The Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries recognize that the high cost of textbooks is a burden on students and we want to help! The Affordable Textbook Program is intended to help alleviate the high costs that MSU students face when paying for their textbooks and to ensure students have access to their textbooks so they can succeed in class. As part of this program, the MSU Libraries have purchased multiple copies of textbooks for some MSU courses with high undergraduate enrollments and/or high cost textbooks. These textbooks are placed on Course Reserves in Main Library or the Business Library. Check the Textbooks/Participating Courses section of this guide to see which courses/textbooks are included in this program. You can also search by course, professor, or textbook search boxes to see if any of your courses/textbooks are on Reserve.
For some courses included in the program, there may be additional required texts that have not been purchased as part of the program. Also, some of these books are accompanied by an online access code for supplemental online materials. The MSU Libraries do not have these codes. Check with your professor to make sure that you have access to all of the books and other materials you'll need for class.
There are additional courses/faculty that place textbooks and course materials on the MSU Libraries' Course Reserves. The below list includes just those courses included as part of the Affordability Textbook Program, which focuses on high-enrollment courses and/or expensive textbooks and is funded by the Libraries. If you don't see your course below, you'll still want to search Course Reserves at the MSU Libraries or using the Course Reserves search boxes on this guide.
Digital loans will have the same checkout period as print reserve items (2 hours) - links to electronic copies will expire at the end of this loan period. Unfortunately, libraries are usually restricted from purchasing electronic versions of textbooks, but please contact Heidi Schroeder (hschroed@msu.edu) and Alex Seddon (seddonal@msu.edu) if you're interested in determining if there's an electronic version for textbooks in the courses below. All Affordable Textbook Program titles that are available in print may be checked out at the MSU Main Library Circulation desk or at the Business Library.
Note: During the first week of the semester, this list is subject to change.
Print textbooks in this program are available through the MSU Libraries' Course Reserves in the Main Library. This means:
Some Affordable Textbook Program titles will be available electronically to loan digitally. Digital loans will have the same checkout period as print reserve items (2 hours) - links to electronic copies will expire at the end of this loan period.
We want to hear from students about this program! If this program has helped you, you're excited about the Libraries having more textbooks, or have other feedback for us, please fill out the fields below or email: hschroed@msu.edu.
This content and design of this guide is heavily borrowed from the University of Iowa Libraries' Textbook Affordability Pilot LibGuide. Thanks to Mahrya Burnett from the University of Iowa Libraries for granting us permission.
