Talk about English ? BBC Learning EnglishTalk about EnglishAcademic ListeningPart 8 - Using the libraryThis programme was first broadcast in 2001.
This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript of the programme.
ANNOUNCER:
It’s time for Academic Listening - a series for students at English-speaking universities（大学）. JoinSusan Fearn and members of the World Service class of 2001 for this programme that focuseson using the library.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseMy name is Clare, welcome to University College London Library. We're in the Arts andHumanities Library at the moment…Susan: Clare Woodhouse works in a busy university library.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseOn a typical day, on the issue desk when we first come out we empty the book bin - where youleave books after the issue desk is closed. So we return those first thing in the morning, switchon the computers, change the date stamps and then we open at 9.30, and students can come infrom that point.
Talk about English ? BBC Learning EnglishPage 2 of 7bbclearningenglish.comSusan: Last time we thought about academic reading and at some of the different skillsthat can help you gather relevant material quickly and efficiently. But where doyou start? Libraries contain thousands of books, on dozens of subjects. Andthey’re scattered - it sometimes seems at random - around a number of differentrooms - and sometimes many different buildings … as this student hasdiscovered.
CLIP: StudentAt my University the Library is divided specifically in subjects, or in areas - because it'sOriental and African studies, so some of the areas are divided in South Asia, South East Asia,Africa, and then in other parts of the library the division is made of topics, like art, orarchaeology, anthropology, linguistics and things like that. There is another important sectionabout periodicals, and they are divided in big volumes and all the references are in the mainfloor. So we go there to get all the information in the computers and then we go to thereference which is created on the computer to look for the books, and I think it's veryimportant to start - at the beginning - to start knowing how the books are classified, so whenwe go there we actually find them. Otherwise we can get lost very easily…Susan: … and no wonder! But it doesn’t take long to start making sense of thisapparent disorder …and the sooner you start, the quicker you’ll finish!
As a new university student, the chances are you’ll be invited to visit your new library on a guided tour. And my advice is to make sure you go! You’lldiscover areas in the library where you can sit and study; perhaps you’ll find auniversity computer where you can practise your English, type an assignment,gain access to the Internet or open a new email account. You’ll discover howthe library is organised and, perhaps most importantly of all, you’ll learn how tolocate a book … on any subject – from architecture to zoology. Imagine, forTalk about English ? BBC Learning EnglishPage 3 of 7bbclearningenglish.comexample, that you want to find a specific edition of your favourite novel: “OliverTwist” by Charles Dickens.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseWhen you're given your reading list for the course, you need to come to the catalogue （目录）hall and you get the computer screen and say we're going for 'book title' - if you click under 'type wordor phrase' - so we put in 'Oliver Twist', then click on 'g'o and it comes up with all the titles withOliver Twist in them. So we'll go with this one - say we're going for the 1949 edition. It'll tellyou which library it's in and how many copies are available - so you click on the 'library' andthen it'll come up with the item status. If it's out it'll have a due date - if it's out on loan - andthen the classmark. The classmark is given to every book in the library and it will tell youexactly where it is on the shelf - so we'll then go and find the book.
Susan: Different universities have different systems to help you locate their books. Theprinciple is the same. You’ll need to do a search: using the title of the book, orby the author’s name, or, perhaps by the subject area. If you’re lucky, yoursearch will result in a sequence of letters and numbers. This classmark is a codethat will tell you where to find the book – in which building, in which room, onwhich shelf.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseThe first part of the label will say English - which means it's in the English section of thelibrary. So when you're there, the next part of the label will be XR - so you go round theshelves in the English Library to XR. Within XR, the number - 1 to 20 and Oliver Twist will beat number 20, and then it's arranged by author so it will be DIC for Dickens. Right now we'regoing to look on the shelves. So the classmark, the first few letters are the location within thelibrary. Then the number will tell you the shelf and then the three letters are the first threeTalk about English ? letters of the author's name so this is what we're looking for - English XR 20 DICSusan: So, once you’ve found the book – you’ll want to read it. There may be a studyarea in the library where you can read it straight away. In fact, if you’veselected a book that belongs in the reference section of the library, you’ll haveto read it on the premises. And if you’ve chosen a very popular book, you maynot be allowed to keep it for very long. A librarian will tell you the borrowingregulations at your library: which books can be taken home and for how long;how many books you can borrow at once; and what will happen if you don’treturn them on time! The librarian will also explain how books are issued -where you’ll need to go and what you’ll need to do. As Clare Woodhouseexplains, students at University College London use their student identity card.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseWhen you join the university you are given an ID card which also counts as your library card.
