New website lets students rent textbooks

Students can buy or rent books from this service

Cengage Learning, a major publisher of college textbooks and materials, has recently announced that they will roll out a new website from which students can buy or rent the textbooks they need for their classes.

The new site will incorporate another Cengage site that already allows online purchases, but not rentals. Students who choose to rent instead of buy can save between 40 and 70 percent, and they need only return books when they are through with them.

"With the launch of our rental program on CengageBrain.com, we are adding another lower cost option for obtaining the high-quality content students and instructors have come to expect, designed to enhance student engagement and improve learning outcomes," said Ronald G. Dunn, president and chief executive officer of Cengage Learning.

In addition to providing a low cost option, the site may be of particular use to distance education students who have difficulty travelling to the nearest bookstore. Even those who find waiting for shipments and sending them back too cumbersome can use the service, as digital copies of most of the textbooks in the Cengage catalog are also available.

The site is scheduled to be fully operational by December 1.