The Thompson Library & Archives Blog

Finding Textbooks and the Library

It's that time of the semester again... the scramble to find "affordable" textbooks. Prices for textbooks have been rising at astonishing rates over the past decades and students are feeling the pinch. If your instructor is still requiring you to get a textbook there are options to find lower or almost no cost options. Before you go down the list some things to consider...

• Is a digital format available? Are you comfortable using them? Digital textbooks are often less expensive than physical ones.
• If you prefer a physical copy, do you mind if others have annotated before you? Try used books!
• Will the book be required again in other semesters? Something like a publication manual or style guide is used across multiple classes and is worth buying.
• Is this a book you might want to refer back to again after the class ends? Buying is probably better than renting.
• Is this a textbook or something more "popular"? Popular books are published for the general public, not necessarily students, and won't have a lot of review questions or learning support. These books will be more widely available through most booksellers and public libraries.
  • Examples of textbook publishers: McGraw Hill, Cengage, Pearson.
  • Examples of academic or university presses: Wiley, Sage, Springer, Oxford University Press, University of Michigan Press.
  • Examples of "popular" publishers: Penguin/Random House, Simon and Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette, Harper Collins.

Here are some options and tips to finding textbooks and other required reading or viewing:

Through the campus bookstore:

• Barnes & Noble in the University Pavilion will have the listing for all the textbooks that professor have submitted to them. You can find what is required by visiting their website or by going through SIS.
• They must supply the ISBN so that students know exactly what edition they are expected to have, which is helpful if you find the book another way.
• You might be able to rent a book for the semester, meaning that it will have to be returned to the bookstore (NOT the library) at the end of the semester.
• You might be able to buy a used copy. They will often buy back your books at the end of the semester (but not typically at the price you paid).
• The bookstore will only price match books fulfilled by Amazon (not through used booksellers).

Through other retailers:

• Amazon, Chegg, Half Priced Books, and other online retailers may have less expensive options to buy or rent books, but read all their terms carefully to look out for late penalties and the like.
• If you are looking for digital versions of your textbooks, VitalSource, RedShelf, and possibly the publisher will have ways to buy access to your book for anywhere from a couple of months to lifetime access.

Through student book swaps:

• Check with fellow students in your program, cohort, or student org to see if they can sell their old book to you.
• The Facebook groups Textbook Exchange at University of Michigan-Flint and U of M Flint book exchange are very active especially with nursing and social work students.
• Try the UM-Flint Discord server as well.

Open Access Books:

Some instructors are using open access textbooks, sometimes called OER, meaning that the book is freely available and typically online. These books won't necessarily be available through the bookstore, so check the class's syllabus and contact your professor if you don't see a book listed through the bookstore.

Through the library:

There are several possible ways to access textbooks and other required reading through the library. These methods have no additional cost (unless you never return the book), as borrowing items is covered by your tuition and fees; we don't even charge late fines as long as you return the book to us. If you lose a book we will ask you to pay the cost to replace the book. Also, books through the library will not have access codes to any online supplemental materials, so check to see if you actually need them.

Check out our playlist of video tutorials for help with all these options! You can always ask a librarian for help as well.

UM-Flint Library Course Reserves

Your instructor may have asked the library to put either a physical copy of the book or a link to an ebook through Course Reserves. You can search by course number (i.e., CHM 333), instructor's name, or book title to find your book. Some books will need to stay in the library to use, but others can be taken home for a short amount of time, e.g., three days.

UM-Flint Library eBooks

Some books may be available as an ebook through the library, and most of those ebooks can be saved as PDFs by the chapter (though it depends on the database). Sometimes your instructor will even link to the book in you Canvas course. Check out this playlist of video tutorials to learn how to search for and access ebooks through the UM-Flint library.

UM-Flint and UM-Ann Arbor Physical Books

There may be a physical copy of your textbook or required reading in either the UM-Flint or UM-Ann Arbor libraries' collections. We can't buy every textbook for every course, but we buy some when the instructor asks us to. More than likely it will be an older edition, but check with your instructor if older editions are acceptable. Books from the Ann Arbor campus libraries can be sent to Flint through the Get This service, but it typically takes a couple of days. Learn how to search and request books through this playlist.

Request Books through Interlibrary Loan

We have connections to libraries across the world and they can send us a physical copy of a book (textbooks included). However, it takes longer for those books to arrive in Flint and you may not be able to keep the book for the entire semester. The loan is on the terms of the lending library, so if the book came from the University of Illinois, we have to abide by their borrowing rules. See our website for help finding and requesting books through Interlibrary Loan.

Find Books Through Your Local Public Libraries

If your instructor is using "popular" or non-textbook books or films, try your local public library! They might have either physical or digital versions of them.

• Flint Public Library
• Genesee District Library
• Lapeer District Library

Good luck and do your reading!