By Kristen Sekinger

The eCampus.com bookstore is planning to renovate the upstairs of its store and adding a place for students to study and hang out with friends.

The space will also include a game area and a place to study, along with a few snack foods.

The planning has already started and the renovation should be finished sometime next school year.

Manager Chad Saunders said he is building this new study spot to attract students to the store and give them a “chill and relaxing place” to study or just hang out.

But one of the main reasons behind building this spot is for students to read and study the books they rent out in the store with its new book renting program.

The program allows students to rent books for either 30 minutes, an hour, eight hours, overnight or one week and get 20 to 40 percent off, depending on rental length.

Students must read the books in the store if they are renting for 30 minutes or an hour.

“I always try to find the cheapest way to buy books, and I usually find them online, but don’t use them as much as I thought,” Natalie Laycock, a finance sophomore, said.

This new renting program lets students rent books when they need them.

“Students can bring their schedules in next semester and we will figure out general pricing for books for next year and compare them to other local book stores,” Saunders said.

Students can also save 10 percent after their first time renting books through eCampus.com.

“I think it’ll be beneficial because it saves students 10 percent the next year,” Lena Husayni, a nursing sophomore, said.

Husayni said she usually rents all of her books and the discount would save her money.

“I heard about that from someone in my major. I think it is a great way to help students save money and attract students to the store,” Laycock said.