Law Library Services for Law Students

Ways to locate the item:

• Use the library catalog to find your course textbook by typing the title or author's name.
• Once you've located the item in the catalog you can see if it's checked out and when it's expected to be due back.
• The Course Reserves collection includes textbooks from the past three years. This means we commonly have the current edition, as well as a previous edition available. If only the older edition is on the shelf, the current edition is likely in use. 
• It might be an eBook!
• If you still cannot locate the item, please see the staff at the Circulation Desk or contact us at lawref@uw.edu.

• A 1 user license e-book is equal to 1 print copy; it limits the number of people that can use the book at one time. 
  • If a 1 user license e-book is in use, anyone else trying to access it will get cut off after 5 mins.
• We purchase multi-user licenses or multiple e-books when possible, but often multi-user licenses are not available and/or it's cost prohibitive. 
• If the record in the library catalog shows two links that means we've purchased two, 1 user licenses.
  • Try clicking the second link to see if it's available, otherwise check back later to see if it's no longer in use. See this record in the catalog as an example of two, 1 user licenses.
• Sometimes we have one link to an e-book title with more than 1 copy of the e-book available.
  • Be sure to look at the "available copies" on the e-book platform to see if we have more than 1 copy. See this record in the catalog as an example of one link in the catalog with 3 available e-books.
• With e-books it's possible to download up to 20% of the book to print or read offline, which really helps when there are limited licenses/copies. 

For questions about textbooks at the University Bookstore, please email the Office of Law Student Life lawstudentlife@uw.edu.

The Aspen Access Institutional Program provides UW Law students both a discount on purchases made on aspenpublishing.com on required textbooks, as well as the option for a 3 week temporary eBook access. Access begins the week before classes start and through the first two weeks of the quarter.

Before beginning, students must ensure the following: 

• Watch this video overview of steps
• You are logged into an Aspenpublishing.com account with a verified uw.edu email address 
• Your Aspen Publishing account is verified including:
  • your uw.edu email address
  • you have selected Law Student as the Customer Type
  • UW Law is selected under your Aspen Publishing account
• To fully verify your account the first time, you will receive a code via email to complete the verification process. If you did not receive the code, please check your spam 

Step 1: Access the Aspen Access Program Page  

Navigate to: https://aspenpublishing.com/pages/schools/university-of-washington-school-of-law

Step 2: Find Your Professor’s Course Page 

Use the search bar or select "View Course Titles" to locate your course 

Step 3: Select Your Materials 

Choose "Quick Shop" on the appropriate title 

Step 4: Choose the Appropriate Format and Offer 

• Please note if you opt to purchase a print option, you will automatically receive temporary eBook access upon purchase while your print copy is shipping to you 
• Or, if you Choose "Connected eBook (Digital Only)"  
  • Click "Check Eligible Offers For Selected Option" 
  • Select "Awaiting Financial Aid: 3-Week Access" if you only need temporary eBook access 
• You can also choose to purchase Digital Only and receive lifetime access to the eBook upon purchase 

Step 5: Add Items to Cart and Complete Checkout 

• Select "Add Selected Offer to Cart" 
• Click "View Cart" and then Proceed to "Checkout" 

Additional Resources: Contact Aspen Publishing Customer Support: Support@aspenpublishing.com