#117 Borrowing books at the library (Med)

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This lesson is suitable for intermediate-level learners. After listening, test your knowledge with our quiz.

Learning notes:

Examples of phrases you can use at the library:

•  I’m returning this book. 
• I borrowed this book. 
•  I think it might be overdue.  
• Can you check if there’s a late fee? 
• When is this book due back? 
• Are these games due back next week? 
• What’s the due date? 
• Is there a late fee for this book? 
• Do I need to pay a late fee? 
• Let me scan it. 
• It was due back yesterday. 
• There’s no late fee this time. 
• My books are overdue. 
• Can I renew this DVD online? 
• Can I renew these video games for another week? 
• I’d like to reserve that title, please. 
• Can I place a hold on this DVD? 
• This title has already been reserved. 
• Can you help me check the catalogue? 
• Can you search by title? 
• How do I search the catalogue by title? 

Colloquial expressions:

That’s a relief is something tht you can say to show that you were worried, but now feel better.

To place a hold on something means to reserve something, usually at a library, which library will let you know when it is ready for you to pick up

Vocabulary:

To borrow is to take something for a short time and give it back later.

To lend is to give something to someone for a short time and expect them to give it back.

To return is to bring something back after borrowing it.

Overdue means late. If a book is overdue, you should have returned it earlier.

A fee is money you pay for a service. A late fee is a sum of money you may need to pay if you return something after the due date.

To scan means to use a machine to read information.

Due back means that something needs to be returned. The due date is the date on which something must be returned, paid or completed.

To renew is to ask for more time to keep something, or to buy the same or similar thing again.

To reserve is to ask for something to be kept for you.

A title is the name of a book, article, song, film, podcast episode, picture or other work.

A catalogue is a list or system where works are listed. A library catalogue is a list you can search for books, DVDs, magazines and other items.

Learning notes:

In English, we very often use the word ‘can’ to make our requests softer and more polite. As in:

• Can you check if there’s a late fee?
• Can I renew it?

Transcript: 

(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)

SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands, and waterways throughout Australia.

I love libraries. A library can give you books, free Wi-Fi, English language learning classes, workshops, computers and a quiet place to read or work. Well, mostly quiet. There’s usually one child testing how loud a whisper can be.

Hi, I’m Josipa, and in this episode, we’re practising everyday English you can use in a library, where you can read, learn, ask for help, pretend you came for the books and not the free Wi-Fi, and occasionally get asked gently to keep your voice down.

So, let’s join Allan and Claire. Claire walks up to the front desk holding a book. She has that slightly worried look people get when they are not sure if they have returned something on time. Allan is behind the desk, ready to help.

Claire: Hi...I’m returning this book. I think it might be overdue. Can you check if there’s a late fee?

Allan: Sure. Let me scan it… It was due back yesterday, but there’s no late fee this time.

Claire: That’s a relief. I haven’t finished with it yet. Can I renew it?

Allan: Sorry, this title has already been reserved, so I can’t renew it. But I can check the catalogue and help you find something similar.

Like Claire, you might go to the library with one simple job: return a book. These days, you can often do that at a self-service machine or online, without talking to anyone. But if you’re learning English, the library can be a great place to practise real questions with real people. Is it overdue? Is there a fee? Can you renew it? Has someone else reserved it?

Let’s look at how Claire and Allan used these phrases.

First, Claire said,

This is a simple phrase you can use at the library desk. To return something means to bring it back after borrowing it.

Let’s pause for a second and look at two useful words: borrow and lend.

When you borrow something, you take it for a short time and give it back later. For example,

• I borrowed this book from the library last week.
• I borrowed this dress from my sister for the party.

When someone lends you something, they give it to you for a short time and expect you to give it back.

So, the library lends books, and you borrow them from the library. Then, when you are finished, you return them.

You can use these words in everyday life too. For example,

Allan

Can I borrow your pen?

Claire

Sure, I can lend it to you.

Allan

Thanks, I’ll return it shortly.

Just remember: the person who takes something borrows it. The person who gives that thing to you for a short time lends it. People sometimes mix these two words up!

OK, let’s go back to our dialogue. Claire also said,

If something is overdue, it is late. So you are late returning, paying it, or finishing something.

In the library, you might say,

But we also use ‘overdue’ in other situations. For example, if you forgot to pay a bill, you could say,

Allan

This bill is overdue.

Claire then asked,

A late fee is money you may need to pay if you return something after the due date. You could also say,

A fine is money you pay because something was late or a rule was broken. In a library, a late fee or overdue fine means money you may need to pay if you return something late.

In other situations, a fee is the money you pay for a service. For example,

That means, do I need to pay money if I cancel? Or,

That means, do I need to pay money to become a member?

Allan then said,

To scan something is to use a machine to read information on an object automatically. In a library, the scanner reads the barcode, a special label, on books when you borrow or return them.

We can use ‘scan’ in other situations. At the supermarket, you can scan your groceries at the checkout to find out what you need to pay for them. At the airport, you might need to scan your passport or boarding pass.

Allan also said,

To be due means to be expected. A library book is due back on a particular date, and so you need to return it on or before that date.

You could ask:

• When is this book due back?
• Are these games due back next week?

You could also say,

The due date is the date that something must be returned, paid or completed. We can use ‘due’ in a lot of other situations. For example,

• My rent is due tomorrow.

That means you need to pay it by tomorrow. Or,

• That report is due on Friday.

That means the report must be finished by Friday.

So, in the library, we use ‘due back’ to talk about when we need to return something. In other situations, we use ‘due’ when we are talking about paying or finishing something on time.

After Allan says there is no late fee, Claire says,

• That’s a relief.

If you say, “That’s a relief,’ you mean, ‘I’m glad’ or ‘I was worried, but now I feel better’. You can use this phrase whenever a problem turns out to be okay.

Clare then asked,

This is one of the most useful library phrases, at least for me. To renew a library item means to ask for more time to keep it.

We also use ‘renew’ in other situations. For example,

• I need to renew my passport.

Passports often only last for 10 years, so after that you need a new one. Or,

• I renewed my gym membership.

That means you paid or signed up to the gym again so you can keep using it. So, to renew something means to extend it or to make it valid again.

But, unfortunately for Claire, she can’t renew her book because Allan said,

If a book has been reserved, it means someone else has asked the library to keep it for them when it becomes available. Allan said that the title has been reserved.

A title is the name of a book, article, song, film, podcast episode, or work of art . Inside a library you might ask.

For example,

• What’s the title of that movie with Hugh Jackman?
• I forgot the title of the song, but I remember the singer.

Now, let’s say you want to ask the library assistant to keep a certain item for you... you could say,

You might also hear another phrase,

To place a hold on something means to reserve it, usually at a library. The library will tell you when it is ready for you to pick up.

At the end Allan said,

A catalogue is a list of things you can search. In a library, the catalogue lists all the books, DVDs, magazines, and other items the library has.

Inside a library, you might ask,

• Can you help me check the catalogue?
• How do I search the catalogue by title?

Catalogues are also used in other places. A shop might have an online catalogue that you can search for the thing that you would like to buy. A school might have a course catalogue. But in the library, it usually means the system where you search for books and other items that you want to borrow or look at.

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Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire, and Professor Lynda Yates was our educational consultant.