BERKELEY - On Friday, January 24, the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) is sponsoring its first-ever textbook swap.

ASUC will have tables set up from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Lower Sproul Plaza, with signs for departments like Astronomy or Civil Engineering. Students with textbooks they no longer need as well as those looking for texts on this semester's lists can meet at the tables and bargain directly with each other. There is no fee for either selling or buying; ASUC is paying for the tables and the event's advertising.

The swap meet is the brainchild of Misha Leybovich, ASUC senator and engineering physics major, who complains that even the used textbooks at bookstores around campus can be pretty pricy. "The cheapest books I've ever gotten have been from friends, but they tend not to have the right books when you need them," says Leybovich.

He hopes that the event will "hook people up so everyone can save money, and maybe make some friends while they're at it."

Leybovich's fellow ASUC Senator, Noah Kagan, set up an online book swap, the Berkeley Book Exchange, last year that is still going strong, with more than 7,000 books for sale. However, Leybovich says that buying or trading in person might be more attractive, as students can see at a glance what's for sale and check out the books' condition immediately.

"Maybe it will work, maybe it won't — but why not try it?" says Leybovich.