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
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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.
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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:
- Look into textbook rentals
- See if you can get it through another library
- Contact fellow students in your discipline to borrow or trade textbooks