So when you find the book you want to borrow you get your ID card, go to the issue desk andyou give them the card and the book. They scan the book, put it onto your library record, thecomputer reads the barcode - then you can borrow it for the time that's allowed on thatparticular book. We have three hour loans, overnight loans, one week and standard loans,which it'll say on the front cover, and you get the book stamped in the front and you thenborrow it until that date, when it needs to be returned.
Susan: Increasingly, as academics publish their research online, students are finding thatthe internet can be a rich source of valuable, up-to-the-minute information. Aword of caution though: because it’s so easy to publish material on the WorldWide Web, the volume of material can be quite overwhelming. And it’ssometimes hard to check the academic credentials of the authors.
Talk about English ? BBC Learning EnglishPage 5 of 7bbclearningenglish.comSo, if you don’t want to tackle virtual publications just yet, another place to findcontemporary research is in the periodicals or journal section of the library.
Periodicals are usually organised by subject, but may be in a different part of thelibrary – away from the books. Clare Woodhouse again.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseIf you look up on the library catalogue and it says 'economics periodicals', they are shelvedseparately from the books. We have a current display of periodicals - the last three years in thiscentral shelving unit - and then around the edges we have the last ten years available.
Susan: As many of you will know, perhaps to your cost, you sometimes face problems you hadn’t expected. The university library is a busy place. There can be longqueues to take out books or use the photocopier; the book you need may be onloan to someone else; you may want a rare publication that your university has to borrow from another library using an interlibrary loan scheme. Your essaydeadline is looming, and it’s all taking much longer than you anticipated … somake sure you give yourself plenty of time!
That’s not the only problem known to students and library staff （全体职员）alike.
CLIP: StudentWell I think that the libraries nowadays are organised in very similar ways but it alwaysdepends on the technology that is put in the library. Some libraries that I used in Mexico forexample didn't have very computerised systems so it was more difficult to find books. Havinghad the opportunity to make research in libraries in Spain, Mexico and Britain, what I can saynow is the main problem is not actually the language but getting to know the classification ineach library and getting used to it with the time - that would be the most important thing forme.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseThe main problems that students have with using the library are things like when books haven'tbeen borrowed by cannot be found on the shelf - they are often being used by someone in thelibrary or are sitting on desks when someone has used them, so they are not issued to anyonebut they are not on the shelf.
Susan: You’ll need to learn how the catalogue system works and how the library is laidout. And, remember … if you’re having problems, help is always on hand.
CLIP: StudentThe librarians in libraries, I think they are very, very crucial for our searching for a bookbecause sometimes we can find the classification for a book but once we get there we cannotfind the book, and if there is no one to help us to find it, on many occasions we cannot get thereading done. So I think the job of the librarian is very, very important.
CLIP: Clare WoodhouseMy advice when using the library would be - don't be afraid to ask, either the librarians orother students. They're more than happy to help. The other advice would be, come in with the book titles you want written down so you can show them to the librarians so they can seeexactly what you want - and mainly just do not be afraid to ask, because we are here to help.
Susan: And we end today as we begin … with a helpful hint . There’s one very quickand efficient（效率） way to learn how your university library is organised – right at thebeginning of your university career.
Talk about English ? BBC Learning EnglishPage 7 of 7bbclearningenglish.comCLIP: Clare WoodhouseAnother good way is to come to a library tour. Most libraries will hold tours for new studentswithin the first two weeks or so of term - make sure you come on one of the tours and theywill show you where everything is and how it all works.
ANNOUNCER:
That brings us to the end of the programme, in which Susan Fearn discussed university libraries: how they’re organised, how they operate, and how you can use them efficiently.
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