Table of Contents for Assistance with Costs Page:

HOW TO DETERMINE WHICH BOOKS & MATERIALS ARE REQUIRED FOR YOUR COURSE

PCC BOOKSTORE

The PCC Bookstore can provide information about textbooks for courses. In the PCC schedule of classes, click on the CRN (The CRN is a five-digit code that is assigned to each section of a course. The CRNs for every section is listed in the Schedule of Classes.) for the course, and from the new window that appears, click on "View Book", which will redirect to the section of the PCC Bookstore with the book information for your course.

Alternatively, go directly to the PCC Bookstore to search in person or online.  To search online, go to the website and type in your ID to get a list of books for classes that you have registered for, or "Enter Courses" by selecting the term, department (FASH) course number, and CRN for each class for which you would like to inquire about a textbook.

*Note that the bookstore may list a book as "REQUIRED", but it is not necessarily require that books and supplies be purchased exclusively from the PCC bookstore, and/or there may be a free option for which the bookstore is not able to list or provide. 

HELP WITH THE COST OF TEXTBOOKS

Once you know what you need for your courses, The costs can be a little daunting.

First, think of the books and materials for the fashion department as an investment. Know that, the books and materials required for fashion classes were chosen because they will serve as references for the person who goes in to the fashion or costume industry for the better part of their career.  Most of the fashion teachers used their books and materials from when they were students for a long time after they graduated.  Many of the teachers in the fashion program still currently use their books and materials from when they were students.  

Each book, tool, and material chosen for fashion classes is chosen with the intent that it will be used in multiple courses, often required, but always as references for 4 to 5 other courses in the program. So, it is a good idea to keep your books and materials at least until you finish the program.

Students who are just "browsing" and are not committed fashion or costume majors, often borrow, rent or get temporary access to eBooks these days.  The result is that, there are less people that have books to lend or sell. But I do I have some suggestions if you are looking to save money on books;

FINANCIAL AID - FAFSA

Please make sure to apply for Financial Aid (Fafsa).  I have heard that students receive credit to get books and other supplies from the PCC Bookstore  for free.  Through the financial aid office there are grants, fee waivers, work study programs, scholarships, California Dream Act, and much, much more!  So, I would recommend speaking with someone in the financial aid department for guidance, and to maximize all of the options that are available to you.

PCC RESOURCES

Reach out for resources at PCC.  This must be a common issue that students have - the cost of books can be overwhelming.  Normally, the issue is resolved with financial aid, but there are other resources on campus too - for example there are resources to help students with food, housing, transportation, childcare and more.  These same offices must have access to assist with books too.

Try reaching out to the following;

The Lancer Care Center - https://pasadena.edu/campus-life/lancer-care/index.php

The office of student life - https://pasadena.edu/campus-life/student-life/

The Quest Center - https://pasadena.edu/campus-life/quest-center/

The resources above are the standard, reliable resources that come to mind.  By contacting the above, they will help connect you and help you get what you need. 

There are other opportunities sometimes too, which the above resources will help you find - for example, there have been cases where PCC has offered limited time or one-off assistance such as $500 gift cards to students, or provided free supplies - but these are limited time deals that we hope for, but cannot depend on or expect because they cannot be predicted for reliably depended on. 

LIBRARIES 

Check libraries.  The PCC library could be listed above, as another resource with specific access to books.  The resources that are available change all the time.  I was told that the library had the ability to allow students to check out eBooks for some courses.  The library needs to hear from students in order to know what is needed.  So, if you don't see what you need, please reach out to library staff to let them know what you need.  If they don't have it, they can get it.

I put some older editions of the books for each of my classes at the PCC Shatford library. The PCC Shatford library usually keeps books at the circulation desk, meaning the books can only be checked out for hours, not days - but that gives you enough time to take pictures of the pages.  With older editions, there are differences - for example, the Fash124 History of Costume / Survey of Historic Costume textbook keeps adding new chapters to new editions.  So, be sure to speak to a librarian early in the term to give them time to find ways to access any chapters that may be missing from the older editions, and then check on the status often until you know how you can get access to the information that you need.

You can search WorldCat yourself to find copies of books that can be checked out from libraries near you.  

