猎奇重口

student looking at a page detailing the Trio student support services

TRIO Student Support Services

TRIO Book Loan Program

Spring 25 Book Loan Application: Our budget for the Spring semester is now completely spent. TRIO students are still welcome for the Spring semester. Please be advised that we cannot provide anything we do not currently have in our library.

Thanks to a generous donation from Grizzly Riders International, 猎奇重口 Community Shares, and Barbara LeBuhn, TRIO SSS has been able to offer our Book Loan Program since 2007. 

Every semester, TRIO students can apply for the Book Loan Program to receive financial support in covering some of their textbook costs. Where available, we try to loan out textbooks from our in-house TRIO library before purchasing new textbooks. TRIO tries to provide students with at least one of their requested textbooks, depending on availability of existing copies, funding, and the timeliness of the student's application. 

Book Loan applications are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. We encourage students to submit their applications as soon as possible to receive priority funding. After all priority applications have been processed, what textbooks remain in our library are then available to all TRIO students. 

Please note that only active TRIO students are eligible for this program. Selected students will be required to complete a textbook loan contract with a TRIO staff member, stating that they agree to return the textbooks loaned out to them by the end of the semester. 

Students who have previously been loaned textbooks and/or technological devices in the past, who have not returned their loaned items, will not be granted another loan until all loaned items are returned.

Any questions regarding the Book Loan process can be emailed to triobookloans@mso.umt.edu

Donations are always appreciated! 

Book Loan Mini FAQ

  • Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications from students who are not actively enrolled in TRIO services. This includes from students who were enrolled in TRIO at one point, but are no longer actively participating and have been marked inactive by the program.

    If you are a student who is not enrolled in TRIO, we encourage you to check out our Eligibility & Application Page to determine if you are eligible for TRIO services. 

    If you are a student who was previously enrolled in TRIO but are no longer actively participating in the program, you are welcome to contact TRIO staff about changing your activity status.

  • Your first step should be to visit the . The website can be a bit buggy, so we recommend checking it frequently in the two weeks leading up to the first day of class. You will want to search by course number and section number (ex. College Writing 1= WRIT 101 01), which you can find by viewing the 'registered courses' block in your Student Profile in Cyberbear.

    However, the website doesn't always update before the beginning of the semester, and not all professors have their class materials available through the Bookstore. If your class shows as having no materials, we encourage students to reach out to their professor directly through email, and to notify us that they have done so. We are more than happy to try to work with students who have contacted their professors and received no response!

    Applications that have been completed to the best of the student's ability will be prioritized over applications that are missing information. To be clear: applicants that tell us as much information as possible, even if it is "professor hasn't told me yet", will be prioritized over applicants who simply give us their course's title, or provide us with no information at all.

    Please do not request books that you plan on buying. If you purchase a book you previously requested, please let us know immediately so we don't waste money on a book you no longer need.

    If you drop a class before or after your loan arrives, let us know immediately.

    If you fail to return the loan, you will not be eligible for future loan services.

  • Generally, we try to provide students who apply with at least one of the books they requested. The amount of textbooks we can loan out depends entirely on a few factors:

    • Textbook cost and amount of textbooks requested. There is only so much funding for the Book Loan Program each semester, so we often have to balance between providing students with one very expensive textbook they absolutely need, or multiple, less expensive textbooks that cover more classes. We will speak with the student to determine which option is best for them. 
    • Textbook Edition. We often have multiple editions of a single textbook, particularly for hard sciences and social sciences courses. Where possible, we will try and provide students with the most recent edition that are already in our library so we can allocate funds to purchasing them textbooks that we do not have. We will always contact the student and have them speak with their professor(s) about edition requirements before deciding to loan an older edition or buy a newer one. 
    • Reusability. The point of the Book Loan Program is to create an in-house library of textbooks for students to pull from. As a result, we prioritize purchasing textbooks that are used frequently. Please note that we cannot purchase access codes or digital copies of textbooks, as these cannot be reused for other students.
    • When the student applies. Book Loans are provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. You are much more likely to receive a Book Loan if you apply early than if you apply 2 months into the semester. However, we do keep our in-house library available to students who miss the Book Loan application deadline. Our library books will be available to students once all priority Book Loan applications have been processed.

    Applications tend to open 2 weeks before the start of the semester. We will announce it on TRIO's front page, so be sure to keep checking during your Winter and Summer breaks!

