Buying Textbooks

If you have registered for your subscription period, you have likely reviewed the syllabus for your intended course(s). Simply review the Learning Resources section of the syllabus to find required and recommended texts for the course. If you have questions about the learning resources, don’t hesitate to ask your instructor or Success Coach (SC).

TIP Make sure you check with your instructor or SC and/or review the syllabus to confirm if you can get the prior edition of a textbook. The newest editions are usually the most expensive, and sometimes authors have valid reasons to recommend them (such as recent research or updates in a dynamic field of study). In other cases, previous editions work just as well, and are available at a lower cost.

TIP Because so many textbooks have similar titles and multiple editions, make sure you identify the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) of the book you are looking for to make sure you get the correct copy. Learn more about ISBNs.

In general, you have four options for acquiring books (listed from least to most expensive):

• Borrowing
• Renting
• Buying Used
• Buying New

To determine which option works best for you, ask these questions first:

• How long will I need this text? Some textbooks, such as procedural manuals and reference texts, are used as part of professional practice, and can become part of your career library. These are the kinds of books you may want to keep for a long time and therefore buy. Other books might be relevant only for the time you are working on the course, which make them candidates for renting or borrowing.
• How critical is this text to my learning success? In general, textbooks fall into three categories within the Flexible Option program:
  • Required: If a textbook is required, you cannot pass the assessments without it. These books are critical to your success. They are also very rare. Most courses do not require textbooks. When a textbook is required, your best bet is probably to buy or rent it.
  • Recommended for the course as a whole: These books are relevant throughout a course and are listed in the syllabus. While not as critical as required texts, these are often good texts to buy or rent, particularly if you are new to the topic area.
  • Recommended for part of a specific competency: These books provide guidance one or more individual competencies (units) in a course. They can be very helpful. However, given that you are likely to use them for only one piece of your learning, you might not find much value in spending lots of money on them. Therefore, they are good candidates for renting or borrowing.
• How much do I know about this material already? You are more likely to rely on texts in areas that are unfamiliar to you. If you have a solid grasp of the content, you might find that paying for a book offers less return on your investment, especially since you may be able to find free resources online to brush up your knowledge in areas where you need a refresher. The less you know about an area, the more value you will find in renting or buying. The more you know, the more value you will find in renting or borrowing.
• What’s my budget? This is an especially important question if you are working through several courses at once. Buying every single text listed might not be a realistic option, or even desirable. Therefore, think about how much you are willing and able to spend, and focus on putting that money toward the books that are required/most critical, have the most longevity, and target the areas where you have the least knowledge.
• Are there any disadvantages to buying used rather than new? Some required textbooks may also come with a one-time-use access code – especially common in mathematics –  providing users with access to corresponding supplemental resources online. In some cases, these online resources may be essential to your learning in a course. If purchasing a used book, it is likely that the corresponding access code is no longer valid. IMPORTANT Before you purchase used, verify whether or not the required textbook comes with an online access code to online resources.