from UTSA
Glenda Lowndes, Reference Assistant, Bronfman Business Library
Published Wednesday June 26th, 2013
Text books can cost BIG Bucks, especially on top of tuition fees – which continue to rise! Some universities are trying to help students cut their costs by offering textbook rentals from there university book store. Average textbook costs about $100 which can put a dent on your bank account when you are taking about 5-10 courses a year. Concordia University was the first to implement this service offering students 60 per cent off the retail price, making a $100 book available to rent for only $40 a semester. Students must take care of the textbooks otherwise they will be charged for the total cost of the textbook. Many other universities have followed suit, but it varies from university to university.1 York U has also adopted the textbook rental service, however prices and loan periods vary. If you cannot find your textbook from the York U bookstore textbook rental, you can also use other methods to locate used books to buy or to borrow for your courses. The libraries at York U may sometimes have your course kits and textbooks on reserve. To find course reserves, all you need to do is type the course code or instructor's last name in the search box on our library website and pick Course Reserve from the drop-down menu, and see if your course is listed. Please keep in mind that these books are available for short term loans which can be for only 2 hours. At times, your course may not be listed; it doesn’t mean we don’t carry the textbook. You can also type the title of the textbook in the search box to see if you can borrow the book and all you need is your YUcard. You can also check out the York U bookstore website where students sell their books from previous semesters at a reasonable price.
1 Seidman, K. (2012, Mar 10). Rental services help students turn the page on high cost of textbooks. The Gazette. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/docview/927663246?accountid=15182