EXCHANGE: Students save $1.1 million by renting textbooks

(AP) — High textbook costs are a common complaint among college students, but Illinois Valley Community College has a program in place to alleviate some of that burden.

The Textbook Rental Option Program began in the 2007 fall semester, bookstore manager Lauren Sandberg-Catalina said, and it grows every year.

The program allows students to rent certain textbooks for the semester rather than having to purchase the books and sell them back based on market value.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks the cost of everything - even textbooks.

Since 2006, the price of college textbooks has gone up 85 percent, according to BLS statistics - well above the rate of inflation.

[...] while the organic chemistry text, rented by 23 students in fall 2015, may not pay for itself, a literature book costing about $120 rented to nearly 300 more than makes up the gap.