Four Years of Open Books Page Content By Dragan Gill Textbook costs have risen at an unbelievable rate in the last few decades – faster than inflation, most child-care costs and even some medical costs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a rise in costs of nearly 1,000 percent in the last three decades. This has become a real barrier in assessing a college education. In a 2016 Florida State Textbook Survey, 66.5 percent of students reported not purchasing a required textbook and 47.6 percent reported taking fewer courses due to textbook costs. Rhode Island College decided to address this problem in 2016 by becoming a leader in the Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative. This state-wide, five-year challenge set by R.I. Gov. Gina Raimondo aimed to save students $5 million in five years. This fall marks the start of the fifth and final year of the challenge.