| Hello? |
| Hi, Susie, it's Paul here. |
| How are you? |
| Enjoying your new job? |
| You're working at the library, aren't you? |
| Yes. |
| I started when the library re-opened a month ago. |
| It's great. |
| Actually Carol and I have been meaning to join for a while. |
| Oh, you should. |
| It doesn't cost anything, |
| and the new library has all sorts of facilities. |
| It's not just a place where you borrow books. |
| For instance, there's an area with comfortable seats where you can sit and read the magazines they have there. |
| Some people spend the whole morning there. |
| Wish I had that amount of time to spend! |
| Yes, you must be pretty busy at present, with the children and everything? |
| We are, yes. |
| But we're hoping to get away this summer. |
| We're thinking of going to Greece. |
| Well, we've got a much larger section of the library devoted to travel books now, |
| so you should come and have a look. |
| I can't remember if there's anything specifically on Greece, |
| but I should think so. |
| OK. |
| Now Carol's organising a project for the history class she teaches at school, |
| it's about life in the town a hundred years ago. |
| Do you have anything that might be useful? |
| Yes, actually we've now got a new section with materials on the history of the town and surrounding region. |
| Right. I'll tell her. |
| You can't always find that sort of thing on the internet. |
| Now in the old library there used to be a separate room with reference books. |
| It was a really nice quiet room. |
| Yes. We've put those books in the main part of the library now, |
| but we do have a room called the community room. |
| It can be hired out for meetings, |
| but at other times people can use it to study. |
| I might use that. |
| It's hard to find anywhere quiet at home sometimes. |
| I can't remember how old your son and daughter are... |
| we've introduced a special section of fiction written specially for teenagers, |
| but they might be a bit young for that? |
| Yes, they would be. |
| Well, we do have lots of activities for younger children. |
| Yes? |
| For example we have a Science Club. |
| At the next meeting, they're going to be doing experiments with stuff that everyone has in the kitchen - |
| sugar and flour and so on. |
| They might be interested, yes. |
| And we have a competition for children called Reading Challenge. |
| That doesn't begin until after the end of term. |
| They have to read six books, |
| and they get a certificate if they manage it. |
| So that gives them something to do while they're on holiday, instead of getting bored. |
| That's the idea. |
| And there's special activities for adults too. |
| On Friday we have a local author called Tanya Streep, |
| who's going to be talking about her new novel. |
| It's called 'Catch the Mouse' |
| and she based the story on a crime that actually took place here years ago. |
| Right. |
| We're not free on Friday, but I'll look out for the book. |
| Now this probably isn't for you, |
| but we do have IT support available for members. |
| We get quite a few older people coming along |
| who are wanting to get up to speed with computer technology. |
| It's on Tuesday mornings - |
| they don't need to make an appointment or anything, they just turn up. |
| Well, my mother might be interested, |
| I'll let her know. |
| OK. |
| And there's another service which you wouldn't expect from a library, |
| which is a free medical check-up. |
| The hospital arranges for someone to come along |
| and measure the level of sugar in your blood, |
| and they check cholesterol levels at the same time. |
| Really? |
| Yes, but that's only for the over-60s, |
| so you wouldn't qualify. |
| OK. |
| Well, I'll tell my mother, she might be interested. |
| What other information... |
| well, we do have a little shop with things like wallcharts and greetings cards, |
| and also stamps so you can post the cards straightaway, which is really useful. |
| Yeah. |
| Well, I'll bring the children round at the weekend and we'll join. |
| Oh, one more thing - I'll be bringing the car, is there parking available? |
| Yes, and it's free in the evening and at weekends. |
| Perfect. |
| Well, thanks, Susie... |