Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The University of North Carolina Wilmington is one of 25 universities across the nation participating with Barnes and Noble in a pilot textbook rental program designed to save students much of the up-front costs associated with purchasing books. UNCW is the only North Carolina school, public or private, taking part in the pilot.

When obtaining textbooks, students can now choose to purchase new books, purchase used books or rent certain available titles. Being part of the national Barnes and Noble rental program allows UNCW students to take advantage of significant savings on titles that are some of the most widely used nationwide.

For example, Elements of Ecology, the assigned textbook for Biology 366, costs $134.65 new or $101 used; it can be rented for the semester for $57.25. While the highest cost savings overall may come from purchasing a used textbook and selling it back to the bookstore at the end of the term, students who rent the book can avoid the higher cash outlay as they begin the semester. For some students, purchase prices can be prohibitive, even for used books.

"Our textbook programs are about providing options for students to help them save money on textbooks, depending on their individual needs," said Boyd. "Students seem to be well educated about their options and, in this economy especially, they are looking carefully at what will work best for them. Rental provides them with guaranteed cost savings up front."

UNCW junior Jenna Roney is a strong advocate for the rental program. As chair of the Student Government Association's Business Affairs Committee, she researched numerous textbook rental options to help develop one that would work well for UNCW. A double major in biology and chemistry, she has experienced firsthand the high cost of textbooks.

"My books cost between $1,000 and $1,200 per semester," she said. "That's a major burden for students, and rental can save them several hundred dollars a semester. Some people do get savings by buying or renting online, but it can take three weeks to get your books that way. UNCW's program is cost-effective, easy and you just pick up your books at the bookstore on campus."

This semester, UNCW has 50 titles available for rental for some of the most popular courses on campus, with disciplines ranging from accounting to sociology, including 14 titles for psychology courses and even one for film studies. Students have rented 534 textbooks so far in the pilot, and there have been no customer service issues or complaints, Boyd said.
"Barnes and Noble has been a great partner to work with on this project," she said. "All of the logistics are working very well. Students like the program and we'll continue to offer as many textbooks for rental as we can."

Roney sees this as a strong start and expects continued growth for the rental program in the future.

"I think rental will really take off as more students learn about the cost savings," she said. "The more students buy into the program, the more it can expand to offer more books for more classes. It's a pilot program so we want students to give feedback and help us make it better."

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu