I am a free text author (one of mine is an entry on OP's page). If you want change, here is something you can do.
When you are contacted by the alum reps at your school, GaTech or otherwise, don't ask about the football team. Ask if the faculty are rewarded for writing books that are Free.
People respond to rewards. Said less abstractly, I have been told a lot, often by young folks starting out, that they have a good idea but cannot afford to spend the time on a project that would not be recognized at their institution when they come up for tenure or promotion.
(My institution had the foresight to recognized this kind of work, for which I can only say how great that was of them.)
Hallelujah and amen. Institutional support is crucial. I have found that librarians are more likely to provide material and monetary support than departments.
Librarians across the US are heavily involved in efforts to promote free and open textbooks. I don't really know what's happening, but university librarians all over are promoting open texts, providing hosting for them, working together to catalogue them, working with writers and instructors on copyright issues, etc. Some of them are putting money into texts, too -- I'm getting some funding to pay for a copyeditor, for instance. Departments have not (in my admittedly limited) experience ponied up cash or other support, although they seem to think open texts are nice.
I am a free text author (one of mine is an entry on OP's page). If you want change, here is something you can do.
When you are contacted by the alum reps at your school, GaTech or otherwise, don't ask about the football team. Ask if the faculty are rewarded for writing books that are Free.
People respond to rewards. Said less abstractly, I have been told a lot, often by young folks starting out, that they have a good idea but cannot afford to spend the time on a project that would not be recognized at their institution when they come up for tenure or promotion.
(My institution had the foresight to recognized this kind of work, for which I can only say how great that was of them.)