if:book points out a couple of problems with the Wikibooks project. Specifically,

• that the text seems uninspired/could be better written
• how to deal with plagiairsm

Perhaps the problem is not in the concept, but in the process. The solution seems obvious to me. In The Success of Open Source, Stephen Weber explains that “the essence of open source is not the software. It is the process by which software is created” (56). If we look to successful open source projects, we see the importance of peer review as part of the workflow of text/code production. Some community leaders act as final gatekeepers who review contributions following a community evaluation process and make the final call on whether the contribution is added to the project. In order to increase quality, open source textbook projects may likely need to create a similar approval process.