OFFICIAL34 What is the conversation mainly about?

[00:00.00]NARRATOR: Listen to a conversation between a student and an employee in the university library.[00:09.39]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: Ready to check out?
[00:10.82]MALE STUDENT: Just about. [00:11.98]Before I do though, this book on early navigation...[00:15.01]I have been using this book quite a bit for a research project. [00:17.84]And I'd like to own it actually. [00:19.79]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. [00:26.46]I was talking to this guy the other day, and he said the library sold books on occasion. [00:30.55]Is that right?[00:31.66]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: He is probably talking about our annual book sale. [00:34.25]We have one every spring.[00:35.70]MALE STUDENT: OK. [00:36.40]How do you decide which books to sell? [00:38.04]Are they duplicates?[00:39.20]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: A lot are duplicates. [00:40.25]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.
[00:46.42]MALE STUDENT: I've actually tried to find this book online but no luck so far. [00:50.03]I was really hoping to buy it.[00:51.63]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: Well, that particular book...well, it probably won't be up for sale this year. [00:57.41]Most books in the sale come from off-site storage.[01:00.42]MALE STUDENT: Off-site storage?[01:02.00]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: That's where we keep books that haven't been used for several years. [01:05.07]They are still in the catalog, which means they can be checked out if you fill out a form. [01:09.25]It takes maybe a day or two to retrieve one of them.
[01:11.99]MALE STUDENT: I see.[01:12.65]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. [01:19.17]We've got a lot of books in storage.[01:21.11]MALE STUDENT: So it's basically the unpopular books that get put up for sale then?[01:24.15]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: Well, that...plus the main thing is to make sure students have access to the information in the books. [01:30.31]A lot of them are available in electronic format these days, even the really old ones. [01:35.10]You know, they have been preserved that way.[01:37.14]MALE STUDENT: So most of the books for sale are older books.[01:39.43]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: Well, we get book donations too. [01:41.62]And lots of those are new. [01:43.61]Again, a librarian reviews them and decides whether to catalogue them or put them up for sale.[01:48.77]MALE STUDENT: Is this sale open to the public?[01:50.50]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: On the second day. [01:51.57]It's a two-day sale. [01:52.92]The first day is for students, faculty and staff though, which is great. [01:56.45]We usually need about twenty volunteers for the sale. [01:59.09]And well, if you volunteer, you get first shot at everything in advance.[02:03.17]MALE STUDENT: Really? [02:03.72]What do volunteers have to do?[02:05.31]FEMALE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE: You help sort the books and set up the tables. [02:07.50]But keep in mind those positions fill up quickly. [02:10.55]Now, about this particular book, it wouldn't hurt to send a formal request to the collection department. [02:16.34]They might be able to let you know if it would be up for sale.[02:19.18]MALE STUDENT: I'll do that. Thanks.