Students will be able to rent textbooks through the University bookstore beginning fall 2010.The service, put into action through an agreement with the University’s textbook contractor, Barnes and Noble, is designed to save students money, according to a press release sent to The Nicholls Worth.

Brenda Haskins, director of auxiliary services, said the NSU Bookstore textbook rental program will offer about one-third of the available textbooks for rental. “The rest of the textbooks will be on a purchase basis with a high emphasis on used textbook sales, which is another cost effective option for students,” Haskins said.

A separate rental checkout line will be available next semester, Haskins said. If a student’s transaction includes a rental, the student will be able to make his entire transaction, rental and purchase, at this checkout.

In a Barnes and Noble promotional advertisement, it is stated textbooks will rent for less than 50 percent of the cost of a new textbook. Students will be able to pay rental fees using any payment already accepted at the University bookstore, including campus debit cards and financial aid, Haskins said.

Textbook rentals will also be available online through the bookstore’s Web site.

There has been a positive student response to the upcoming rental program.

Adele Foret, freshman from Raceland, currently purchases textbooks from the University bookstore. However, she said she would consider renting if given the option.

“I would most likely rent textbooks from the University bookstore if it was cheaper than buying them,” Foret said.

Mason Jouclas, freshman from Thibodaux, does not currently purchase textbooks from the bookstore. However, he said he would use the bookstore to rent books if given the opportunity.

“It would be easier to get and return my books since they’d be on campus,” Jouclas said.

The textbook rental program will not be an extra cost to the University, Haskins said. It will be another service Barnes and Noble will provide.

“We are committed to easing the financial burden on Nicholls students. This program through our bookstore is one such example,” Haskins said. “We hope to minimize student costs by having as many books as possible available for rental. I want to thank Nicholls president Stephen Hulbert for his leadership and vision in reaching this agreement, as well as Barnes and Noble for their commitment to affordable higher education.

Katie Peterson, pre-medicine junior from Houston, and Michaela Gaudin, family and consumer sciences sophomore from Gonzales, retrieve the necessary textbooks from the Bookstore at the beginning of the fall semester. (Amanda Jefferson)