About Us

In 1873, Charles M. Barnes opened a small used bookstore in Wheaton, Illinois. By 1912, C.W. Follett joined this fledgling bookstore business as a stock clerk. In 1918, C.W. Follett took over the company and renamed it. Today, Follett Corporation operates more than 800 bookstores at college campuses nationwide and has become one of the largest online retailers. A leader in used textbooks sales, Follett is deeply committed to helping students manage the increasing costs of their college education. This commitment has led us to launch Rent-A-Text, a new textbook rental program that saves students 50% or more off the sales price of their textbooks.

To see what the media is saying about Rent-A-Text, check out these articles:

 
 

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What our customers are saying

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Elby D.

American University

A wonderful opportunity to save students tons of money. I will be renting all of my textbooks through this program for the remainder of my undergraduate education.

Alice S.

Northern Arizona University

As a low-income student, I sincerely appreciate what your program has done for me. Even though I was only able to rent one of my textbooks, I still was able to save over half of the money I would have spent had I purchased the book. Thank you Rent-a-Text!!!

Devon C.

Chandler-Gilbert Community College

As a single mother, helping 2 kids plus myself with books and college, this is a GREAT program, as it saves me money upfront. I like how you can rent the book, then return it and know that you saved money instead of worrying about how much you will get towards next semester's books. Plus in general, it was a good experience, and I didn't feel like I was being overwhelmed with high prices. Thank you for this program.

James M.

Regis University

Rent-A-Text is a great idea! I am thrilled that I am a new student to Regis University and can have such offers to take advantage of that actually save me money. Being that this was the first time I had ever been in the campus book store, I was very pleased that the associates gave me options about renting vs. buying. Very helpful in more than one way. I am sure as time goes on, you will see that more students will take advantage of this program.

Eleana V.

Camden University District

Awesome program! Cheap prices! Long period to have the books! Very happy! :D

Jyn M.

Middlesex Community College - Bedford

Because I am low income and relying completely on financial aid I was concerned about book costs. I now have breathing space and feel very confident. This is a great program and I appreciate the service.

Dena M.

Lone Star College Kingwood

Being able to rent books can save us students a great deal of money that we can put towards more education.

Cari W.

California State University - Channel Islands

Congratulations on an excellent idea to make books more accessible to students. Since cost of books is a considerable part of the cost of obtaining an education, this program will contribute to making education more accessible to those who previously may have had to abstain from higher education because of the lack of financial resources.

Krisitina L.

Georgia Perimeter College - Newton Campus

First time rental. Very easy and convenient because I was able to rent with my financial aid credit. So I spent nothing out of pocket.

Jennifer T.

College of DuPage

Glad the book store started this program! Low on money and renting the book made it a lot easier on me. Hope College Of DuPage continues with this program :)

Adam T.

Coconino Community College

Great money saving program, especially when my funds were low for books. This allowed me to obtain books immediately rather than wait for other funds to deposit into my bank account.

Abby N.

Rivier College

Great program helped me save and buy other necessary items to go with each course!

Laura G.

College of DuPage

Great program! My book was $95.50 and rented for $42.00. I am VERY happy about this!

Greg G.

University of Oklahoma

Great program. Many students simply can't afford to pay full price for books and grades suffer because of it. Thanks for doing this!

Brendi S.

College of Southern Nevada - West Charleston

I was relieved to see how the school is doing it's part in helping to reduce the costs for it's students.

Alex C.

Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis Campus

I am a person who doesn't get any aid at all to help pay for my school expenses. The rental program realllly helps me pay out of pocket for the books I need.

Joey A.

Sussex County Community College

I am a returning college student and was pleased to see I could now rent a textbook instead of buying it. It made this semester more affordable for sure.

Chrissy E.

Gateway Technical College - Elkhorn Campus

I am a single mom trying to better myself with more education, and this program really helps me out, thnx again.

Mary Y.

University of Texas of the Permian Basin

I am glad we have Rent-A-Text it helps people with low income afford education.

Sperry M.

Burlington County College - Mount Laurel Campus

I am on unemployment and renting books has allowed me to take full 12 cr this semester. I didn't take as many classes before because I could not afford the books!

Erica L.

Des Moines Area Community College - Ankeny

I am impressed and pleased with DMACC's willingness to provide the students with another option for textbooks. I was shocked actually at how easy and quickly the process went to rent my textbook. Hopefully this will catch on with more students and will benefit everyone involved.

Mike T.

Ohio University Lancaster Campus

I am paying for my classes out of my own pocket (no financial aid). Being able to reduce my costs through textbook rental is appreciated more than I can say!

Bob S.

