Course Books

The Brown University Bookstore Textbook Department supplies Brown University students with the course books and materials for over 700 University classes each semester. More than 3200 titles are stocked.

The Bookstore offers an on-line purchase option. Books will be boxed and held for the student by following the directions.
Visit

http://bookstore.brown.edu/textbooks_buyback.html

About the Staff

The textbook staff is experienced, professional and proud of its reputation on campus for customer service. The staff enjoys interacting with Brown students, faculty, staff and the many area physicians, professionals, residents and visitors who frequent the bookstore. In providing this essential service, textbook work is at times difficult and demanding, but also rewarding. Input from customers is welcome and an important part in assuring that the textbook department will continue to meet the academic and professional needs of the community.

Contact the Textbook Department:
TEL 401-863-2270
FAX 401-863-7094
Textbooks@brown.edu

The Cost of Course Books and Materials

Course books and materials are an essential part of academic studies at Brown. A student can expect to spend from $300 to $500 on course books and materials each semester. They are a significant cost to many students and the Bookstore tries to reduce the student’s costs by offering a wide supply of used texts. 

Book Buybacks
Students choosing to purchase used books and to resell them at buyback can save on their book costs. The Bookstore tries to obtain as many used books as possible in order to reduce the cost of books to students. Used books are sold at 25% less than the new book price.
The Bookstore will pay students half of the new price of a textbook (whether purchased new or used) at the semester end buyback if the book is being used for the upcoming semester. If the Bookstore does not have that need it will quote a wholesale price from the country’s largest used book wholesaler if it is in their database. 

Course Pack Materials
In addition to course books, many faculty supplement their class instruction with anthologized materials. These are produced by Brown Graphic Services and sold by the Bookstore as course packs. Course packs are shelved with the textbooks required for a particular course, providing a convenient one-stop shop for both course books and course pack materials. In addition to Graphic Services production and Bookstore selling costs, royalty fees required by the copyright holder usually total 50% to 75% of the course pack selling price, sometimes more. Course pack selling prices average around $25.00, but for some courses the course pack price will be a larger portion of the course costs. Visit http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/Graphic_Services/
Students purchasing their course books and course supplies at the Brown University Bookstore with their Brown ID are exempt from RI sales tax.