Listening 2: Library - Part 1

Welcome to the Bakersfield University library. Please find yourself somewhere comfortable
to sit as I am going to be talking to u for about 15 minutes to introduce you to the library
and all the services we offer. Then we will go on a brief talk of the building in small groups
to give you a chance to look around. Please if you do have questions, can you wait until the
end of my talk? We have a large number of new students, so it’s important that we keep to a
strict time schedule.
By now I hope all of you have been issued with your library card. This is a small plastic
card you are given when you enroll on your course, which gives you a student’s
identification number. You use this card when you want to borrow books from the library
here or if you want to access the computers, book a private study room or the materials on
the interlibrary loan system, or if you need to pay for photocopying or printing. If any of
you don’t have a card yet, then tell your group leader when you go around the building.
And we will make a note of your name and get it sort later.
So, the library and the layout. The area we are meeting in the moment is a reading area. As
you can see, there’re comfortable seats, low tables and in the racks, we have newspapers,
magazines and a lot of reference materials such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. None of
the items here can be borrowed. They are all to be used here in the library and we would ask
you to be considerate and think of other users. By all means read the newspapers and check
up on the latest piece of celebrity news but then fold it tightly and leave it for the next
person.
The counter at the edge of this area is where we have the library information and inquiry
service. The staff who work in the library are all here to help you. So, please do not be
afraid to ask questions. It will save you time and will make your study easier. All the staffs
are qualified as librarians and can help with the majority of your query. However, if you
have a very specific questions, for example, relating to law or an area of science, then we do
have specialists in all subject areas. So, if the person who is on duty at the desk cannot
immediately help you, then your query might be refer to a specialist in the subject area.
When this happens, replies will be normally sent to you by email.
When we move away from the reception and reading area where we do allow a low level of
noise as people chat and talk at the counter, we move into the various subject areas, where
we try to maintain silence. People are studying here using the information from the shelves
and we asked that you respect each other’s needs for a quiet environment.
The ground floor of the library houses all the humanity books: history, literature, and some
general art books. What I should point out that most of the art collection is in the art library
which forms part of the art’s faculty on another campus.
When you are looking for a book, using our computer guide index. You have codes to show
where the book is located, so all the books here in this library have BM beside the title,
indicating Bakersfield main campus. Books in the art’s faculty have AF beside the title and
so on. I think it’s a fairly easy system to understand. On the ground floor all the study
positions are at desks or tables b/w the bookshelves.