4 Ways to Get College Textbooks Free

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ΙΝ GREECE Universitiew give the extbook for each course to each student for free!!!

bill of AR 10:38AM October 10, 2009

College and k12 students can use the Read:outloud accesible text reader to open and read digital books and take notes. Although not portable, this reader has alot of study tools and reading comprehension strategies built into the software.

valerie chernek of MD 11:12AM October 08, 2009

1. Libraries tend not to carry textbooks anymore.
2. Professor's aren't even given the funds to print papers for students at our school, let alone have an extra copy of a book sitting around. And the professors that would print their own books most likely aren't going to give up the money they make from selling a copy of it, to help a student out.
3. Most online databases, such as google books, only offer book previews, and large chunks of the text will be missing.

tyler of CA 1:06PM September 25, 2009

While a few college/university libraries are blessed with the funds to carry textbooks, most just don't have the money. We don't have a large enough budget to sink such a huge amount of cash into so many expensive materials that have such a short span of usefulness.

Kelly of PA 5:42PM September 14, 2009

I would suggest using GreenTextbooks.org
Save Money, Save The Planet
GreenTextbooks.org specializes in the recycling of textbooks, DVDs, CDs. Buying used textbooks not only saves you money, but cuts down on greenhouse gases caused by the manufacturing of new textbooks.
With GreenTextbooks.org you're not only saving trees, you are saving some green. http://www.GreenTextbooks.org

green of UT 11:05PM September 09, 2009

I second Michelle's information. Academic libraries don't typically buy textbooks. The cost is too high, demand is too high, no one is happy because we can't buy a copy for every student. The library's mission is to supplement the lectures and textbooks with additional material, not to supply textbooks.

Mary MacKintosh of WA 5:52PM September 09, 2009

At the University of Oklahoma, we started a Textbooks on Reserve program two years ago. The library receives special funding from the president's office to purchase copies of textbooks that are expensive or used by large classes. Because it's a presidential fund, there's money to buy replacements every semester as needed. Books go out for two hour use in the library building. While that sounds prteey restrictive, it actually works very well; the program is extremely popular and growing every semester.

Janet Croft of OK 4:58PM September 09, 2009

I avoid purchasing books that have questions at the end of the chapters -- they go out of date so quickly AND they're the ones most likely to disappear from the library because so many people want a copy. I ask the faculty to put their reader's copy of the textbook on reserve, instead. This insures that a copy or several will always be available during the library's hours of operation.

Larry Schwartz of MN 4:48PM September 09, 2009

Yeah, actually academic libraries usually have a policy of NOT stocking textbooks. Keeping up with the latest edition is much too expensive, and one person would check the book out all year. It's an unsupportable system.

Michelle of MD 10:57AM September 09, 2009

Very rarely do libraries stock textbooks for check out. Libraries pay triple the cost that a student pays for a text b/c the publisher knows that it will be used by multiple people and, as you mention, if they do have one it is generally on reserve. Many students think they can then get the text through inter library loan, this almost never happens b/c a library that has paid that much for a text is going to keep it on their campus for their students to use.

aw of IL 8:50AM September 09, 2009