It is not a must that you pay for all the college textbooks you need to use in school. We have discussed in this article some of the websites for free college textbooks. On these websites, you can download online college textbooks in PDF format.
We have also discussed some of the online resources you can use to have access to communities of students that will afford you the opportunity to meet students borrow books and more.
Why should you pay full price for books when you can find college textbooks online for free or very cheap?
One not-so-great thing about a college education is the amount of you that will leave your pocket when paying for textbooks. No matter how financially prepared you think you may have been for college, the cost of textbooks will frustrate you at some points.
Paying your college tuition is already a big expense, and when you start thinking of how much you are to spend on textbooks you will definitely be wowed! But don’t worry!
Today, there are many resources on the Internet where you can find a lot of books downloadable in electronic form. From PDFs and e-books to renting or borrowing and using university libraries, there are many ways to get free (or very cheap) university materials. That way, you’ll have extra money to order an evening pizza or coffee on the way to class.
So if you’re still thinking about how you are going to go about this, do not worry as we have done the research for you. In this article, you will find a list of websites for free college textbooks pdf and other important online resources for hiring, swapping and renting books.
What you need to know about College PDF Textbooks online
First of all, a textbook can be defined as a book that contains comprehensive information about a certain subject or course that students need.
Since we have known what a textbook is all about, a PDF textbook is a digital textbook containing text, images, or both that can be read on a computer or other electronic device. However, you may not be able to open a PDF fine until you download a PDF reader app to open some of it.
Therefore, College PDF Textbooks online are books meant for college studies that have been transmuted into a PDF format to make it downloadable to a computer or other devices.
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Used Textbooks
Sometimes nothing beats a real, tangible book that you can draw in, take notes in, and hold in your hand. The trick is to find old books that others don’t have! But don’t worry, there are plenty of them.
Remember, many students have taken the courses you are taking, read the textbooks you need, and want to get rid of them, sell them, or give them to students like you. Here are a few ways to do this:
There are many groups for students to search, borrow, buy and sell textbooks. Find your college group. You’re bound to find at least one.
Freetextbooks
This is an app that allows students to have easy access, share and buy what they need, including textbooks! You can even earn commissions on the books you buy, sell or ship. If you want to buy and sell textbooks you can still make money doing that on Freetextbooks!
Student2student
Student2student is one of the best online marketplaces for college students. On this platform, you can buy and sell textbooks from fellow students who may have passed your level.
This is a great option when you don’t want the hassles of credit cards and shipping!
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Ask classmates
Another tink you can do apart from using any of the websites for free college textbooks discussed in this article is to ask your classmates.
Sometimes the best to do is to ask someone in your class or someone you met at school. The internet is indeed a powerful and useful resource, but it’s also a classic way to talk to people face to face!
Book exchange
For those who like to connect and form groups, organizing a book exchange at your university is a great way not only to discover and share free college textbooks online but also to make friends and network!
Students can do this by creating a Facebook group or even by chatting with colleagues.
Join all Facebook student groups, especially those related to the school where you study and also to your field of study. Almost all students take part in it and participate in the group’s post about available textbooks.
As a college student, you are currently in buyer mode, but once you have completed the course and no longer need the books, you can switch to seller mode. Who can’t use the extra cash?
Important Tips on the Free College Textbooks Online PDF
These sites offer free books, including free PDF textbooks and other document types such as EPUB and MOBI.
The free PDF textbooks on these sites are licensed. This means you won’t download illegal or pirated books.
Most websites that offer these resources have a search bar where you can search by title, author or ISBN. You can easily enter the ISBN number of the textbook to be downloaded.
Also, most of these sites are easy to use. You can download it from most of the sites listed in this article without registering.
Textbook Rental
Rental books are a great way to save money and after you are done, you can get rid of them. You have a rental period, but in most cases, you can extend it if you run out of time. These sites are a good starting point:
The Textbook Rental Store
This company is a good place to start. Amazon has a platform where you can rent a book from their store which will last for a semester, with the option to extend the lease or buy the book.
This option is great for those who don’t plan on keeping books after making use of them. Visit The Textbook Rental Store for more information.
CampusBookRentals
CampusBookRentals is a platform for renting and buying textbooks. They make it really easy. You buy the book, they pay for shipping in advance, and you ship it back before the lease ends. It doesn’t get any easier than this!
We advise that after you’ve got your study schedule and coursework, start looking for suitable textbooks. The sooner the better! Remember, you’re not the only one looking for deals. So if you decide to rent, act fast! The point is that the number of books is limited.
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List of Websites for Free College Textbooks PDF
Below is a list of websites for free college textbooks pdf. We have discussed book rentals and how online student groups can help access books for free and cheap.
Below we will be listing some of the free websites doe download college textbooks as PDF format for free and other tips.
PDF Grab
PDF Grab is your source for free PDF textbooks and eBooks for your studies and other studies.
This platform makes it possible for students to be able to find free pdf textbooks or free pdf textbooks online.
The books available on this platform free textbooks cover business, computing, engineering, humanities, law, and social sciences, among others.
The site also has a search bar where users can search for textbooks by name or ISBN number.
Open Textbook Library
Another website that hosts free college textbooks for download, editing, and free distribution is the Open Textbook Library.
The platform is sponsored by Open Education Network a company committed to transforming higher education and helping students to learn effectively.
Free college textbooks are available online for studies such as business, computer science, engineering, humanities, journalism, media studies and communication, law, mathematics, medicine, natural sciences and social sciences.
