Textbook Affordability Program

Bookshelf wtih textbooks

Textbooks are expensive, we understand. We have initiated the Textbook Affordability Program to help combat the ever-increasing cost of purchasing and renting textbooks for a variety of courses. Simply stop by a library help desk, and borrow the textbook for free. You can use it for a few hours and even scan the pages you need most.

Finding Textbooks at K-State Libraries

Check the search box (Search It) at lib.ksu.edu to see if it is available. If it is on reserve, check it out with your student ID at the library help desk location indicated.
If you can’t find it online, double-check our textbook holdings by going to a library help desk or by contacting us through chat, email, phone or text. Simply ask the attendant to see if the textbook is on reserve using the course number and the instructor’s name, e.g., “Do you have the textbook for ECON150 with Adam Smith?”

More textbooks than ever

Thanks to student-centered tuition enhancement grants from the K-State Student Governing Association in 2016 and 2018, we increased the size of the reserves collection to meet student needs. While we can't buy every textbook, the Textbook Affordability Program did purchase textbooks for courses with the highest number of:

Overall enrollments
Dropout rates
Pell grant recipients
International student enrollments
First-year and transfer students

Donating Textbooks

If you have new or gently used textbooks for the courses listed above, consider donating them to help other K-State students. Donations can be dropped off at Library Help on the first floor of the K-State Student Union. See the textbook donation guidelines for more information.

Questions about this program can be directed to libtap@ksu.edu.

Other ways to save

If the book isn’t in the collection or on course reserves, compare textbook prices at online retailers before buying. A few examples include Afford-A-Book or Big Words.

Finally, consider alternatives to buying the textbook: