bookstores in the area that had (used) textbooks (not the regular UW bookstore), also department bulletin boards & now online resources. Talking to people (students and faculty) in the department can help too. Also, some profs will loan you books at the start of the term or make them available through the library.

There's also this, which might include some of the courses the person is taking:

http://www.sbctc.edu/general/documents/OpenCourseLibrary_FINAL_04302013.pdf

and this:

http://washington.uloop.com/forsale/index.php/textbook

A limited number of reserve copies are usually in the school library.

Ask the professor in each class if (s)he has any extra copies of texts and materials to lend. Don't be afraid to admit you're broke, but don't announce you're a poor student. They'll find out soon enough.

Ad hoc Coop buying, sharing and renting - share the cost of books you have to buy with a group of other students in the same major, classes.

If you know you're taking a class next semester, contact the students in the same class now and arrange to buy their books.

Used book stores are your friends, but it's not a monogamous relationship.

Never pay retail.

for various courses. They claim a large savings over new ones.

I have not purchased from them, nor do I necessarily even like them:

Their online solution manuals make most textbook problems you assign a waste of time. I used to make homework 40% of the final grade to keep the stress down, now it's more like 10% because I was sick of grading scads of identical copies of homework sets right down to the typos.

But for someone who has a problem getting books this might be an option to consider.

and perhaps not a good one or practical, but might any of them be available for download? Might be worth checking.

Don't know but the world of book publishing is rapidly changing and it may be a less expensive option.

Best of Luck!

around sometimes you can buy a book from students who already had the class. I'd also try google. You'd be surprise what you can find. Good lucky.

It is worth checking.

You can rent them as well, but we have found that buying them new on Amazon is cheaper and you can resell them when you are done. Of course, you need a credit card though, so it may not be an option here.

Has he checked with the college library if they have the books either for loans or consultation. It is often the case.
Frankly, the price of college books is racket

I purchased most of my books from half.com
was able to get some good bargains.