collaborating to provide faculty and students with access to free, open-license online textbooks and educational resources to cut their costs.
Temple, Rutgers and the University of Delaware are also members of OTN, which is the host of the Open Textbook Library and enables access to a searchable and growing online database of open-licensed textbooks from across disciplines.
The collection can be downloaded at no cost or be printed inexpensively.
According to a 2016 report by Student Public Interest Research Groups, the cost of textbooks and supplies has increased 73 percent since 2006. It is currently estimated that a full-time, undergraduate student attending a public, four-year college will spend about $1,160 on textbooks and supplies.