The Bizzell Memorial Library has added 350 new textbooks to the library’s textbook reserve program to help students who have trouble getting textbooks for specific classes.

OU has funded a textbook reserve program to purchase books from university bookstores and rent the books to students for free to help them save money.

The reserves collection consists mostly of textbooks of general education courses that have the highest enrollment rate and courses that require high-priced textbooks.

OU President David Boren began the funding for the reserves program in 2007, which he devoted $200,000 to purchase textbooks.

Since the first donation, Boren has continued to devote a consistent amount of money each year to add to the collection of textbooks, which holds 3,000 books on reserve in Bizzell Memorial Library, said Sarah Robbins, university libraries spokeswoman.

“He has given the same amount each year,” Robbins said. “We are also able to sell some books that are no longer being used back to the bookstore, so each year that money goes a bit further.”

The program offers 1,700 different textbooks, however there are multiples of the same text in the collection that bring the overall reserve collection to 3,000 textbooks.

Each student is allowed to check out textbooks and calculators for two-hour intervals and may extend their time with the equipment for another two hours if the student needs more time.

“I use the reserves frequently,” said Tyler Gillespie, College of Arts and Sciences senior. “They help a lot early on in the semester when books are hard to buy at the bookstores and I don’t have to worry about buying expensive books when I’m low on cash.”

With the collection of textbooks at 3,000, the program is able to save some donations for more books that are needed later in the year or for other school years, Robbins said.

With the addition of 350 new books to the collection, the reserves program will continually add multiple copies of some of the new additions. This will allow two students that need the same textbook for a class to be able to check out duplicate copies of the text, Robbins said.

The multiple copies of the same text also allow students the option to buy or rent the textbook depending on if the student plans to use it more often than not.

“Sometimes I don’t even need to use my textbook for class, it’s just a waste of money,” Gillespie said. “If I’m in a class where I will use the book a lot then I’ll buy it, but if I know I won’t use it that much then I won’t. That’s where the collection at the reserves program pays dividends.”

Although the reserves program has the money to buy more books, not all of the books are guaranteed to be available for the first day of school, August 22nd.

“Since were buying these books from campus book stores, we’re trying to buy them the same time that other students are,” Robbins said. “We’ll give a list of books that we want to the university bookstore, but we aren’t promised to have every book we ask for at the beginning of the semester.”

The textbook reserves collection is located in the Bizzell library behind the circulation desk on the west side of the building.