Massasoit Community College

I am very happy and at ease knowing that there is a program like this. It really shows that you all care about the students and gives the college and bookstore a better reputation. Thank you all very deeply.

Ashely M.

California State University - Channel Islands

I had never heard of the Rent-a-Text option before transferring to CSUCI. This option saved me money and was very convenient! I cannot think of one way to improve, other than to offer more rent-able books. I really appreciate this cost-saving opportunity! Thank you!

Blake K

Virginia Western Community College

I just think it is a wonderful program. This is my son's first year of college and we were worried about the expense with the tuition, etc. and purchasing all of his books. I was really excited when I started hearing about the rent-a-text program. I really thought it would be some type of catch or reason that we would not qualify, but it was extremely easy and a painless experience. I also have a daughter in Middle School and every little bit you can save really helps. Thank you!

Antoine B.

Morehouse College

I just think it's awesome you gave us the opportunity to do this, because I know I really could not afford my books for class if I wasn't able to rent them. Thank you!

Mirka B.

Palm Beach State College - Central Campus

I like that I can rent a book, save money and still return the book so somebody else can use it again (saving trees...;) renting a book gives me a guarantee that I can return the book!

Kate N.

Meredith College

I literally cut my bill in half by renting textbooks!

Misty L

University of Texas at Arlington

I live two hours away from my campus and take my classes online. I am able to rent my books, they are shipped to me, and I can ship them back. The woman at the bookstore was courteous enough to call me to let me know she received my shipment and that my books had been checked in. Anytime I can rent my books, I will. Thanks a million for the convenience and the savings!!

Thomas A.

Salem State College - Central Campus

I love this program! My family and I saved so much money. I got a $180 text book for $80. It is an awesome program and I am fortunate enough to be a part of a generation that has the ability to rent their books. Thank you rent-a-text!

Kate M.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

I saved a ton of money; more than I would have saved by buying used books from Amazon. I am using the money I saved to purchase my books for next semester.

Mike M.

Jackson Community College

I saved about half of what the book cost. The process was quite easy.

Kim G.

El Centro College - DCCC

I think it's a wonderful program. It allows students access to books that normally would not have been a possibility due to the purchase price. Good Job Rent-A-Text!

Shannon L.

College of Southern Nevada - West Charleston

I think this is a genius idea and I also feel that the rental policies are fair and when followed it will be a wonderful transaction for both student and bookstore.

Jon A.

Phoenix College

I think this is a great program. I feel people really need a break with book & supplies cost, as they are way out of control. I understand it is expensive everywhere, but offering a break, such as, ""Rent A Text"" is so welcomed and appreciated. Thank you!

Sam T.

SUNY College at Old Westbury

I think this program is wonderful. I saved a lot of money on books and was able to buy other things that I needed as well. I am so grateful for this program.

Lora K.

Salem State College - Central Campus

I was very excited about the rent-a-text program coming to my campus because I have rented from online before and renting on campus is so much faster and convenient than sitting around at my house waiting for a shipment to arrive and it also saved me money. I appreciate this service coming to my school because it shows that the school cares about their students.

Melinda G.

Darton College

I would like to thank the program. It was a very easy program to use, and I much prefer to rent than to buy many of the textbooks, as they cost so much to buy. I don't feel like I am wasting money anymore, and for that I thank you!!

Matt C.

Austin College

I'd like to thank the rent-a-text program for this useful option. Fortunately, I can now save money on the acquisition of my schoolbooks, and I'm no longer forced to hold onto them longer than they are relevant to my education.

Albert H.

Richard E. Stockton College of New Jersey

It's a great way to save money on textbooks! The program literally cuts your cost down to half the amount you would've had to pay for books. I just heard about Rent-A-Text this semester (Fall '10) and decided to enroll in the program and I'm so glad I did. It literally saved me $100 on ALL my books when I WOULD'VE ended up paying over $200! Sometimes it's even cheaper than used! I recommend everyone rent their books and see how much money you save!

Josh R.

Winston-Salem State University

It's an excellent service and I will highly recommend it to future students.

Barry H.

California State University at Northridge

Its great! The staff were very informative and very helpful. After experiencing this, I will for sure rent next time, it saves me a lot of money and allows me to by school gear and materials with the remaining money.

Brandon M.

Florida State College at Jacksonville - South Campus

This is really a great option for students, it saves me so much money. Normally I would order online to save money and sometimes the books do not come in on time. By renting I can make sure I get all my books on time and for a better cost than I could find them used online!

Taylor S.

New Jersey Institute of Technology

This program is very helpful. It was very simple and I love it. My mom is very happy because it is actually helping us save a lot of money!