  • Unfortunately, because access codes are not reusable, we cannot purchase access codes for students. We may be able to purchase any physical textbooks or workbooks that are assigned alongside the access code, but we cannot purchase the access code itself.

  • Aside from digital copies and access codes, TRIO is unlikely to purchase books for classes that change their curriculum frequently.

    Some courses, particularly Literature (LIT) and Honors (HONR) courses, alter their class reading materials every year. We may purchase and keep frequently read textbooks for these classes (e.g., The Tao or The Book of Job), but we are unlikely to purchase the supplementary books that change every year.

    The and are great resources to help you access most of those books for free.

  • Students with outstanding loans will not be given any textbooks until they have returned all books previously loaned to them. They will also not be accepted for book loans if they have outstanding technology loans, or vice versa. 

    If a student persistently fails to return their books and they refuse to respond to TRIO's attempts to contact them, they will be blacklisted from future loans. Our book loan program is entirely funded by donations, so failing to return loaned books prevents other students from accessing the same needed materials and services.

    That being said, TRIO tries to work with students on an individual basis. We understand that accidents happen, or that a student may forget before the end of a busy semester to hand their books back in. We encourage students to communicate with TRIO staff about any difficulties encountered with returning their loans.

  • If your textbook return deadline needs to be extended for any reason, please contact triobookloans@umt.edu as soon as possible. We try to be flexible with students who need to use their textbooks through finals, or may need the book to retake a class the following semester. 

  • Free Resources

    UM students have access to incredible resources through the Mansfield Library on campus. The Library staff can assist students with locating and placing holds on items in the Mansfield catalog, as well as requesting copies of books from college campuses nationwide ("interlibrary loan"). They recommend students do their own research on availability first in order to process requests quickly.

    • Use  to view items in the Mansfield & Payne Family Library catalogs on the UM and Missoula College campuses. Students can also reserve books through OneSearch if local copies are available.
    • Use to find textbooks that may be available in other colleges across the nation. Students can file interlibrary loan requests through WorldCat.
    • Tip: Search for textbooks by ISBN#, as you will likely find them faster that way.

    The is another fantastic resource, especially for students who need many novels, poem collections, short story anthologies, etc. for their classes. 

    • Library card applications can be completed .
    • Valid photo identification and proof of address is required. PoA can be a postmarked envelope, such as a bill.
      • If a student has moved into a new residence but has not received mail yet, the Library can mail them a self-addressed postcard. Returning the postcard will give the student full library privileges.
      • For students without a current place of residence, they can apply for a limited use library card until their housing situation stabilizes.

    Purchasing & Renting

    Many students do not know that renting textbooks is an option. Rentals are often for a semester, though some can be extended to an entire academic year. We highly recommend students rent over purchase when they are given the chance, as renting is often much cheaper than purchasing a book outright. Not all books are available for rental, but many are, and we encourage students to use rentals where possible. 

    If you are assigned a textbook that is of a particular edition (e.g., 5th edition), contact your professors to see if older editions (e.g., 4th edition, 3rd edition) will suffice. Older editions are often less expensive to rent or purchase; however, the information may be outdated compared to newer publications. Always check with your professors beforehand.

    The  carries some used textbooks, though they tend to be rented out fairly quickly. You can also talk to them in-person about you purchased during the semester or academic year.

    Generally, however, we strongly recommend you use other retailers to find textbooks for much cheaper.

    offers fairly low rental rates on a variety of textbooks for students with Amazon Prime memberships. Rentals are currently only offered in digital format.

    • . Memberships then cost $7.49/month. Students can either verify their status with age (18-24) or with proof of active student status. 
    • for discounted Amazon Prime memberships at $6.99/month. 

    rents out eTextbooks for $10.99/month, with a minimum 4 month rental. These may not come with access codes, so you may need to purchase the code separately from your rental.

     and are good alternatives for finding textbooks. They offer both rentals and purchases.

     and have a stock of both textbooks and novels.

     is the best for finding novels. 

  • It depends!

    Generally, we are more than happy to receive donations. However, we cannot accept textbooks that are severely damaged, or editions of books that are too out-of-date and no longer usable in students' classes.

    Textbooks from the following departments are needed the most:

    • Social Work (SW); Psychology (PSYX); Communications (COMX); Sociology (SOCI)
    • American History (HSTA); Anthropology (ANTY); Chemical Addiction Studies (CAS)

    Additionally, we welcome donations of study guides/test prep books for graduate admissions tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.