The open textbook library offers about a thousand textbooks. The books on these platforms are licensed by the author and adapted and you can use them for free.
Free Book Spot
Free Book Spot is a website that provides links to an eBook library where you can download free books from different categories and languages.
Students can go to the site to search for free pdf textbooks available in different classes and languages. There is also a search bar where users can search for books by title, author, ISBN and language.
Free Book Spot’s textbooks are grouped into categories such as art, computer science, archaeology, astronomy and cosmology, biology, education, economics, architecture, engineering, agriculture, and more.
In addition to textbooks, the platform also offers audiobooks, children’s books and novels.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a user-friendly website where students can download free pdf college textbooks and free college textbooks online. Free university textbooks are available in pdf format for almost all subjects.
Books published before 1926 can be downloaded and hundreds of thousands of modern books can be borrowed from the website of the Open Library.
The platform is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, websites, software, music, and more. The company partners with over 750 libraries, including different university libraries and other local and international partners.
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ScholarWorks
ScholarWorks offers a wide selection of free college textbooks online. This is a site where you can download free college textbooks in PDF format.
You can easily search all archives for the open-source textbooks you need for your college courses by name, author, citation information, keywords, and more. ScholarWorks is a library service offered by Grand Valley State University (GVSU).
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg was created by Michael Hart in 1971 – it was created as an online library of free digital books and of the first free e-book providers.
You can find the world’s great literature in Project Gutenberg. Therefore, students taking literature courses can visit Project Gutenberg for free literature books.
In addition to literature, free pdf textbooks for other subjects are also available for download.
However, most Project Gutenberg books are available in EPUB and MOBI formats, and PDF files are still rare.
The great thing about Project Gutenberg is that it requires no payments or registrations. eBooks downloaded from this platform can also be easily read on a phone or laptop without a special application.
Library Genesis
LibGen as it is popularly known is a platform that provides free books, including free college textbooks that can be downloaded online.
LibGen gives users access to thousands of free online textbooks for download in PDF and other document types.
Free college textbooks in pdf format in multiple languages and subject areas such as computer, engineering, arts, science, business, history, social sciences, medicine, and more.
As soon as you enter the site, you will see a search bar that allows you to search for books. You can search by title, author, series, publisher, year, ISBN, language, MDS, tag, or extension.
In addition to being a free textbook download site, Library Genesis also offers scholarly articles, journals, and novels.
LibGen tops the list of 10 free college textbook pdf sites because it is an easy site to use. The Genesis library is easy to use.
Bookboon
Bookboon offers students free textbooks written by world-class university professors on subjects ranging from engineering and information technology to economics and business.
However, Bookboon is not completely free, you can use these books for free only for 30 days. You must then pay the applicable monthly subscription fee to have access to textbook downloads.
Bookboon is not only a textbook site but also allows you to acquire skills and develop personal development.
OpenStax
This site contains 100% free online pdf textbooks in English and Spanish. The is platform is an initiative of Rice University to help college students in their bid to free college textbooks online.
Its mission is to help students access educational resources and learning for all by publishing open-source books, developing and improving research software, partnering with educational resource companies, and more.
OpenStax publishes high-quality, openly licensed, peer-reviewed college textbooks that are completely free online and inexpensive to print.
Free university textbooks in pdf format are available in several subject areas: mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and business.
The textbooks available on OpenStax are of high quality and adhere to standard length and order requirements, so they can be adapted to existing courses.
In addition to being a free pdf textbook website, OpenStax also offers textbooks for high school students and people taking courses at the secondary school level.
Digital Book Index
Another website where students can find free college textbooks in PDF format is the Digital Book Index.
Digital Book Index textbooks cover history, social studies, medicine and health, mathematics and natural sciences, philosophy and religion, law and other subject areas.
On the platforms, you are offered a user-friendly interface that allows you to search for textbooks by author or the title, subject or publisher of the book.
On this platform, you will have access to links to hundreds of thousands of digital books in full-text from publishers, academic institutions, and various private websites. The good thing is that a lot of these books are available for free.
Books That Are Almost Free With Discounts
A lot of platforms on the internet offer discounts on things like books you can find unlimited sites that offer discounts on books and low-commission resources that are definitely worth the investment. Here are a few of them:
Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited
Amazon Kindle Unlimited includes over a million books and thousands of audiobooks. It’s a $9.99 monthly fee, but you can cancel anytime and start a 30-day free trial.
For a small fee, you can upgrade your membership to Prime and get unlimited access to other books. This is a very sweet deal.
eTextbooks on Amazon
This is another cool feature that can come in handy. You will have access to download, print, buy or rent textbooks on any device you own. This option offered by eTextbooks on Amazon is okay for you if you want to read on your phone, tablet or laptop.
Textbook Nova
A former college student thought it was unfair to charge such high fees for college textbooks, so he created a website that searches Amazon for the cheapest textbooks. By using Textbook Nova you can get great discounts on most textbooks.
AbeBooks
AbeBooks is a popular site with tons of textbooks and up to 75% off.
Conclusion
Think about what suits you best. Do you want free websites for free college textbooks in pdf format or to buy and store books? Or would you rather rent and return or buy and sell? If you have decided on what you want to do, you can find a website that suits your needs.
So here we have some helpful tips on how to find college textbooks. In some cases, they are free, in others very cheap. The point is, you don’t have to spend all your money on books! We hope we can help you save your hard-earned money so you can spend it anytime and any other place you wish.
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