I remember the first day in elementary school. The teacher called out our names, we would walk up to the front of the class, and she would hand us our glossy, new textbooks.

Sometimes the books had that new-book smell, and I loved writing my name on the top line of the inside cover and flipping through all of the untouched pages I would soon come to discover.

The exhilaration subsides when the book doesn’t include colored pictures, the only smells are of late night coffee stains from the last owner and it comes with a hefty price tag.

For some, textbooks cost more than their tuition and come in three-ring binders with paper inserts. I think it is difficult for college students to wrap their heads around spending so much money on a book when they are paying for rent, food, utility bills and tuition at the same time.

Thankfully, there are many creative options to save money on textbooks that are credited to 21st century resources.

According to Brian McKenna, a writer for collegefinder.com, the five cheapest websites for buying college textbooks are Chegg, Flatworld Knowledge, Campus book rentals, Affordabook and Google books.

McKenna says Affordabook searches sites like eBay Inc., Amazon.com, and half.com to find the lowest prices and save you time. Chegg plants a tree for every book it sells. McKenna reported that it has planted more than 3 million trees.

E-books are also transforming the industry. Kelli B. Grant, a writer for Smartmoney.com, said students can download textbooks onto their phone by using sites such as CourseSmart.com.

Some popular local resources are Books-To-Go (4960 E. 21st St. North), Ablah Library and the Wichita State Facebook group called “Wichita State Textbook Swap.”

Last year, I resorted to buying all of my books at the campus bookstore for the convenience. This year, I found that Books-To-Go has most textbooks required for Wichita State students and sells them 5 to 10 percent cheaper.

I also learned the reserved section of Ablah Library has some textbooks you can scan, free of charge.

Other resources WSU students reported using were Amazon Prime, (free two-day shipping if you buy a $79 annual membership fee), Craigslist.org, bigwords.com and abe.com.

However, the majority of students still buy books from the bookstore because of its convenience and, for students like me who wait until the last minute, it’s immediacy. 

 “If the price of a book in the campus bookstore is $100, the publisher sold it to them for $75,” said Liz Dwyer, education editor for the website Good Education. “Some of that $75 list price comes from writing and production costs—paying all the authors, editors and designers.”

It feels as if publishers know students don’t have a choice when it comes to earning a passing grade; you either buy the book or you fail the class. I think they became greedy when they realized this concept. 

“A recent study by the consumer group, I-Team, reported that textbook prices have nearly tripled in the last 20 years,” McKenna wrote in her article. 

However, because of used and rental systems, campus bookstores are still successfully competing for students’ money. 

I usually decide to rent most of my textbooks if I know I will never use it again after the semester is over. 

“Students facing a hefty annual bill for books can save an average 30 percent to 50 percent by renting that required reading,” Grant said. 

However, renting can be risky. I always worry I am going to misplace the receipt or I might run over the book (I wish I could say that has never happened.) Renting has no warranty for life’s curveballs.

If you decide to rent, check to see if highlighting and marking is allowed, if the book might be valuable later down the road and if the rental cost is better than what you would receive if you decided to have the bookstore “buy back” your book at the end of the semester, Grant said. 

Also, don’t forget Obama’s American Recovery and Investment Act, where you can receive tax credit for your textbooks, McKenna said. 

Maybe one day the government will decide to be kind to us poor, college students. For now, we will just have to keep dreaming back to the good ole days as we hand over our worn-out credit card to be swiped once again.