Affordable Materials Project — Students
Ways to Save Money on Textbooks
Search the Library's Collection
Each semester, Falvey Library works to acquire digital rights management (DRM)-free and unlimited access to electronic editions of required course textbooks. We send out email notifications about these books and post links to them in Blackboard. You can also search to see if your textbook is freely available as an ebook. Note that some ebooks only allow one user at a time and limit printing or downloading.
Check Book Reserves
Professors put physical and electronic copies of textbooks on reserve in the library. Physical materials have limited loan periods and most must be used in the library.
See if your book is on reserve by visiting the front desk at the Library.
Check Blackboard to see if your professor has put scanned book chapters and journal articles on reserves. You can also ask your instructor to put materials on reserve.
Borrow from Another Library
E-Z Borrow. Request books from other academic libraries in the tri-State area delivered to Falvey in as little as 4-5 days. Loans for the full semester.
ILLiad - Interlibrary Loan. Request articles, books and book chapters from other libraries delivered electronically or to Falvey. Loan periods vary depending on lending library policies.
Find Deals at the Villanova Bookstore
Textbook rental program. It is often cheaper to rent books than buy books. Textbook Rental is flexible and makes it easy to rent with multiple forms of payment, such as cash, credit/debit, Wildcard or financial aid. It provides course material choices like used, new, or digital. If you decide to keep a rented textbook, you can buy it anytime during the rental term with no penalty.
Price Matching Program. The bookstore matches the costs of textbooks and textbook rentals, in-store only, from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Wildcard Discount. Using your Wildcard to purchase textbooks a the store or online will give you a 5% discount. You can add money to your Wildcard account by calling the Wildcard office or accessing your account through MyNova.
Electronic Editions. Electronic textbooks are generally cheapter than print.
Other Ways to Get What You Need
Ask for Help. If you are experiencing difficulty with sourcing your course materials, reach out to your academic advisor, professor, or librarian, whomever you feel most comfortable with.
Older Editions. Ask your professor if you can use an older edition, which is typically cheaper than the newest edition and more readily available from a library.
Financial Hardship. If you experience a financial emergence apply to the Student Hardship Fund
Computer Trouble If your device is temporarily out of commission and your need to borrow a laptop apply to the Computer Loaner Program