Textbook Rental in the Digital Age

As I sit down to write this, the spring textbook-selling season is in full swing. My, how times have changed. When I was a freshman at Indiana Wesleyan University in 1991, the bookstore experience was much different than it is today. First off, I must confess I was much different, too. I had a mullet. Thankfully, my hairstyle has changed!

During my college days, Marie Noggle was the sweet grandmother-type who managed our bookstore, which was crammed into the basement of an old student center.

Students stood shoulder to shoulder, first trying to figure out how to read our course schedules and then trying to find the correct books for our classes. It was chaotic and expensive! Our choice was mostly new books since few used copies were available. We were promised that even though the books were expensive, we could sell them for half price at the end of the semester. In my case, that never happened. I was lucky to get $20 to $30 back!

Things are different today. Student centers are much larger, and the stores rival those found at malls, with more gift selections and clothing styles. The Marie Noggles of this world have long since retired and been replaced with younger managers, who are one part retailer, another part analyst/stock broker and yet another part computer programmer.

There are more choices with textbooks as well. New, used, e-books, rentals. There also are several ways to buy the books: Amazon, eBay, Half, Chegg – and let’s not forget the campus bookstore. You can buy the books in a store, online or at some other locations, and have them delivered automatically to your dorm room each semester.

Many institutions have all but written off the campus bookstore as a lost cause. That is not true – far from it!   In fact, we saw more profit in our campus bookstores in 2011 than in any year in our company’s 14-year history, which began in 1997.

The secret is change. Old bookstore models don’t work anymore. Institutions and their employees need to embrace new business models and technologies and seek solutions that will deliver value to students and produce a solid return on investment.

Based on our company’s experience, I am convinced that textbook rental is the answer to providing the best service and the best price to students. Students prefer to buy books locally, because no Internet company can offer the same level of service as a campus bookstore. If you, the bookstore owner, can rent a book for less money than a student can buy the book online, you’re back in business.

If your campus bookstore is not renting at least half of its book titles, you’re behind the curve! You may not have a mullet that needs to be restyled, but you definitely need to investigate one of the many rental models and select the best fit for your local store.

What about e-books?  What most people don’t realize is that a digital textbook is a rental. It cannot be resold like a used book, and most e-textbooks delete themselves at the end of the class term. Fewer than 10 percent of students are choosing e-books, in part because of availability but mostly because of price. We can always rent a physical book for much less than the digital copy.  And, given a choice, students still prefer a physical book. Ultimately, students will choose the least expensive solution to get their course materials.

I believe our industry is in a much-needed time of transition. I am excited about the future campus bookstore. In a small way, we do our part in equipping the church to fulfill the Great Commission. It’s an important ministry.

I am thankful that Marie Noggle, and many other faculty and staff at my alma mater, took a risk on a young freshman all those years ago … even though I must have really looked funny with a mullet!