Help! I can’t afford my books!
You are NOT alone!
There are a lot of KWU students who cannot afford to purchase the required or recommended reading materials for their classes. The library wants to help you find the materials you need to be successful in your classes at KWU.
Here are a few things you should do:
- Check the library
- See if the library already has a copy of your textbook. The easiest way to see if we have a copy is to use the Koha Catalog Search to look for the book.
- It’s possible your faculty member put the book on reserve in the library. That means we have a copy of the book in our library that you can use for two hours at a time in the library. If your textbook is not in the course reserves but it is in the library, let us know! We will put it on reserve so that it will be available for you and your classmates.
- Need help? No problem! Stop by the library, start a chat, email, or call us on the phone. We want to help you find the materials you need. Contact us!
- Ask your professor…
- If an older edition is similar enough for you to use.
- To check with the KWU Library about putting a copy in the reserves OR to ask the library to purchase a copy for the course reserves.
- To check with the library director (Sarah) about free and/or affordable course material alternatives.
- Get Creative!
- Stop by the library, start a chat, email, or call us on the phone. We want to help you find the materials you need! Contact us!
- Fill out an interlibrary loan request form to see if you can get a copy from another library. Remember to ask the library for help if you need it!
- Look for used copies or rentals online.
- Borrow or share with a friend.
- Advocate for yourself and for other students!
Tell anyone and everyone about the issue. They need to know about the problem before they can help fix it. There are alternatives and we all need to work together to make learning materials more affordable!
Credit: This is a derivative of Help! I can't afford my books! (tag_id=195926) by CIA Libraries, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY). Thank you to Laura Ponikvar at CIA Libraries.
