As a general policy, the Woodbury University Library does not purchase textbooks or add donated textbooks to the library collection. Textbooks that are required for Woodbury courses are part of the student's expected cost of education, and it is the student’s responsibility to acquire them. An instructor may choose to place a personal copy of a textbook on reserve for a specific course; the textbook will be returned to the instructor at the end of the course.
This practice is related to issues of space, resources, and mission. Textbooks are quickly outdated, and acquisition would be in conflict with the library’s intention to develop a collection of lasting value. With library shelf space already overextended, textbooks would displace materials of wider interest.
For the purposes of this policy, a textbook is a book specifically designed to be used as the basis of a course of study. They are typically designed to fit with a 14 week teaching cycle, and often have a companion teacher’s edition. Textbooks are commonly reissued in updated editions every year or two, and often contain examples, problems, practice exams, etc. Scholarly studies, works of literature, history, philosophy, and other types of texts, may be required reading for a class, but they are not considered to be textbooks as defined above. Sometimes texts required for a course may already be part of the library’s holdings because they meet the criteria of the library’s general collection development policy, not because they are required for specific classes.
If you have suggestions for items to be added to the library’s collection, your library subject specialist would love to hear from you, or you may tell us about it here.
