On a college budget, many students are trying to find ways to trim costs this fall semester, and the K-State Student Union Bookstore is taking advantage of the opportunity.

After a successful pilot program last semester, the Union Bookstore is now renting books to students.

"We're really going to work with students," said Steve Levin, textbook manager for Varney's and the Union Bookstore.

Levin said they have worked for about three years getting ready for a renting program.

Renting books has become a growing trend for students trying to avoid spending hundreds a semester on class books.

"It's ridiculous," said Cody Rietcheck, freshman in mechanical engineering, after spending more than $500 on books for the fall semester.

Rietcheck said he plans on looking into buying books online, possibly from Amazon.com.

Rietcheck is not alone when it comes to frustration over book buying.

"It's a bummer, especially if [the book is] by the teacher and you are required to buy it," said Kourtney Willkie, senior in animal sciences and industry.

While there are about 1,000 books available for rent in the bookstore at the moment, Levin said the goal is to be able to rent out 80 to 90 percent of their books to become more competitive with other book renting companies.

The change comes from the need to compete with other popular renting programs online.

Levin said the advantage of renting from the bookstore is students can treat it like a book of their own. He said with websites like Chegg, there are rules to how much you can write and take notes in the book.

"You could use five different highlighters in the book if you wanted," he said.

Students who want to rent should look for books with red dots on them. These books will be available for rent, and can be purchased if a student decides they would rather own the book. It is also possible to bring back a book that has been purchased if a student decides they would rather have rented it.

Levin said the program has been great, with more than 3,000 books rented so far this semester.

"We've saved students over $100,000 so far," he said.

The bookstore is also partnered with www.bookrenter.com, where students can rent and have books shipped to the Union.

Students will need a major credit card to rent a book.