How can I 'read for a degree' if the resources aren't available???

currynchips

This kind of links in with a post about library fines.

120 students told yesterday to read 2 chapters of a particular book, and 1 chapter of another. They have 25 copies in the library. By closing time last night, ALL copies are loaned out for a week!!! There are none remaining for reference, to read whilst in the library. The cheapest I can find them online is £24 per book!
Yes, snooze you lose, however, I checked the time they were loaned out, and found that there was only 3 left when I received the reading list anyway!

I'm bloody annoyed.

Lokolo

Do you not have an online site to access e-books? My uni puts as many as they can, books online which you can download once you log into the uni portal.

Sucks though, don't you have any friends who loaned out the book?

DCFC79

currynchips wrote: »

This kind of links in with a post about library fines.

120 students told yesterday to read 2 chapters of a particular book, and 1 chapter of another. They have 25 copies in the library. By closing time last night, ALL copies are loaned out for a week!!! There are none remaining for reference, to read whilst in the library. The cheapest I can find them online is £24 per book!
Yes, snooze you lose, however, I checked the time they were loaned out, and found that there was only 3 left when I received the reading list anyway!

I'm bloody annoyed.

how long you got to read the chapters

misskool

you could read it in a border's if there is one close by, they even provide comfy chairs.

if you know someone who has borrowed it, borrow it off them for 1/2 hours and scan the chapters.

look for online copies or find similar reading material. Is this the essential reading list or the supplementary one?

bestpud

Were you told you had to have the books when the module started?

If not then I'd be inclined to ask the tutor if they will photocopy them for you. Then I'd contact the library and suggest they keep a reference copy as it is a core text.

Go to the student rep (or become one yourself!) and suggest to the department that they pressure the library to keep a reference copy of core texts.

At my uni they give students a photocopy if we need to read something for the next seminar/lecture. Otherwise they give us something online or more general.

Can you post a message on the uni pages and ask if any other student can lend you their copy, or allow you to copy the relevent chapter - unless you kow someone who has one?

melancholly

any chance the tutor has scanned them in and put them as a pdf on the server? if not, get your student rep to take that as a suggestion to the next undergraduate affairs committee.

you may also find that if you request a book, they have to return it sooner than a week (they may not, but it's worth a try!). i'd also be amazed if a book with 25 copies wasn't also a reference copy in the library itself (if not, it certainly should be).

failing that - as already suggested, email the tutor. as long as you phrase it appropriately (i.e. you don't want to be unprepared and the library copies are all out - rather than having a go, even if that may in fact be fair enough!), you should get a positive response. you could also ask whether there are any alternatives that would cover the same material.

The_One_Who

If you place a hold they might get the book back sooner than the week. Also, if enough people show they want the book then the library will put it on an even shorter loan, something like 24 hours or 4 hours. You could also suggest that the library keep a copy as reference.

Also, depending on what type of book it is, you'll probably find that the author has published very similar topics in journals, and possibly other books.

poet123

Have you thought about asking students from the year before you if anyone has a copy of the book,some will have bought it. Or put a ad on the noticeboard,or ask on here.....we are a very well read lot!!!

Gingernutmeg

My uni used to provide reading resource packs of chapters, articles etc, and sell them to students (for a very nominal cost, just enough generally to cover the paper) at the beginning of the module. That way everyone had the required reading and you couldn't get away with not reading it! Might be worth suggesting if your tutor could do something similar, as it was helpful and meant that there was never a problem with getting the required reading done.

They also used to photocopy any particularly popular/important chapters or articles and kept them in the short loan section. That was a big help too, and again that might be something that's worth bringing up with your tutor or your student rep. I think too that the short loan section generally held a copy of anything that was going to be a 'set text'. Again, that was helpful and again it might be something that's worth mentioning.

piglet_moo

Not sure if your book is available on google books. If you're lucky you might find the chapters you need on there. http://books.google.com/

DrFluffy

Does your library not have a reference copy or a 24 hour loan copy of the book you need? I'd be surprised if they didn't for what seems like a core text. If they do, then sit in the libabry and read it, or photocopy the chapters you need.

The read it in a bookshop idea has already been mooted, but is a good one.

Another is seeing if there is a cheap copy of the book you need on ebay.