diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py
index 1f12debfa8..a9f29b9a13 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from fs.errors import ResourceNotFoundError
 import time
 import logging
+import requests
 from lxml import etree
 
 from xmodule.util.decorators import lazyproperty
@@ -15,18 +16,44 @@ class CourseDescriptor(SequenceDescriptor):
     module_class = SequenceModule
 
     class Textbook:
-        def __init__(self, title, table_of_contents_url):
+        def __init__(self, title, book_url):
             self.title = title
-            self.table_of_contents_url = table_of_contents_url
+            self.book_url = book_url 
+            self.table_of_contents = self._get_toc_from_s3()
 
         @classmethod
         def from_xml_object(cls, xml_object):
-            return cls(xml_object.get('title'), xml_object.get('table_of_contents_url'))
+            return cls(xml_object.get('title'), xml_object.get('book_url'))
 
         @property
         def table_of_contents(self):
-            raw_table_of_contents = open(self.table_of_contents_url, 'r') # TODO: This will need to come from S3
-            table_of_contents = etree.parse(raw_table_of_contents).getroot()
+            return self.table_of_contents
+
+        def _get_toc_from_s3(self):
+            '''
+            Accesses the textbook's table of contents (default name "toc.xml") at the URL self.book_url
+
+            Returns XML tree representation of the table of contents
+            '''
+            toc_url = self.book_url + 'toc.xml'
+
+            # Get the table of contents from S3
+            log.info("Retrieving textbook table of contents from %s" % toc_url)
+            try:
+                r = requests.get(toc_url)
+            except Exception as err:
+                msg = 'Error %s: Unable to retrieve textbook table of contents at %s' % (err, toc_url)
+                log.error(msg)
+                raise Exception(msg)
+
+            # TOC is XML. Parse it
+            try:
+                table_of_contents = etree.fromstring(r.text)
+            except Exception as err:
+                msg = 'Error %s: Unable to parse XML for textbook table of contents at %s' % (err, toc_url)
+                log.error(msg)
+                raise Exception(msg)
+
             return table_of_contents
 
 
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/staticbook/views.py b/lms/djangoapps/staticbook/views.py
index aaafb60dd8..d68117dd8a 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/staticbook/views.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/staticbook/views.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+from django.conf import settings
 from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
 from mitxmako.shortcuts import render_to_response
 
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ def index(request, course_id, book_index, page=0):
     table_of_contents = textbook.table_of_contents
 
     return render_to_response('staticbook.html',
-                              {'page': int(page), 'course': course,
+                              {'page': int(page), 'course': course, 'book_url': textbook.book_url,
                                'table_of_contents': table_of_contents,
                                'staff_access': staff_access})
 
diff --git a/lms/templates/staticbook.html b/lms/templates/staticbook.html
index f9d6ff109c..a8e057578b 100644
--- a/lms/templates/staticbook.html
+++ b/lms/templates/staticbook.html
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ function goto_page(n) {
   if(n<10) {
     prefix="00";
   }
-  $("#bookpage").attr("src","${ settings.BOOK_URL }p"+prefix+n+".png");
+  $("#bookpage").attr("src","${ book_url }p"+prefix+n+".png");
   $.cookie("book_page", n, {'expires':3650, 'path':'/'});
 };
 
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ $("#open_close_accordion a").click(function(){
           </ul>
         </nav>
 
-        <img id="bookpage" src="${ settings.BOOK_URL }p${ "%03i"%(page) }.png">
+        <img id="bookpage" src="${ book_url }p${ "%03i"%(page) }.png">
       </section>
     </section>
   </div>