A Book-Smart Idea at Pierce College

Coming up with money to buy textbooks can be a problem for any college student, but high prices pose a particular obstacle to students at Los Angeles’ community colleges, where 40% come from homes below the poverty level. New textbooks can cost as much as $70 and full-time students can spend $300 to $500 every semester just buying books.

Pierce College, then, deserves applause for coming up with a pilot book-leasing program to help keep costs down.

Under the program, which will debut in January, students will be able to lease a new $70 textbook for $45, with the book’s price dropping to $34 in subsequent semesters.

No one loses out in the transaction. The leased book will return a profit for the bookstore by its third semester of use.

Sure, students have long resold their used textbooks, getting money back at the end of the semester. But a lease program means they don’t have to come up with hundreds of dollars at the start of a semester. It also ensures that textbooks will be available at lower cost. Without a lease program, used books might sell out or otherwise not be available. Additionally, Pierce officials estimate that students will save about 10% by leasing rather than buying a used book.

Pierce officials don’t know of any other California colleges that lease books. Its pilot program, then, deserves scrutiny by other state schools, particularly other cost-conscious community colleges.