Between tuition and housing, costs can quickly pile up for Michigan State University students. For the second fall in a row, there is a resource for students who could barely afford the textbooks they needed to earn their degrees.
Nathan Brugnone studied his Random Graphs and Complex Networks textbook at the MSU Main Library.
Brugnone is a PhD student in MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
On Amazon, his book would have cost $55. But Brugnone has borrowed it and hundreds of others from the library saving the student parent lots of money.
“I'm a father too," said Brugnone. "My son is six years old. I have a wife. We have a house and buying the thousands of dollars' worth of books that I want to buy is difficult.”
This is the second year that MSU libraries have offered the Affordable Textbook program.
Students can check out textbooks from 30 courses for up to two hours at the main library and Gast Business library.
Heidi M. Schroeder is the Accessibility Coordinator at MSU Libraries. She said that the library recognizes that textbook costs place a huge burden on students.
“We're really hoping that students who might normally not buy a textbook because it's too expensive, they can use our copy and still really be successful in the course," said Schroeder.
MSU Libraries spent more than $20,000 to acquire textbooks for students to borrow.
Brugnone said the program helps provide a chance for all MSU students to succeed.
"Any way that you can open up education to people of different economic backgrounds is a good thing. So I'm in 100% support of it," said Brugnone.
Click here to learn more about MSU's Affordable Textbook program.