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    Find Your Textbooks

    by Meghan Kowalski on 2020-01-13T13:43:40-05:00 | 0 Comments

    Textbooks are an essential tool for your courses. You can’t successfully complete a class without access to your assigned reading material. Textbooks, however, can be very (very!) expensive. The Library is here to help you try to save some money on your course reading! 

    Textbook Reserves 

    The library may have your textbook!  

    We have a growing collection of textbooks available for 2-hour loan. See if your book is available by searching our catalog using the Course Reserves filter. 

    While you can't keep these books for the semester, you can read, copy, and scan them during your check-out period. 

    Finding Cheap Textbooks 

    If you need to purchase a textbook, here are a few tips to help: 

    • Rent instead of buy. (See a list of websites below.) 
    • Buy used. 
    • Buy the book from another student who has taken the class before. 
    • Check with the UDC Library to see if they or other local libraries have the book or e-book. 
    • Request the book through ILL (These items can take two weeks to arrive and have short loan periods). 
    • Check with your professor to see if it’s okay to use an earlier edition. 
    • Sell your old textbooks to fund your new books.  

    How to Buy Used Textbooks 

    If you decide to buy a used textbook, make sure to keep the following in mind: 

    • Order the right edition of the book.  
    • Search by ISBN whenever possible. You’re more likely to get the right copy. 
    • Be careful with foreign editions. They may be cheaper, but the content (particularly assignments and quizzes) can be different. 
    • Read up on the used copy’s condition - some books are like new; others will include highlighting and notes in the margins 
    • See where the book ships from - if the book is coming from overseas, it may not arrive in time. 
    • Consider shipping costs.  
    • Look at multiple used copy listings before picking one to buy. 

    Where to Buy Used Textbooks 

    You can find used textbooks on the following websites: 

     (**) You can also rent books from these websites 

    The Fine Print 

    Some textbooks come with a digital access code that you need to access quizzes, tests, and assignments. If your class requires this code, you will need to buy a new textbook. 


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