SECTION 1
LIBRARIAN: Good morning, North College Library. How can I help you?
MAN: I was wondering if it was possible to join the library.
LIBRARIAN: Are you a student at North College?
MAN: No, I'm not, but someone told me it was possible to join, even if I wasn't.
LIBRARIAN: That's right, it is. Are you over 18? That's our minimum joining age.
MAN: Yes, I am.
LIBRARIAN: That's no problem then.
MAN: Could you tell me what I have to do to join?
LIBRARIAN: Well, you'll need to come in to the library and fill out some forms. You'll also need to bring two passport photos with you. We also need two documents for ID, so a driving licence would be fine.
MAN: I've got that and what else? A credit card?
LIBRARIAN: No, it needs to have your address on it.
MAN: Shall I bring a bank statement, would that do?
LIBRARIAN: That'll be fine.
MAN: Good. Does it cost anything to join?
LIBRARIAN: Well, it's free for students here but otherwise it's ￡125 per year or ￡25 if you've got a current student card from another college.
MAN: I was at Westerley College until last year but now I've got a job at Jefferson's steel factory. Er, it's more expensive than I thought. My local library is free.
LIBRARIAN: But you'll find they don't have the range of reference books or facilities which we buy for our students. That's why you have to pay to be an external member.
MAN: I see. How many books can I borrow?
LIBRARIAN: We allow twelve items borrowed at any one time if you're a student, and that includes CDs, DVDs and videos. However, it's only eight items for members of the public.
MAN: Fine. And how long can I have them for?
LIBRARIAN: Well, you can have both fiction and reference books for four weeks which isn't bad really.
MAN: And what happens if I return them late?
LIBRARIAN: Like all libraries there's a fine system in place. The minimum fine is ￡1.50 but it can be much higher for some items—up to ￡5 per week. We'll give you a booklet with all the details when you join. You can always renew items if they're not required by anyone else by telephoning or logging on to our website.
MAN: What about the computers? Can I use them free of charge?
LIBRARIAN: For college students it's free, but for external members like yourself, the first hour is free and then we make a nominal charge of ￡1 per hour thereafter.
MAN: Do I have to book in advance for them?
LIBRARIAN: Oh, yes, it's advisable. Most people tend to book twenty-four hours in advance although sometimes you can get one with only six hours' notice. However, the earliest you can book a computer is forty-eight hours before you need it, and you can only book one hour at a time. If no-one else has booked the computer out, then you may be able to have another hour if you want. We have a wide range of databases, so the computers are in great demand.
MAN: I'm thinking of doing some writing and I might need to access national newspapers. Do you have them on these databases?
LIBRARIAN: We do indeed. We've got all the big nationals, The Guardian and The Observer, The Independent and The Times and Sunday Times. We've also got all the local papers and a wide selection of magazines.
MAN: Excellent. I assume you have photocopying facilities?
LIBRARIAN: Of course. 5p a sheet for both A4 and A3 black-and-white copies and 40p a sheet for colour. You can get a card from the counter here—it doesn't take coins.
MAN: OK. Oh by the way, another thing I was wondering about was if you ran any writing classes through the library?
LIBRARIAN: We do, but you'll have to speak to John Grantingham about that. He's our resident author. He runs the creative writing classes.
MAN: John... Grant... Could you spell that for me please?
LIBRARIAN: Certainly. G - R - A - N - T - I - N - G - H - A - M.
MAN: Are the classes here at the library?
LIBRARIAN: Yes—he's here on Thursday evenings, oh no sorry, Friday—he's just changed it. You can contact him by emailing the library.
MAN: Okay. Right, well that's about all I need to know. Thank you. I'll be along later this week to join. Thanks. Bye.
