A textbook is a book written primarily for students which support a certain subject area. Accessing a textbook can be different than accessing a regular Library item. You may need to borrow your textbook from our Reserve Desk; or purchase or rent your textbook.
For more Library terminology, please visit our Glossary.
Books in our textbook collection are kept at the Reserve Desk on the lower floor of the library, and can be borrowed for up to 3 hours.
Library users may utilize our scanners and send scanned textbook pages to an email account, printer, and/or save them a USB drive, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Scanning is free. To avoid copyright infringements, individuals should never scan a complete book.
John Jay's bookstore is online. Search by course or log in with your CUNYfirst credentials to see a personalized list of your course materials.
The bookstore is not associated with the Library, so please contact the bookstore directly if you need assistance with their services.
CUNY has compiled an extensive resource to help students acquire open source, used, and low-cost textbooks.
Renting textbooks:
Online textbooks: