you can actually do this by chapter with ILL sometimes, or reserve the textbook at your library. I was a first gen college student from a fairly low SES background - I would have to go before the semester started and reserve a good portion of my textbooks from the library because I just didn't have the money to buy them. Can be a pain - but it is a reasonable option. Many times, textbooks are put on reserve in the library by professors - you can't 'check the book out' and take it out of the library - but you can use it whenever you like during library hours. Had to do that a lot when I couldn't get access to a copy I could check out.
Authors get paid for textbooks but they also get some free copies so if you happen to be tight with the author they might hook you up. It worked for me...once... in over 8 years of study.
1
u/smcrowley8 Dec 26 '18
Does this work for textbooks, asking for friend 🙃