Where do I find books for assigned reading?

[KatyAkachan]

Every week during each class we get a list of 4 or 5 books to read to support our learning. Sometimes there's websites to look at, or articles which can be found online, but mostly they're certain pages to read from a certain book. The library at TAFE doesn't have a very big range so I don't think I should even bother looking there for these books that we're supposed to read. Does anyone know any resources for finding these books online? Universities have online databases that you can log onto for free to access academic texts and journal articles (etc) but to my knowledge the TAFE I go to isn't involved in any sort of program like that. So apart from buying each book I can't think of anything else to do so I can complete these readings.
Help??

[KatyAkachan]

Just to add to this topic, some of the books I have to read at the moment are...
- Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments by Curtis & Carter (2003)
- Just Imagine! Creative Play Experiences for Children Under Six by Crook & Farmer (2002; 2nd ed.)
- Simply Music! Innovative Music Experiences for Children Under Five by by Kazimierczak (2004)
- Just Discover! Connecting Young Children with the Natural World by Young & Elliot (2003)
- Just Investigate! Science and Technology Experiences for Young Children by Young & Elliot (2003)
- Inspiring Spaces for Young Children by Deviney et. al. (2010)
- Just Improvise! Innovative Play Experiences for Children Under 8 by Crook (2004)
- Natural Playspaces by Keeler (2008)
- Environments from a Child's Eye View (Vol. 15 No. 3) by McKinlay (2008)

[Lorina]

Hi Katy,

That's quite a lot of books there isn't it! It can get frustrating going around here and there just to read one page from the books requested... I have another option for you but I'm not sure whether its going to be helpful. You can search each of your books in Google Books. You will be able to find it and sometimes you will be able to see a preview of the books itself (like 10 or so pages). From this preview you can probably read a little information on the books you're after. Also, once you select the book from Google books, there is a feature that searches libraries in your locality and tell you which library the book is available in thats near you.

Just an idea I wanted to share with you,

,
L.A

[catchmeifucan]

I would say Library will the best option if you don't want to purchase them. When I did my diploma, I used the sydney uni library a lot and most big libraries will have these books. But the problem you might face is they might not always be available since they are in big demand. But if they are, you might even be able to photocopy the pages needed. Another option will be purchasing them as ebooks. They will be cheaper than actual book itself but still you need to purchase them. Sometimes this can be hard if you have to refer to a lot of books for a course since when you add up they are not cheap.

Since you are from Vic, is State Library of Victoria in Melbourne close to you at all? I head that some libraries also have e-resources that you can access from home if you join the library. I haven't tried them and not really sure how that works. But you can check it out.

[KatyAkachan]

Thanks everyone for your responses I'll check out amazon and google books, and head to the library too