Textbook Rentals Come to Campus Bookstore
New Program Delivers Real Savings for Students
August 2011 - This year, Columbia State Bookstore will become part of a growing number of colleges and universities offering students a textbook rental program. This opportunity is made possible thanks to a partnership between Columbia State Community College and the campus bookstore, managed by Barnes & Noble College. With textbook rentals, students can realize tremendous savings, paying less than half of what they would to purchase a new, printed textbook.
“We’re thrilled to offer this program to our students,” said Jean Zimmermann, Columbia State Bookstore manager. “We expect it will have a big impact on Columbia State students not only because of the incredible savings, but because it is so convenient and easy to use.”
This multi-channel program allows students to rent their books either in the store or from the bookstore’s website http://coscc.bkstore.com – whichever is more convenient. Rental costs can be paid for using any form of tender currently accepted by the bookstore, [this includes student financial aid.] (A valid credit card is required for security.) While not every textbook title is included in the rental program, more than 85 titles are available for rent.
The rental terms and conditions were designed to give students maximum convenience and flexibility. Moderate highlighting and note-taking are permitted and students have until the last day of finals to return their rented textbooks. Books can be returned to the bookstore in person or through the mail and, as an added convenience, the bookstore will send reminder emails alerting students that the rental period is ending. If a book is not returned or is returned in unusable condition, replacement and processing fees are charged to the credit card on file for that student.
In addition to textbook rentals, the bookstore also carries new, used, and a growing selection of digital textbooks (eTextbooks), which can save students up to 60% over the cost of a new printed book. eTextbooks are read using free software applications like NOOK Study™ by Barnes & Noble. More than an eTextbook reader, NOOK Study is an intuitive and interactive study companion that primes students for academic success. With NOOK Study, students can highlight and take notes using different colors, view multiple books simultaneously, organize their electronic course content (PowerPoints, hand-outs, etc.) into files, and link to online reference tools (Dictionary.com, Wikipedia, etc). NOOK Study works on both PC and Mac computers - no special equipment or device is required. To learn more about NOOK Study or to download the free application, visit www.nookstudy.com/college.
“We’ve always been focused on giving our students as many low cost options as possible,” said Zimmermann. “We already offer a large supply of used books, unbundled books, custom books, and eTextbooks. Now with rentals, students have another great option to choose from.”
More information about the textbook rental program is available at the bookstore or on its website http://coscc.bkstore.com.