Student:
Just about … . Before I do though, this book—on early navigation … . I’ve been using this book quite a bit for a research project, and I’d like to own it actually. And … well, it’s an old book, and there were two copies on the shelf just now, so…I was wondering if I could buy one . I was talking to this guy the other day, and he said the library sold books on occasion … is that right? He’s probably talking about our annual book sale. We have one every spring.
Library Employee:
Student:
OK … . How do you decide which books to sell? Are they duplicates?
Library Employee:
A lot are duplicates. If we have more than one copy of a title and it hasn’t been checked out in a few years … in that case it might end up at the sale. I’ve actually tried to find this book online, but no luck so far…I was really hoping to buy it . Well … that particular book … well, it probably won’t be up for sale this year. Most of the books in the sale come from off-site storage.
Student:
Library Employee:
Student:
Off-site storage?
Library Employee:
That’s where we keep books that haven’t been used for several years . They’re still in the catalog, which means they can be checked out if you fill out a form … it takes maybe a day or two to retrieve one of them.
Student:
I see .
Library Employee:
And then, before we decide to include a book in the sale, we review its circulation history again. Which can take a while … we’ve got a lot of books in storage!
Student:
So it’s basically the unpopular books that get put up for sale, then …
Library Employee:
Well, that … plus the main thing is to make sure students have access to the information in the books . A lot of them are available in electronic format these days … even the really old ones … you know, they’ve been preserved that way.
Student:
So most of the books for sale are older books?
Library Employee:
Well, we get book donations, too, and lots of those are new. Again, a librarian reviews them and decides whether to catalog them or put them up for sale .
Student:
Is this sale open to the public?
Library Employee:
On the second day … it’s a two-day sale . The first day is for students, faculty and staff, though, which is great . We usually need about 20 volunteers for the sale, and, well, if you volunteer, you get first shot at everything in advance …
Student:
Really? What do volunteers have to do?
Library Employee:
You help sort the books and set up the tables. But, keep in mind, those positions fill up quickly… Now, about this particular book … . It wouldn’t hurt to send a formal request to the collection department . They might be able to let you know if it’d be up for sale .
Student:
I’ll do that . Thanks .
Activity 9.3: Academic Advisor Conversation Narrator:
Listen to a conversation between a student and her academic advisor.
Student: Professor: Student: Professor:
Hi, Professor Jones . Thanks for seeing me . No problem, Laura . How was your summer break?
It was great! But the fact is, it’s made me reconsider my academic plans.
Oh really...? Nothing too dramatic, I hope.
120
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting