Students stressed by high book prices may have more options next semester if a proposed pilot program takes shape.
Director of Dining and Business Services, Patti Klos, said she is researching a textbook rental program that the university could implement as early as January.
Barnes & Noble, the distributor for Tufts' campus bookstore, piloted a textbook rental program in January and expanded it further in August. Under that program, college and university students rent textbooks from their campus bookstores or directly from the Barnes & Noble website.
Klos said she first pitched the idea of bringing the program to Tufts this fall. She has met with the executive administrative deans for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering to explore the plausibility of a rental program.
"We're looking at the availability, what the logistics would be, and what the impact on the university might be," Klos said. "It seems like it's very simple and straightforward; we're just trying to understand a bit more about how it would work."
A rented book typically costs about 50 percent of its new retail price, according to Klos.
"It can be a significant saving for students," she said.
Klos said Barnes & Noble only makes textbooks available for rental if the class is offered for multiple semesters. If implemented, as many as 8,400 books could be made available for rental under the program.
"That could affect a lot of students, and we're hoping that we can move forward with this," Klos said.
Several hundred schools nationwide have implemented the rental program, according to Klos.
The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate attempted to implement a textbook rental system three years ago, according to Services Committee Chair Meredith Goldberg, a sophomore.
Goldberg said textbook rental programs were not commonplace at the time. "There was no other example of ways to lower book prices in the area, whereas now our peer institutions have this established already," she said.
TCU President Sam Wallis voiced support for a textbook rental program, saying it was a campaign goal stemming from last spring's TCU presidential elections.
"It was a very big part of my campaign," Wallis, a senior, said. "I think it would be the best way to reduce out-of-pocket costs for students."
Wallis, who chaired the TCU Senate's Task Force on the Financial Crisis in spring 2009, said reducing textbook costs was the Task Force's primary recommendation.
"If an economics book cost $100 new, and you bought it at our store, but you could rent it for $50, I think that would be attractive to a student," Klos said. "It can be a significant saving for students."
"The university is very interested in trying to keep the textbook materials, the course-related materials, and anything else you might want at a campus store, as affordable as possible," Klos said.
Goldberg said this goal is a perennial Senate objective. "One of the major goals of Senate this year is always to lower prices for students, and whether that's through tuition or book fees, that's always an ongoing project," she said.
Goldberg expressed optimism about the pilot program's prospects.
"I think the fact that there's so much passion behind it, both from the students' and administrative standpoint, leads me to believe that it has a very strong, good outlook," Goldberg said.
