There's a great article in the USA Today that talks about a new trend among professors: open textbooks.  The professors write the texts, and the books are free to students online, and a black and white copy of the text can be purchased for a very low cost of $25 or so.

There's an even better graphic that explains the costs of textbooks from the publishers to the student stores.  Speaking as someone from both sides of this issue (a parent of a college student) and someone who freelances with a textbook publisher, it's a very well-written article.

It's located here:www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-07-09-open-textbooks_N.htm