In general, the Library doesn't buy textbooks. But we have a lot of books (over 3.5 million!), so it really depends on your class and what's been assigned. For example, if it's a literature class, it's more likely that we'll have a novel that you could check out. You can always check to see what is available. Here are a few ways to find books at UNM. Note: you won't be able to request books on required reading lists through interlibrary loan.
To help you find books, you can take the short tutorial or just check out the screenshots. Many of our books are ebooks, so you might find it helpful to check out our guide on ebooks as well.
Search for books by using the UNM Library Catalog and following the steps below or take the short, interactive "Finding Books Tutorial".
Choose the "Books Only" tab from the library homepage. You can search by keyword, title, author, or call number. The default setting is to search libraries worldwide. This is because you can order books to borrow (for free) from interlibrary loan. The only catch is that you'll need to plan ahead to give the item time to ship. Unfortunately, we usually cannot ILL ebooks.
You can also limit to location. Are you looking for topics related to English literature and art? Try narrowing your search to the Fine Arts Library. Looking for historical editions? Select "Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections."
Further refine your list of results. Use the filters in the left-hand column to limit by date, language, and topic among others.
Student Guide to Undergraduate Course Materials © 2025 by Amirhossein Nasiri Majd, Jennifer Jordan, and Sammi Williams is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International 
