NARRATOR：

Listen to a conversation between a student and an employee in the university library.

FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE：

Ready to check out?

MALE 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?

FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE：

He's probably talking about our annual book sale. We have one every spring.

MALE STUDENT：

OK ... How do you decide which books to sell? Are they duplicates?

FEMALE 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.

MALE STUDENT：

I've actually tried to find this book online, but no luck so far... ­I was really hoping to buy it.

FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE：

Well ...[upspeak] 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.

MALE STUDENT：

Off-site storage?

FEMALE 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.

MALE STUDENT：

I see.

FEMALE 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!

MALE STUDENT：

So it's basically the unpopular books that get put up for sale, then...

FEMALE 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.

MALE STUDENT：

So most of the books for sale are older books?

FEMALE 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.

MALE STUDENT：

Is this sale open to the public?

FEMALE 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...

MALE STUDENT：

[sounds interested in becoming a volunteer] Really? What do volunteers have to do?

FEMALE 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.

MALE STUDENT：

I'll do that. Thanks.