Library Volunteers—Worth the Effort!

Faced with ever growing patron demands, tight budgets, and limited personnel, libraries are relying more and more on volunteers to assist the paid staff. But for every professional who “manages” volunteers there is a horror story—a “problem volunteer” who lacked the talent, commitment, team spirit, personality or available time to do the job. How does the busy librarian develop and manage a successful volunteer program?
This is the guide to implementing and managing a volunteer program tailored to the needs of the individual library. Issues such as recruitment and placement, training, development, and evaluation, and the “challenging” volunteer are discussed. Sample applications, advertisements, press releases, job descriptions, and skills and aptitude tests are also included.

Sally Gardner Reed, executive director of United for Libraries, lives in the greater Philadelphia area.

Sally Gardner Reed
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 128
Bibliographic Info: worksheets, diagrams, index
Copyright Date: 1994
pISBN: 978-0-7864-0004-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8410-2
Imprint: McFarland

“this well-organized guide…is a welcome addition to library literature. [It] belongs in every public library”—Library Journal; “exceptional because it treats both the philosophical and practical sides of the subject…well reasoned and well written…will help many libraries do more without calling on funds they don’t have”—Booklist.