In Prof. Pearson’s case -- again, to distinguish him from the publisher -- he checked the prices of hardcopy versions of Open Stax OER textbooks. As he correctly noted, in some cases, the same content is available to students online for free, but some students are still more comfortable with an actual, physical book. In his case, he notes that a hardcopy of the physics textbook is less than fifty dollars, and it covers two semesters. The chemistry book that covers two semesters is available for less than sixty dollars. Compared to what commercially produced science textbooks generally cost, that’s more than reasonable. And if that’s still too much, the same content is available online for free.
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/browsing
