Campus Bookstore to Begin Textbook Rental Program
Beginning in the fall of 2010, the Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College Bookstore will give students a new lease on their sometimes budget-focused, hectic lives by offering a new, multi-channel textbook rental program designed to deliver maximum savings and convenience.
The textbook rental program will allow students to rent their textbooks for less than 50 percent of the cost of purchasing a new printed textbook. As an added convenience, students will be able to rent their books either in the campus bookstore or on the store's web site at http://fairmont-pierpont.bkstr.com. The bookstore on the shared main campus of FSU and Pierpont is operated by Barnes & Noble College Booksellers.
The decision to offer a textbook rental program was a joint decision made by Fairmont State University, Pierpont Community & Technical College and Barnes & Noble College Booksellers.
"We are committed to providing students with the widest range of content options and price points available," said Paul Maloney, Vice President at Barnes & Noble College Booksellers. "Whether students are interested in new books, used, digital, unbundled or now rentals, they know they can find what they want at the Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College Bookstore."
Other features of the program include the following:
- Students can pay the rental fees using any form of tender currently accepted by the bookstore - including charging their student account. (Note: For security purposes, a valid credit card must also be provided regardless of the method of payment used for the rental fee.)
- Students can highlight or mark the rented books just as they would if they purchased a book and planned to sell it back to the bookstore.
- Students can convert their rental to a purchase during the first two weeks of class.
- The rental period is for the duration of the term/semester. Books are due back at the bookstore no later than 10 days after the last day of finals. Students can return the books in person or mail them to the bookstore.
- Courtesy e-mails will go out as the end of the term/semester approaches reminding students to return their books. Books not returned (or returned in unusable condition) will be subject to replacement and processing fees.
Barnes & Noble began piloting its rental program earlier this year at 25 campus bookstores across the country. Response from students where the program was piloted was very positive. In particular, students said they liked having the option of receiving their books immediately as opposed to waiting for a shipment to arrive. They also said they appreciated knowing that the books they were renting were guaranteed to be the right books for their classes. More than 90 percent of the students surveyed said they would rent from their campus bookstore again.
More details about the textbook rental program will be available over the summer. For more information about the Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College Bookstore, visit http://fairmont-pierpont.bkstr.com.
Barnes & Noble, Inc., the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 775 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, also operates 639 college bookstores serving nearly 4 million students and over 250,000 faculty members at colleges and universities across the U.S. For more information, visit http://fairmont-pierpont.bkstr.com.
Textbook RentalBookstore
