Your course syllabus from your professor will tell you what book(s) or access codes for digital content you need to acquire. Find your syllabus by checking in your D2L classroom or use the syllabus look-up tool.

You can also find your books via the bookstore website. The bookstore will display the textbooks you need and offer you options to rent or purchase, but know that you aren't required to purchase from the campus bookstore. 

Once you know what books you need and have the ISBNs, you can search for other sellers to get the best price (Amazon, Chegg, Half-Price Books, Thriftbooks, eBay, and so on are all possible places to try).

Rent or Buy?

It will be cheaper to rent a book for the semester over buying one -- at least, buying a new one. (Again, you might check for used copies for more competitive pricing.) Two things to think about:

• Is this book for a class that relates to your major? If so, you might want to buy a copy to reference in semesters to come. It's also possible that you'll use the same book for another class the following semester. Your professor would have insight about that. 
• Do you benefit from highlighting and underlining things to understand and remember what you're reading? You're not supposed to mark up a rented textbook, but one that you own... you can go to town on it.
  • (Writing in a book, you gasp in horror, surely not!  But yes, we went there. Books are not valued for their paper but for the information and ideas they contain. Your textbooks are resources for you to learn content to succeed in the class, and physically getting in there with highlighters and colored pens and notes and bookmarks can help you engage with that content. Don't be squeamish!)

Print or Digital?

All things being equal, and assuming your instructor doesn't require a specific format, what should you consider before choosing what type of book to buy?

E-books are sometimes cheaper, definitely more lightweight and can be more convenient to access, and it's easy to search inside for a word you're trying to find. An e-rental can return itself: no shipping or trips to the store required. On the downside, there are no used e-books, so getting a good deal is harder. Plus, research has indicated that there's a spatial component to memory -- i.e. you remember a topic was discussed about a third of the way through the book, and it was on the right-hand page near the bottom -- that you can't access with digital media, which offers no physical cues.

Print books sometimes cost more, but you can also get used copies for less, and you have to wait for shipping instead of getting instant access. It can be easier to remember things you've read in a print book, however, and it's easier to highlight and take notes. It's also easier to compare information on two different pages than in an e-book, glancing back and forth between pages you're holding open.