NARRATOR：

Listen to a conversation between a student and a library employee.

MALE STUDENT：

Excuse me. I received a letter ... that I'm supposed to return a book that I checked out back in September- uh, it's called Modern Social Problems- but I'm writing my senior thesis, so I thought I was allowed to keep the book for the whole academic year.

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

So you signed up for "Extended Borrowing Privileges?"

MALE STUDENT：

Yeah.

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

And we're still asking you to bring the book back.

MALE STUDENT：

Uh huh. Do I really have to?

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

Well, let me check the computer. The title was Modern Social Problems?

MALE STUDENT：

Yeah.

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

Uh ...[pause, while she’s checking the computer records for the book]Okay, yeah, it's been recalled.

You can keep it all year as long as no one else requests it.

But someone else has ... it looks like one of the professors in the sociology department, so you have to bring it back.

You can check it out again when it's returned in a couple of weeks.

MALE STUDENT：

[worried]Well, what if the person renews it? And I really need it right now.

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

All of it, or is there a certain section or chapter you're working with?

MALE STUDENT：

Well, there's one chapter in particular I'm working with, but ... why?

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

Well, we normally don't do this, but because of the circumstances, we can photocopy up to one chapter of the book for you.

Why don't you do that for the one you're working with right now- and by the time you need the rest of the book, maybe it'll have been returned.

MALE STUDENT：

[appreciative]Oh, well, that would be great.

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

Do you have it with you?

MALE STUDENT：

Uh, no. It's in my dorm room. These are books I want to check out today.

Um, is it OK if I bring that by in a couple of days?

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

Uh, actually, the due date is tomorrow- after that there will be a two dollar per day fine.

But you need to return it today if you want to check out any books today. That's our policy.

MALE STUDENT：

Oh, I see.

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

Yeah, not a lot of people realize that.

In fact, every semester we get a few students who've had their borrowing privileges suspended completely because they haven't returned books.

They're allowed to use books only in the library; they're not allowed to check anything out because of unreturned books.

MALE STUDENT：

That's not good. I guess I should head back down to the dorm right now.

FEMALE EMPLOYEE：

But before you go, what you should do is fill out a form requesting the book back in two weeks.

Then the person who requested it won't be able to renew it, and you'll get it back quickly.

MALE STUDENT：

I'll do that right now.