V is for . . .

Volunteers!

National Volunteer Week was April 10 -16 and this post is in honor of all the volunteers that work in libraries. Without the hours that volunteers put in at libraries would have fewer books re-shelved, repaired, and stories read. Thank you to everyone!

Duties of Volunteers

At my library we have volunteers from 6th grade and up to adult. Many of the students who volunteer do it as class requirements and the library is able to provide this partnership with the schools. For those of you out there who are looking to start to include volunteers to do daily duties, here is a list of some of the tasks that volunteers at my library do:

• re-shelve materials
• repair materials
• clean materials
• read to children
• participate in the read to your bread program (therapy dogs listening to kids read)
• prep for crafts
• help at programs for kids
• set up for programs
• crowd control at big programs
• make summer reading program prize bags
• give out summer reading program prizes
• lead programs

These are just a few of the duties of volunteers at the library.

How to find volunteers?

Contacting local schools (don't forget colleges) and ask if you can be put on a list of places to volunteer.

We put out a small flyer asking interested teens to who want to volunteer and then we try to do a large orientation, especially at the start of Summer Reading.

You could put up a poster in your library asking for volunteers and you would be surprised by the number of regular patrons who come in and want to volunteer.

Other posts have also mentioned where to get volunteers and programs for volunteers young and old.

posted by Anna

C is for...

CRAFTY C.A.T.S.!

Crafty C.A.T.S. (Community Action Teen Service) is a creative arts-based community service program for tweens and teens ages 11+ that I run at the Escondido Public Library. Volunteerism is a requirement for almost all high schools, academic associations, community groups like the Scouts, and scholarships, so I wanted to provide students with a way to earn community service credit while strengthening their creative and artistic skills.

Over the last four years, I have developed partnerships with the following community groups:

• Escondido Humane Society - knit Snuggle blankets for shelter animals
• Palomar Hospital, Escondido Literacy Department, and First 5 San Diego - knit beanies for newborn babies as part of the Born to Read program
• Sharp Memorial Hospital Cancer Center - knit hats for chemotherapy patients
• Ships Project - knit hats and scarves for troops overseas
• Knit squares and sent them to Africa to be made into quilts for AIDS orphans

We also make handmade bookmarks to sell in the library, and we even put our painting skills to use last summer when we removed graffiti from city property. Projects like these give students both a local and a global perspective on philanthropy while engaging them in a creative, artistic way.