Emory Libraries welcome you to Fall 2023 semester. We’re here to help you flourish! If you are looking for materials from your course syllabi, below are some tips for finding them.
Does the library have my textbook? Academic libraries typically don’t buy textbooks, because they are highly specialized and go out of date very quickly. However, it is worth checking to see if the library has a copy.
1. Check the library’s catalog, Library Search (be aware that older editions may or may not have all the material your teacher wants you to cover for the class).
2. Check course reserves to see if your professor has made some or all of the material available.
3. Remember Emory’s Bookstore, where you can purchase, rent, or go digital with your textbooks.
4. Search for answers in the Emory Libraries FAQ (Ask a Librarian) section.
Where are course reserves?
- Access your Course Reserves materials through Canvas. Click on the Library Course Reserves link in your course. This opens your list of PDFs, weblinks to electronic resources licensed by Emory, and physical reserves items available for checkout.
- Borrow physical reserves items from your library service desk (e.g. entry level, or 2nd floor, of the Woodruff Library).
- If your instructor doesn’t use Canvas, you can log in directly to the Course Reserves site to see the materials for all of your classes. Click on “View Course” next to a class to see your materials.
If your professor has listed a book or articles but has NOT put them on reserve, you can do the following:
- For books, search Library Search to see if the library owns it.
- For articles, try the Articles+ tab, which provides access to millions of scholarly publications harvested from commercial publishers and open-access repositories.
- Or, for articles, use the citations, which provide brief information about the article title, author, journal title and date. Look up that journal/magazine/newspaper name in the e-journals database to see if we own it electronically; if we don’t, we may still have a print copy. When you search in e-journals, there will be a link to search Library Search for the print copy.
Finally, come visit us at the library service desk or schedule a consultation with your subject librarian.
