Students preparing to go back to school this year will have new textbook options, as more companies are renting textbooks. Barnes & Noble started renting them last year, Amazon just joined the game, and a handful of other companies have been in the space for year, renting digital and print textbooks to co-eds.
According to Alan Martin, CEO of CampusBookRentals.com, about 20 percent of students are now renting physical textbooks for at least a portion of their classes. Martin also said that only a small percentage rent digital textbooks, but Amazon’s entry into the space could change this.
In an interview with eBookNewser, Martin said that professors influenced the move: “At the end of the day, students follow the professor’s suggested materials, and the median age of professors in higher ed doesn’t align perfectly to the digital movement which adds another layer of complexity to mainstream adoption.”