College students have to juggle a lot at once— work, classes, fees, housing.
Classes can be hard to get into, cost a lot of money and then there is the real big hit— textbooks. One textbook, which a student will bring to class once and then leave at home under your bed, is going to cost $150.
Starting in 2011 the Associated Students of Las Positas College (ASLPC) attempted to come up with a solution. The Textbook Loaner Program (TLP) was the result.
The ASLPC-run program originally allowed students to rent up one book a semester. It has gone from one to two books until this semester, where they expanded to three books per student. Now, however, they are working on expanding the program so that it is more than just for books.
From ASLPC, the program is run by newly elected Director of Communications Kevin Lopez, and Inter-Club Council Chair Paulina Reynoso, along with their sub-committee of ALSPC senators. They have been working with each other on their goal of making things easier for students and saving money for them.
“The program’s going really well. We have more students this year than last year,” Lopez said. “It has just been improving every year.”
The pair has been working to improve the program and implement new ideas into it.
“We’re working on different ideas. I’ve been working on research on bundle deals, where science students get more than the textbooks,” Reynosa said. “They can get the lab coats, slides, the lab notebooks, because it’d be better for the students, and save money.”
To apply, students need only their LPC identification card and $30 per book in cash or check. They must pay the TLP at the ALSPC offices, and will be given a card to take to the library with a book access code.
The library, upon confirming the identification card, will then retrieve the book or books and give them to the student for the semester.
As books can cost students anywhere from $75 to as much as $200, the program can benefit students.
Those who don’t take care of the book can be penalized. Excessive marks and damages that were not there before bear a minimum $15 fee, or if damaged enough, the charge can be the regular full price of the book.
The program is funded by the LPC Foundation.
Lopez says more people are becoming aware of the program and would like this trend to continue.
“TLP is supported by the LPC Foundation and is using money to support the students to make college easier for them,” Lopez said.
The more students that know about TLP, the more the LPC Foundation can help out in saving money.