Dave Bestys knows books. He knows them from having written one about his 19 years as a volunteer firefighter. And he knows them from his work as a materials handler for the textbook division of the Cornell Business Services Warehouse, the unit responsible for receiving some 210,000 titles each academic year.

Shipped in by the skid-load, these university books need to be logged in, organized by course listing and shelved on 310 movable bookcases, with new shelving tags printed out daily as prices change and new books are added. Once arranged for sale, these bookcases are locked shut and transported to the Cornell Store at the start of each academic semester, 20 bookcases at a time.

At the end of the semester, the reverse occurs: Used books are sold to the store, placed on the movable bookshelves and returned to the warehouse to await the next semester. "We get to look at a lot of books," Bestys says.

All these books give Bestys ideas for better marketing his own book, "Reflections in Red and Blue: My Years as a Volunteer Firefighter," which sold about 400 copies when first published in hard copy in 2003 and has recently become available again for purchase online and through print-on-demand. It can be found through a search of his name at http://www.authorhouse.com.

"In this book, I stayed close to reality, changing only the names of people and fire departments, because I was writing for people who work in or are related to people who work in fire departments," he says. "I wanted to share the stories that others would identify with, the humorous, fun parts of the work as well as the serious and sometimes life-threatening moments -- the whole range of emotions from laughter to sorrow, from relaxation to intense stress."

His descriptions of answering distress calls, administering CPR and pulling people from house fires and crushed cars, sharing the camaraderie that comes from fundraising and recounting the joy that comes with participating in parades do exactly that.

Bestys admits that his reasons for becoming a firefighter "had nothing to do with bravery or helping others. It all had to do with having fun."

But as he began answering calls of those in need, he found himself "drawn in by the pride and tradition of the volunteering spirit." Nearly two decades later, Bestys retired from his volunteer firefighter role in 2002, having a wife and two sons to look after instead.

Bestys is now writing a novel based on his experiences as a firefighter -- a mystery this time. "I wanted to develop a plot with more mass appeal," he says. "A truly fictitious work gives you more leeway to do that."

And, with his exposure to so many books in his Cornell job, Bestys has become much more familiar with the marketing aspects of publishing. His goal this time around? To be picked up by one of the publishers whose titles he handles every day.