Carleton students may find themselves with a bit more cash in their pockets this coming school year when the bookstore launches Rent-a-Text, a new program allowing students to rent instead of buying new or used textbooks.
Starting Aug. 16, over 200 titles will be available for rental at 45 to 50 per cent less than if they were bought at regular price.
"You can already buy textbooks, new or used, but we’re trying to provide as many alternatives as possible," said Ed Kane, assistant vice-president of university services. "This rental program is just another way for us to cut costs for students."
Over 600 colleges and universities in the US are already using Rent-a-Text, but Carleton is one of only six schools in Canada to offer the program as part of its pilot phase, according to the university press release.
“This would just be the tip of the iceberg on saving costs for students,” said Elio DiStaola, director of campus relations for the Illinois-based company, Follett Higher Education Group, that is offering the program.
DiStaola also said Rent-a-Text has the potential to help students achieve higher academic success. By reducing costs, more students would have access to required course materials.
“Lots of students don’t buy their textbooks; they just cross their fingers and pray. It’s a disturbing trend in the number of students prepared for class,” he said.
But not everyone is excited about the upcoming program. According to an article in the Canadian magazine Quill and Quire, some Canadian publishers — such as McGill-Queen’s University Press — are concerned with how the program might affect authors' royalty payments.
“I would want to know exactly what they have in mind to see if it’s advantageous for me,” said executive director Philip Cercone, in the article.
It is especially concerning if fewer books are sold, but Kane points out that publishers will still sell a lot of textbooks when they release new editions.
Still, Rent-a-Text may not benefit students who already buy their books second-hand. David Chan, a second-year engineering student, said he would rather buy used textbooks so he could sell them back at the end of the year.
“I’m pretty minimalistic on that front," said Chan. "If you buy the books new, they cost a fortune. But I wouldn’t want to rent textbooks either because what if I couldn’t return them? Like, oh crap. I messed up the book. I spilled a cup of coffee on it.”
Despite textbook rental drawbacks — another of which is the need to rent out books multiple times in order to turn a profit — DiStaola said he feels the program is still worth it.
"Rental has a tremendous amount of risk; but, frankly, this is all about the students,” he said. “Price trumps all, and it’s all about understanding what students need.”