Reserves - University Libraries

TCL and USC Student Government Textbook Partnership

Thomas Cooper Library and USC Student Government are partnering to
help our students with the rising cost of textbooks. If a class has
more than 100 students using a textbook costing more than $100,
USC Student Government will purchase a copy of this book to place
on reserve at Thomas Cooper Library. We hope this partnership will
help relieve the burden of the high cost of student textbooks.
Students may use these reserve textbooks within the Thomas
Cooper Library.

If you are a faculty member and you have an available copy of the
textbook for your class, we strongly encourage you to place this book
on reserve. We will return your book to you at the end of the
semester. For information about reserves, please visit our web page
at http://www.sc.edu/library/pubserv/reserve/reserve.html

List of Textbooks on Reserve
Search for Textbooks on Reserve in the Catalog

Check-out Policy:

2 hour limit
Building use only (cannot leave library)
No renewals (must wait 2 hours before checking item out again)

Criteria for textbook holdings:

Large enrollment classes (over 100 students)
Cost of textbook must excede $100

Read more about the High Cost of Textbooks...

United States. Department of Education. Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA). Turn the Page: Making College Textbooks More Affordable. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 2007
The full site, Study on the Affordability of College Textbooks also includes links to various ACSFA documents regarding their study on the high cost of textbooks and summaries of the regional hearings that informed the final report.

United States. Government Accountability Office (GAO). College textbooks: enhanced offerings appear to drive recent price increases. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2005
GAO report on what has been the change in textbook prices, what factors have contributed to changes in textbook prices, and what factors explain why a given U.S. textbook may retail outside the United States for a different price.

California Student Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG). Rip-off 101: How The Current Practices Of The Textbook Industry Drive Up The Cost Of College Textbooks. California: CALPIRG, 2004
This report examines popular textbooks at 10 public colleges and universities on the West Coast and describes the how publishers are artificially inflating the cost of textbooks.