Textbook Lending

How can I find out which textbooks are available?

• Click here to see which textbooks are currently available as part the library’s Textbook Lending pilot. More are being added as the semester gets underway!
• Click here for a working list of the Fall 2024 Emory College courses and associated textbooks we expect to include in the Textbook Lending program pilot (a list for Spring 2025 will be available later in the year)
• We are also adding Textbooks Lending items to relevant courses in the Course Reserves system (also accessible via Canvas)

How have textbooks been selected for inclusion in the lending pilot?

The following criteria are in place for the textbook lending pilot:

• For 100- and 200-level Emory College courses with Maximum Enrollments of 75 or more students
• Where textbook information has been made available to the library (via Emory Barnes & Noble or instructors/departments)
• Mostly physical/printed textbooks will be available, though eBooks will be included when library licensing is available
  • Note that most textbook publishers do not make digital versions of their textbooks available to libraries
• Two to six physical copies of required textbooks will be available for most eligible courses, depending on overall enrollment
• Only one copy may be available if sections of a course require different textbooks, depending on section enrollment

For how long can I check out these textbooks?

• You can check out physical Textbook Lending items for 3 hours at a time
• Due to anticipated high demand, textbooks are not renewable or requestable online
• You can check a textbook out again after returning it if no one else is waiting for it

Where can I check out these textbooks?

Textbook Lending items are part of Woodruff Library’s Course Reserves collection. Just like other physical Course Reserve items, you can request them in person for immediate checkout at the Woodruff Library Service Desk (2nd Floor)
You can access electronic versions of some Textbook Lending items via Library Search or the Course Reserves system (also accessible via Canvas).

What if I don't see my textbook listed as part of the Textbook Lending program?

If you think your Emory College course and textbook meet the criteria for inclusion in the Textbook Lending pilot (see above), please email reserves@emory.edu with course and textbook information. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. We appreciate your help to include all eligible courses and textbooks in this pilot program.

How does the Libraries' pilot textbook lending program relate to other campus initiatives?

The Woodruff Library Textbook Lending pilot supersedes the pre-pandemic First-Generation Low-Income Partnership (FLIP) library, a donation-based collection originally located in the former Dobbs University Center (DUC). That collection was incorporated into Woodruff Library Course Reserves in 2017, when construction began on the current student center. Since that time, demand for the original FLIP collection declined significantly, leading the library and Campus Life/Emory First to discuss possible alternatives. FLIP now maintains a newer collection of donated books at the Bread Coffee House. We hope that this donation-based collection and the library’s curriculum-based textbook pilot program will complement each other and enhance student access to the course materials and services they need to succeed academically and flourish at Emory.