Answered By: Dawn Wong
Last Updated: Jan 16, 2024     Views: 467

Please see the following FAQ on how to find and request course materials.

The library carries some textbooks, either as part of the regular collection or in Reserve if placed there by faculty. Using the list of textbooks at the University Bookstore site, you can use Discovery Search on our home page to see if any are available for check out. Discovery Search includes print books in our collection, faculty-owned print textbooks, and ebooks.

Note that the library owning a copy of your textbook does not mean you can avoid purchasing your own copy. Textbooks kept on reserve will have a short check out period: two weeks or two days for most books. Textbooks in the regular collection will commonly be recalled by other students in your class, also shortening the length of time you can have an item checked out.

After searching the list of textbooks at the University Bookstore, you will be given a list of titles, authors and ISBN (standard numbers) for each book. Copy the ISBN number and search this number use the ISBN search in the library catalog. If we own the textbook, this method should return a screen listing the location and availability of the item. If you get no results, you can check to see if the library owns a different edition that may be helpful to you.

To search for other editions, use advanced search in the catalog. Enter the last name of the author of your textbook (or the first author listed if more than one) as an author, and the first few words of the title of your textbook as a title. You may get more than one result, so note the publication years listed in the results. Click the title link to see more information about these results.

Faculty can also place textbooks on reserve, using either a copy the library happens to own, or their personal copy. Find these copies by searching the Reserves part of the catalog. You can either search your professor's name (last name is usually sufficient) or your class abbreviation and number or class name. Try both methods if one doesn't return a result. You can also ask your instructor if he or she has a copy of the textbook to place on reserve.

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