Skip to Main Content

Textbooks, Course Reserves and other Course Materials

A guide to help locate textbooks and course reserve materials

Borrow Textbooks: Student Course Reserves

Textbooks (Course Reserves) in the Library

 

Do you have my textbook in the Library?

Some, but not all textbooks are on Course Reserve.  The Library relies on instructors to give the Library textbooks to lend to their students. Course Reserve materials are typically available for in-library checkout only for short periods of time (usually 2 hours)

  • If you would like to see if your class text is available in the library, you can look up Course Reserves using the link below.
  • You can also go to the Circulation Desk on the first floor of the Library and ask if your textbook is available to borrow

Some limited items may be available digitally-- if your Course Reserve text is available online, it will be inside your online course shell (typically in Canvas)-- please contact your instructor to see if this applies to your class.  

The Library vs. The Bookstore

  • The Library and the Bookstore are two separate entities!  The library does not sell or rent books. 

  • The Library does not buy current textbooks.  To buy all required textbooks would exceed our entire library budget! 

  • You can find some textbooks in the library.  Check the Search For Course Reserves tab above.

  • You might also try a search of the entire book collection, using the search box below, as instructors occasionally assign an ebook (not on Course Reserve) in the library collection.

  • Textbooks currently required for courses cannot be interlibrary loaned​.

Search for Course Reserves

Locate items put on "reserve" by Green River instructors by searching in the library's catalog. You can search by item title or the number of the class (example: TS 101). If you don't find your course listed in our Course Reserves search, ask your instructor to put your textbook on reserve.

Use the link above to open the catalog and then follow the instructions written below - also shown in the image below.

  1. Select "Course Reserves" from the drop-down menu    
  2. Search ADVANCED COURSE RESERVES by any one of these options:         
  • Department  - such as:     Communication Studies  
  • Course Name  - such as:     Interpersonal Communications      
  • Subject - such as:     Persuasion
  • Instructor  - such as:     Kelsey Denton  or    Denton Kelsey     
         [any combo of last and first names]  
  • Title  - such as:     The Essential Guide to Intercultural Communication  
  • Course ID - such as:     CMST 210             CMST& 210    
         (you can search either with or without the "&" )  
  1. After a search, you can also browse and filter by Department, Course Name, Course ID, Subject, Instructor    
  2. Go to the Circulation Desk on the first floor of the library to borrow course reserves

(Click the image below to enlarge)

search image showing the 1-4 steps outlined in the text above the image

Still need more help?

Consider chatting with a librarian who can help you search

Textbooks in Other Libraries

Public libraries often have very different collections than academic libraries, but sometimes you might just find what you need! Use the links below to try searching the public library for your textbook.