A new pilot project that allows students to rent out textbooks for short periods of time — free of cost — was launched Tuesday at the University of Regina’s Dr. John Archer Library.
The initiative, developed by the University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU), was created to help alleviate the financial burden associated with buying textbooks.
“The cost of textbooks can be really exorbitant for students,” URSU president, Jermain McKenzie said.
“You can be paying anywhere between $500 and $1,000 a semester if you’re taking a full load of classes. That’s a lot of money on top of tuition and housing and all the other expenses that students face.”
Over the summer, URSU collaborated with the university library, First Nations University, Graduate Students’ Association and the Deans’ Council to raise more than $45,000.
That money was used to purchase one copy of every textbook valued at over $130, so that it could be kept in the library reserve.
According to the university, 133 books were added to the reserve before launch and 93 more have been ordered.
“Any student who is in need of the material for the class can just walk into the library and take out the book for a few hours, get the material they need and do well in their classes,” McKenzie said.
URSU and the library also put aside a reserve fund of $5,000 to purchase additional copies of textbooks requested more frequently.
McKenzie added that in the future, he’d like to expand the program to include at least one copy of every book in every program.
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