Get Schooled: Renting in College with Option to Buy

By Amber Lester Friday, July 16, 2010

At the start of every semester, college students have a choice: to buy all their textbooks or to skip a few. Sure, there are always students who will have the resources and desire to buy every book required for their courses. But there are also many students who pay for their own books, and end up trying to score deals online, borrow from classmates or simply go without.

As an English major, I often fell into the latter group. Some semesters were easier than others, but I remember one particular semester when I had to buy more than a dozen novels for an Israeli and Palestinian literature course; that same semester, a professor asked us to buy the complete works of Willa Cather. Add that to the Greek history book I had to buy for my Greek and Roman Art History class and a hefty condensed book of 17th-century British literature. Needless to say, I made the executive decision to skip a few of the novels and crossed my fingers I could borrow from a friend.

All of these memories flooded back when I read about the College of William and Mary’s plan to offer textbooks for rent for less than 50 percent of the cost of purchasing a new book. That would have been amazing when I was in school, especially for books I never wanted to see again, like that statistics book I wasn’t able to sell back.

Beginning in fall 2010, the college will allow students to rent their textbooks either in the store or from the store’s website. The decision was made by the college and its partner, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers. In a press release, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Vice President Paul Maloney said, “We are committed to providing students with the widest range of content options and price points available.”

Students will be able to pay the rental fees with any form of money accepted at the bookstore, whether it’s cash, credit or WM Express money. The books can be rented for the duration of a semester and are due back 10 days after the last day of finals. Students will receive a friendly reminder e-mail to let them know their books are due. During the first two weeks of class, students can turn the rental into a purchase.

The best part, in my opinion, is that students can still highlight the books or take notes as they would in a book they purchased. If you could see my dog-eared copy of Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon,” with nearly every page highlighted and underlined and asterisked, you’d see why that little perk is so crucial.

Another cool aspect of this program is that it acts as insurance for the students. I bought so many books that I was unable to re-sell to the bookstore because the professor decided to order the new textbook for the next semester. At that point, the book is very hard to sell online. I ended up saddled with an outdated statistics book that ended up getting tossed.

Barnes & Noble started piloting the rental program earlier this year at 25 campus bookstores. Student response has been tremendous, according to the press release; they particularly like having the option of getting books immediately. More than 90 percent of students surveyed said they would rent from their bookstore again.

When William and Mary posted the press release on their Facebook page the other day, the response from users ranged from excitement to jealousy from alums who thought it was a great idea. Next year’s freshmen don’t know how good they have it!

Williamsburg music program recognized
The Early Childhood Music School of Williamsburg at United Methodist Church was awarded the 2010 Musikgarten Exemplary Program Award at the 12th annual Musikgarten Teacher Festival on April 9-11 in Green Lake, Wis.

Musikgarten is a music program specializing in early childhood music and movement education for children. The Early Childhood Music School was founded in 1989 by Cindy Freeman, who still acts as its director. Using the Musikgarten curriculum, the school offers instruction to children ages 2 months to 8 years in singing, movement, listening and playing instruments.

Teachers from across North America participated in three days of music-making and seminars focused on topics like piano-teaching techniques or helping parents understand aural methods in music education.

E.C.M.S. was one of just 82 programs in North America to receive the award. For more information about the school, e-mail cfreeman@williamsburgumc.org or visit them online.