Over the past two decades the price of college textbooks has risen at twice the rate of inflation. On average students are spending 400 dollars a semester on books, but that is starting to change. State and federal law are forcing universities, publishers and professors to provide alternatives to costly texts.

FSU Junior Stephani Gallager has an arm load of books that will cost her a boat load at the cash register. “I would say about 300, 350 dollars, because I like to buy mine because I’m interested in the subjects.”

Sophomore Roshelle Sagarra is spending 400 dollars for her books. “Tuition is already expensive; we are all already going through hard times.”

But hope is on the horizon. Thrifty students can now download 170 free books online, and print copies of other titles for a fraction of the original cost. State law, for the first time is forcing universities to find cheap alternatives to new books. Frank Brogan, Chancellor, says the University System’s Board of Governor’s is helping implement the changes.

“Hopefully we are going to see, and I think we are, the overall cost of textbooks begin to come down.”

The new laws ban professors from taking gifts from publishers or turning a profit by require their students to buy the books they’ve written. Apart from the new rules making textbooks cheaper a lot of bookstores like this one have rental programs allowing students to check out a title for a full semester for half price.

We found Roshelle Sagarra renting a history book Monday. “I just figured it would be cheap, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be using that book as much because it’s used later in the year.”

The board of governor is working with bookstores to expand the rental program and will continue to work to lower textbook costs and put more titles online.

Soon college textbooks may be duty free. State lawmakers are working on eliminating sales taxes on textbooks as another way to bring the cost down.