Expanding on its textbook program, the Edmon Low Library is offering students whose textbooks cost more than $125 the chance to check them out for two hours.
The library’s textbook program, which began three semesters ago, was created to give OSU students the opportunity to check out their books from the library instead of spending hundreds of dollars on books.
“We want students to be able to check out a textbook and do their day’s reading for a class,” said Richard Paustenbaugh, associate dean of libraries. “Or maybe check it out twice and do the reading they need for their next class and be done with it.”
The project was introduced in the fall 2006 semester and provided books for classes with 250 students or books that cost $250 or more. The project has expanded each semester, reducing the required cost of textbooks and enrollment.
The library plans to continue lowering the required cost and enrollment, Paustenbaugh said, provided more funding becomes available. Mortar Board provided this year’s funding.
“[The plan] sounds like a really good idea,” said Kaleb Veit, a senior physiology major. “Three or four of my books cost more than $125, but luckily I have scholarships and other financial aid to help me out. For students who lack the resources, I think it would be huge to helping their education.”
The library has books for about 175 instructors from about 120 departments. Northern Oklahoma College-Stillwater is also represented in a dozen departments and OSU courses numbers range from 0123 English to 7482 Hemolymphatic Oncology.
Instructors can also place books and other course literature on reserve with the library and make them available for students. New books are added weekly for various classes and departments and professors can set how long students can check out the books.
Although two hours restricted is the most common choice, some professors can set deadlines of one, three or seven days. The material can even be scanned and placed on the internet for even easier access.
Adam Ward, a senior architecture major, said he has heard from classmates the library has books on reserve, but wasn’t sure of the exact requirements for the library to have the book or what books were available.
“For my structures books, a three book set was $600,” Ward said. “I spent $1,000 and they offered me $57 at the end of the year to buy them back. It’s absurd. I don’t know how they expect us to keep buying new versions or ‘updates’ when they cost as much as they do.”
Ward said another semester his textbook total cost was near $800. He said buying the books wasn’t nearly as much of a problem as selling them back.
“Sometimes I bum a book off somebody if I can’t figure something out,” Ward said. “It sucks, but it saves me about $500 a semester that I can use to pay back my student loans. The library offering these books for a couple of hours would go a long way to saving me time and money.”
Students can go to the OSU Library home page at http://library.okstate.edu and search for the textbooks under “Course Reserves.” The circulation desk on the south side of the first floor of the Library is available to check out most of the books.
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