Skip to Main Content
Michigan State University

Affordable Textbook Program: General Info

What is the Affordable Textbook Program?

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. 

Checking Out Textbooks

Print textbooks in this program are available through the MSU Libraries' Course Reserves in the Main Library. This means:

  • books/materials can be checked out, but they have to be used INSIDE of the library.
  • the check-out period is 2-hours in most cases, but you can check them out again and again as long as no one else in your course is waiting for a copy.
  • If you return a book late/beyond the check-out period, you will be fined. See the Course Reserves FAQ.
  • You'll need your MSU ID (or a photo ID) to check them out.
  • If you lose or damage a textbook, you will be charged to replace it.

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.

Acknowledgement

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.