Though buying books for a new semester still means lugging around a heavy basket in the basement of Mallinckrodt, the load is easier on some students’ wallets this year thanks to a new program that gives students the option of renting their textbooks instead of buying them.

Implemented this fall at Washington University, the program has been successful at other universities that partner with Follett bookstores, according to Betsy Schneider, director of the campus store.

“Follett Higher Education did pilot programs in about 20 stores, and [they] were very successful,” Schneider said. “We were hearing feedback from a lot of students on a lot of campuses, so Follett made an effort to integrate rentals into all of our systems so it can be done online and at the register.”

In the past, some students found that they could not sell their books back to the bookstore at the end of the semester. Book rental ensures that those who opt in will not have that problem. Students pay 75 percent of the new book price plus a 7.5 percent processing fee per book. If students wish to keep rental books, they can convert the rental to a purchase, paying the cost of the book plus a 10 percent processing fee.

“There is a national list of books that allows us to offer rental titles that, even though we might not use again on our campus, we can still offer as rentals and ship them back after they are checked in so that they can be rented on other campuses,” Schneider said.

According to Schneider, book rental has been more popular than anticipated. There have been 1,130 more online orders so far this year than during the entire back-to-school period last year. After tomorrow, Schneider expects that the bookstore will have rented more books this semester than previously anticipated for the entire year.

To promote the program, the bookstore has held events in Mallinckrodt, such as “random acts of pizza,” in which Rent-A-Text teams surprised students with free pizza, and a dice roll that gives students the chance to win $25,000 or a $500 gift card to the bookstore. According to Scott Stevens, an employee at the bookstore and current senior at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the goal of these events is not only to raise awareness of the rental program, but also to bring people into the Mallinckrodt Center and the bookstore.

“We are trying to draw people into Mallinckrodt, because lots of things have moved away from there,” Stevens said. “We want to make Mallinckrodt a place that you want to be so that we can get the word out.”

Student response to the program has been positive so far.

“[Renting the books] was very easy to do,” sophomore Elizabeth Natoli said. “It didn’t take much longer than ordering regular books. If it works for the textbooks I need, I will definitely do it in the future.”

Students also feel relieved that they are sure to be able to return their books.

“I think it is a great system, because you do not have to worry about whether books will be in-season to sell back to the store next year,” junior Abhi Kapuria said. “It’s a really convenient system.”

Schneider is optimistic about the future of the rental program and says that the University will continue to offer it as an alternative to buying books.

“We are excited that the students are embracing the program and are able to save on their course books,” she said. “It has been a program that provides students [with] convenience and flexibility. We are thrilled that we are able to offer it and that the students are embracing it.”