General Information - Textbooks - Research Guides at UAA / APU Consortium Library

Which books do you need?

Use the UAA Bookstore's online textbook ordering website to see what is required for UAA courses.

Select Order Textbooks or Order Distance Education Textbooks
Check the term, the department, and enter the 5-digit course ID code
Click the Add Course button, then Get Course Materials
Print a listing of titles required for one or more courses
With this knowledge, you can check other vendors and prices

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Hints & Tips

These are some simple tips to obtain your textbooks effectively and efficiently...

1. Library books

Libraries usually do not purchase textbooks. It's best to rely on the library for background or supplementary reading.

2. Plan ahead

Why? Maybe a book isn't needed until halfway through the semester, and you can afford to wait a bit on buying that particular book. Maybe the online service that has your book is down. Maybe there is no on-line vendor with your book.

3. Check your syllabus!

Why? Sometimes you really don't need the whole book, may be just a chapter or a portion of the book.

4. Always keep track of your books

Why? Because bad things happen. You might lose your textbook, it might get stolen, or any number of unfortunate events.

5. Search by ISBN

Why? The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is the code for that specific book you need. The ISBN commonly appears on the back of the title page.of a book. Newer/older editions usually have different content, and the specific book your class requires may have something you need particularly for that class. Don't know the ISBN? Contact your professor or a reference librarian!

Overview

One of the most basic needs for college or university study is textbooks. These books are prescribed by instructors as essential reading since they present the subject matter defined by the curriculum. It is anticipated they will be used constantly by students throughout a course. Textbooks can be difficult for students to obtain because of economic hardship, financial aid limitations, or because the books are simply not available. Not having access to required materials can be detrimental to both students and instructors.

Can the library help?

As a general policy, the Consortium Library does not provide textbooks, since multiple copies would be needed, along with extended loan periods, in order to provide adequate access. Also the textbooks required for a course can change frequently. Purchasing and maintaining a collection of items that go out of date in a few years would be a strain on the library budget. So, the bottom line is that the library is not a good source for textbooks.

However, sometimes instructors place books, chapters or journal articles on course reserve at the library circulation desk, for students to use for limited periods of time. Find out more about Course Reserves and search the listing of materials available here. If the book you need is not there, it may be that your instructor would be willing to put a copy on reserve for your class.

What about interlibrary loan?

For similar reasons Interlibrary Loan does not fill requests for textbooks. They are very difficult to locate in other libraries. On the rare occasions they are located, they are often non-circulating, on reserve or are subject to recall. If the book in question is a required textbook for your course, it is simply not realistic to borrow a copy from the library or try to share with a fellow classmate.

What are my options?

Your best option is to either rent your textbooks, or buy new or used textbooks at a reasonable price, and be able to trade them in after the course is over. The UAA Campus Bookstore sells new and used textbooks, and offers buy back each semester for editions still required. APU's Campus Store offers a small selection of new and used textbooks, and has a similar buy back scheme. You can also check out the newest hot idea for affordable texts - open textbooks. Explore all of these possibilities using the tabs above, and find the best prices.

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