For less than half the cost of a new, printed textbook, Buffalo State students will be able to rent a textbook from Barnes & Noble Buffalo State Bookstore.

“We will have about 400 titles available to rent,” said Lynn Puma, manager of the store. The average number of textbooks titles stocked each semester is about 2,500.

The rental textbooks will be new or used books, and students are free to highlight and mark passages, just as they do in textbooks they own. At the end of the rental period—ten days after the last day of finals—the bookstore will accept returned rentals, assuming the book is in good condition. The returned books will be considered used books, and they may be rented again or sold.

“We were one of 25 Barnes & Noble college bookstores to pilot this program, out of 700 bookstores across the country,” said Puma. “Students loved it.” The decision to offer a rental textbook program was made jointly by Buffalo State and Barnes & Noble Buffalo State bookstore.

Puma noted that today’s students are savvy shoppers. “We’re selling more and more digital books,” she said. “We’re trying to offer as many options as possible to our students.