"We really covered a large segment of the total enrollment of students," Gusmorino says.

He says the council is exploring ways to increase UC Books' money making potential in the future.

"We're exploring opportunities to provide more services to students through UC Books that will also generate revenue," Gusmorino says. "The money that students are saving on books will go back into the Harvard community. That's kind of an indirect way of getting funding for student groups."

And the site's marketing potential is not limited to Harvard.

Several other universities have expressed interest in the UC Books' "computationally complex" algorithm, Gusmorino says--something which could serve as an "especially enticing" source of revenue for the council.

But the council's partnership with the Harvard Coop this year, which listed Coop prices as a benchmark, allowed students to compare book prices and gave the council a $750 donation to promote the alliance.

The partnership has opened the door to a previously unexplored avenue: corporate partnerships.