You can also have a PCC librarian help you, live in person or over the phone may be best. There is also a live chat on the library website that is sometimes helpful too.  PCC Shatford library has partnerships with many other public libraries and university libraries, and they might be able to help you get access to textbooks for free. 

USED BOOKS

Used Textbooks can be bought at a discount -this doesn't work for all classes (like the aforementioned Fash124 History of Costume / Survey of Historic Costume textbook keeps adding new chapters to new editions), but for most fashion classes, like sewing, construction, patternmaking, and others, used books will suffice. Used books can be found for a lot less from many places.  For example, the 3rd edition of the textbook for Fash002 is available for $15.49 with free shipping, and the 2nd edition sells for under $6 ($4.49 + $1.49 shipping).

BOOK RENTALS 

You can also consider renting the latest edition of book for less than purchasing the book.  Rentals are available from the PCC Bookstore, the publisher, Amazon and other places too. 

FREE OPTIONS 

• Search for a free copy or PDF from the web. Students often share with classmates in Pronto or Canvas that they found free versions of the book online. This is not an option for all books or all classes, but sometimes it does work.

  • Free PDFs are offered in sections of Fash005, Fash001A, Fash111A, Fash111B, and Fash111C that are taught by Dr. Hollie Luttrell, and possibly other teachers too. 

• Image capture

  • ***If you are using one or both of the image capture methods, make sure that you have multiple people with access to the book who are OK with it, in case one person forgets, is absent, loses their book, drops the class, etc. 

    •  ***Always get the book owner's consent every time you need to capture images of their property. The book owner has the right to refuse without penalty or awkwardness, they do not owe an explanation, even if you made a previous arrangement or agreement.

    • ***Guard the owner's book (or device), be very respectful, and do not let any harm, loss or damage come to the book 

      • Make sure your hands are clean when you handle the book (or device)

      • Make sure the surfaces where you place book (or device) are clean and free of liquids, grease, soil, etc.

      • Do not force the book (or device)  - for example, don't damage or crease the book's spine while trying to force the pages to be flat for a photo.

      • Keep food and beverages away from book (or device)

    • *** In the event that there is any harm, loss or damage to the book while under your care, you will need to pay the owner the full cost of the book or device so that the book owner is not penalized for helping you.

    • ***Make an appointment or arrangement with the book owner in advance

    • ***Always thank the book owner for their help every single time, be kind and respectful of the book owner so that they feel better for helping you, not worse.

    • ***Offer to compensate the book owners who agree to do you this favor in some way, pay them, help them with something, or make a trade.

    •  ***Do not inconvenience the book owner, make them late, etc. 

    • ***Do not guilt the book owner, or make them feel bad

  • Ask someone who has the book if they wouldn't mind if you took pictures of the pages of the book with your phone. Take care to use good lighting and angles to avoid glare, darkness, page curvature or other distortions that would make it difficult to read all the text and see all the images on the pages. I put old copies of the book at the reference desk for this reason, and if I know that someone needs it, I will take extra care to remember to bring my copy of the book to class with me. I can't promise, but I try.  

  •  If they open the book on a PCC computer, can you take screen shots of eBook and save to your drive (external, cloud, Google drive, email yourself, etc).  

• Free Textbook Supplements & Textbook-Related Extra Credit Opportunities

  • In Fash002 and Fash124 I include videos where I read the first couple chapters of the book out loud, showing the pages of the eBook on screen so that you can pause, read, etc.  while you are waiting for your book to arrive or if you have an older edition

  • I offer extra credit to anyone in Fash002 and Fash124 who is willing to share videos of themselves reading a chapter of the book (not repeat of the chapters that I already made videos of myself reading) out loud, clearly showing the pages of the Book on screen so that all words can be read by the audience and all images are clearly visible, etc., so that I can make available in Canvas to help other students in the course.  

  • In Fash001A, Fash002 and Fash124 I type all the words and definitions for the vocabulary in the first couple of chapters in the book, just in case you need them while others are waiting for their book to arrive or if they have an older edition

  • I offer extra credit to anyone in Fash002 and Fash124 who is willing to share files of properly typed, formatted text of the vocabulary words and definitions for a chapter in the latest edition of the book, for which the  vocabulary words and definitions are not already included in Canvas