{"id":17,"date":"2022-03-16T17:42:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T17:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/?page_id=17"},"modified":"2025-09-17T17:24:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:24:59","slug":"book-assistance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/book-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Textbook Assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Augsburg faculty choose course materials that will best support student learning and help students be successful in their classes. Faculty understand the costs associated with course materials, and they can work with you to make sure you get them. Many options below can work out if you check in with your faculty.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Finding the Right Text for Your Course<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify the ISBN so you look for the right textbook. The ISBN is a 13-digit numerical code (e.g. 9781119308843). When you sign up for the course, required textbooks are listed on the course description, which includes the ISBN number.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Go to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/augsburg.bncollege.com\/webapp\/wcs\/stores\/servlet\/BNCBHomePage?storeId=40052&amp;catalogId=10001&amp;langId=-1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Augsburg Bookstore website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and get information about the text as well as rental options.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider international editions that are sometimes less expensive. The chapters may be arranged a bit differently, but it is, in essence, the same book. Talk with the faculty member before purchasing to make sure it is an appropriate textbook.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask the faculty member if you may purchase an older edition of the book and still keep up with the class.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Options for Textbooks: Borrow, Rent, and Share<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk with the faculty member teaching your course about borrowing a copy if one is available (some faculty get a free copy).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find out if the book is on reserve in the Lindell Library and how many copies there are; ask your faculty to put a copy on reserve in the library. Please note: Checkout periods for reserved books are shorter than normal, sometimes just hours or days, to ensure that they are available to the largest number of students in a class. The professor of the class specifies the loan period.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research to find out if the book exists at a library in Minnesota that you can check out. Talk with Augsburg library staff if you need assistance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider renting instead of purchasing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk with classmates about book sharing, which helps spread the cost between multiple students.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Open a Bookstore Account<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Students who are registered for the upcoming term are provided an Augsburg bookstore account where they can charge up $750 for bookstore purchases, on their Augsburg \u00a0account: books, class supplies, and a discounted semester bus passes can all be charged to your bookstore account.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/studentfinancial\/policies\/bookstore-account-information-and-activation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click here for more information on when you can charge textbooks to your bookstore account.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bookstore accounts are intended for students who have excess financial aid funds to cover their tuition, fees, plus their books or supplies. If you don\u2019t have enough aid to cover all bookstore purchases, and your bookstore charges create a balance due on your account, you will need to pay for those charges in accordance with your statement due dates. Contact Student Financial Services (612-330-1046) before you purchase books if you need to discuss payment options.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bookstore accounts can only be used at certain times at the beginning of each semester. Visit the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/studentfinancial\/policies\/bookstore-account-information-and-activation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Student Financial Services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> website for more information and when you may use a bookstore account in accordance with the financial aid cycle.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Purchasing\/Renting a Text<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shop early! The earlier you start looking for textbooks for the next term, the better. You\u2019ll have more options and if you encounter any problems with your text, you\u2019ll have plenty of time to resolve them before the semester begins. You may even find prices are lower, especially in the summer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Go to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/augsburg.bncollege.com\/webapp\/wcs\/stores\/servlet\/BNCBHomePage?storeId=40052&amp;catalogId=10001&amp;langId=-1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Augsburg Bookstore website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to check on the ISBN number and rental options.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The university bookstore will price-match textbook prices from first-party vendors like Amazon.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search the internet for used copies or a better price. Be sure to only purchase textbooks from reputable sellers and check their reviews before purchasing or renting.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you need to access an online homework module (e.g. MyMathLab, Aplia) for your course, most used copies of textbooks do not include working access codes. Be aware that it may be less expensive to buy a new copy of the text bundled with the online access code than it would to buy a used text and the access code separately.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Know the store return policy. If you\u2019re unsure about a course and think you may switch at the beginning of the semester, purchasing or renting from a retailer with a good return policy could save you a lot of money.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you plan your classes for next semester, ask faculty if they would email students who took the same class in the fall to see if they have books they would lend or sell at a discount.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many book buy-back programs do not offer substantial payments for used books. When you buy directly from students, they get more money back, and you get a better price.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Determine how to budget for books next semester. Research what texts you may need for each course as far ahead as possible.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Reserve Books Through Interlibrary Loan<\/h3>\n<p>Students can research books for possible interlibrary loan through their library account. <a href=\"https:\/\/library.augsburg.edu\/\">Lindell Library<\/a> is happy to help students possibly get the book for no charge. Please note: The check out periods are set by each lending institution, usually 4-6 weeks, not the full semester.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Still Need Assistance?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact the Dean of Students Office at <a href=\"mailto:deanofstudents@augsburg.edu\">deanofstudents@augsburg.edu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Augsburg faculty choose course materials that will best support student learning and help students be successful in their classes. Faculty understand the costs associated with course materials, and they can work with you to make sure you get them. Many options below can work out if you check in with your faculty. Finding the Right &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/book-assistance\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Textbook Assistance&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":18,"parent":0,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions\/299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.augsburg.edu\/basics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}