Textbooks
Textbook companies often have business practices that force students to pay large amounts while already on a tight budget. While some courses have switched to more equitable and affordable models, such as open learning materials, some of your classes may still have expensive and/or unethical practices.
Here are some tips for getting textbooks.
In some classes, the book actually is an invaluable resource. You can see the Hall of Fame section below for some examples. However, with most classes you will find that you don't actually use the textbook. In some cases, the professor will TELL you that you don't need it sometime in the first week. Sometimes you will need to buy a specific version of the book, you will need some special online access, or it might be cheaper buying from a particular source. When in doubt, it's always best to wait for the first week of classes.
Even if you ultimately get the physical book, a PDF is super handy for if you don't have your book with you.
Most students want to get rid of their books once the term is over. Below you can find some places to buy and sell your textbooks.
Resources
Places to look for PDFs & EPUBs
If you are looking for research papers, see the Research Guide.
Places to buy/sell textbooks
WARNING
Sometimes a course or publisher will have shady practices that force students to buy new textbooks every term. This can include restructuring, renumbering pages/questions, or unnecessary online components. See TIP 1, even when buying second hand.
UBC Specific Facebook Groups
The following resources are no longer available
- Discount Bookstore
- UBC Bookstore buyback program
Good Textbook Examples
Here are some courses that are a great model for afforable and ethical learning materials. These are textbooks that are affordable, open source, and/or closely tie in with the content in the course. You should still wait before buying these books, since this section is intended to show off some amazing courses and teaching teams at UBC.
Course Hall of Fame
| Course | Textbook | Link | Reason | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPS 391 | M & M Essential Anatomy | CustomRelevantLong Term Value | ||
| CHEM 121 | CHIRP | CustomRelevant | ||
| DSCI 100 | Data Science: A First Introduction | Beautiful textbook that's really nicely organized | FreeOpen Source | |
| PHIL 220 | forall x: UBC edition | FreeOpen SourceRelevantLong Term ValueAccessible | ||
| PHIL 320 | Sets, Logic, Computation | FreeOpen SourceRelevantLong Term ValueAccessible | ||
| PHIL 322 | Boxes and Diamonds | FreeOpen SourceRelevantLong Term ValueAccessible | ||
| PHIL 323 | An Introduction to Non-Classical Logic: From If to Is | Free through the UBC library | FreeRelevantLong Term ValueAccessible | |
| STAT 201 | ModernDive | FreeOpen Source |
Bad Textbook Examples
Course Hall of Shame
| Course | Textbook | Link | Reason | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIOL 300 | The Analysis of Biological Data | Expensive and mandatory textbook written by prof. In class problems could only be submitted using newest edition of textbook. | ExpensiveNot HelpfulUnethical | |
| CHEM 111 | unknown | Could not find that book online anywhere free or paid, nor could I find any used ones for sale. Practice problems from the textbook are part of your grade and change every year | ExpensiveMandatory OnlineUnethical | |
| ECON 101 | unknown | Had to buy an expensive textbook for a good chunk of your grade because you had to do the online quizzes that came with it | ExpensiveMandatory Online | |
| PSYC 101 | unknown | Had to buy an online textbook to submit homework that was worth 19% of your grade, and that homework was just clicking buttons repeatedly | ExpensiveMandatory Online |
References
Sources:
Tag Reference
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
Free | Does not cost any money |
Open Source | The source code is available for anyone to view, modify, etc. |
Relevant | Closely tied to the course content |
Long Term Value | Long term value (even after course is completed) |
Accessible | Accessible formats (ex. available online) |
Custom | Created or customized for the course |
Expensive | Expensive resource |
Not Helpful | Irrelevant / Not helpful / Barely used |
Mandatory Online | Mandatory Online Component / Unnecessary bundling |
Unethical | Unethical practices (ex. small edits each year to force new purchases) |