LIBRARIAN (Australian): Hello, welcome to the Sydney University’s library. How can I help you?
STUDENT (New Zealand): Hi. I’m interested in getting some information about preserving a personal collection.
LIBRARIAN: Hmmm . . . Do you mean you want to know how to care for your own private collections?
STUDENT: Yes, exactly. I have a lot of old materials from my grandparent’s house. The oldest are from 1893. They’re family heirlooms. Anyway, I’d like to learn how to preserve them.
LIBRARIAN: Well, you’re in luck. There is an archival presentation that is happening in a few days. We have an archivist visiting from the National Library of Australia. His name is Noah Anderson. He’ll be giving a two-hour presentation on Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Afterwards, he will take questions from the audience.
STUDENT: Great. Is it free to attend?
LIBRARIAN: Yes, the presentation is free. I believe Noah is teaching a class right now about preserving private collections, however, the class is already underway and no new students can be admitted. The presentation on Saturday is for anyone, students or non-students.
STUDENT: OK. Is it alright if I record the presentation?
LIBRARIAN: Yes, of course. However, we’ll also be recording it and a file will be available to download or streamline from our website. If you don’t want to bother with recording it on your own, or you’d prefer the quality of recording that we provide, feel free to access our recording of the event. It should go up on the website Monday following the presentation.
STUDENT: How do I access that?
LIBRARIAN: There is a page on our website that includes links to all of our presentations. Just enter your ID and username, then click on the tab for the Never Stop Learning Presentation Series. Once you’re there, you’ll see a link where you can download all of our talks. Just search by date and you’ll see it.
STUDENT: Great, thank you for letting me know.
LIBRARIAN: By the way, what type of information are you trying to preserve?
STUDENT: Some old books from my grandparents’ house, but also some old letters and photos from World War One.
LIBRARIANS: I see. I’d like to suggest something. You could scan copies of the pictures and letters. It might be helpful to create electronic copies and preserve those.
STUDENT: You know, I hadn’t thought of that. Are there scanners here?
LIBRARIAN: Yes, of course. You can scan and store electronic copies and then save them to your computer. Of course, you should also be sure to back up your digital files with a hard drive. There are also online services that you can use for backing up your files.
STUDENT: Would someone here be able to help me with that?
LIBRARIAN: Yes, of course. You can make an appointment with one of our staff members. You will also need to reserve the scanner.
STUDENT: Is it free to use that?
LIBRARIAN: No, unfortunately not. Using the scanner is $1 per minute.
STUDENT: How do I make an appointment to do that?
LIBRARIAN: Two ways. I can do it for you right now, or you can go online and fill out a request form.
STUDENT: Great, let’s do it right now.
LIBRARIAN: When would you like to come in?
STUDENT: How about next week? I’d like to attend the presentation first and then meet with a staff member here.
LIBRARIAN: Sure, how about Monday. 2:00 to 3:30 is available. Does that work?
STUDENT: Yes, that works great.
LIBRARIAN: What’s your student ID number?
STUDENT: 654312.
LIBRARIAN: OK. You’ll meet with Ava Williams. She can help you prep your materials for scanning and then help you with the scanner.
STUDENT: Can I pay for using the scanner with my SUNI card?
LIBRARIAN: Yes, of course.
STUDENT: Do I just come to this desk on the day of the appointment?
LIBRARIAN: No, you’ll need to go to our archival services on the 2nd floor. Ava works up there. Just go to the front desk. Also, make sure to check your email for a confirmation email about your appointment. You’ll need to confirm the appointment by Friday, otherwise it will be cancelled.
STUDENT: Great, I’ll do that. Thanks for all of the information.