Building better library volunteer programs

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead
 
This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) accompanies the paper which demonstrates how the 'Get Involved' program has successfully implemented the key focus areas of the Australian Government's National volunteering Strategy (2011) to better meet the needs of today's volunteers and library staff, align with contemporary library practice, and bring enhanced and expanded library services to the community.
 
Volunteerism in public libraries is impeded by a culture of volunteer management, wherein outcome is framed in terms of the completion of prescribed clerical tasks, and output is meaured purely in terms of hours served. For volunteers, this scenario can present limited options; for library staff, trying to find things for volunteers to do can feel like an encumbrance. Spearheading a cultural shift away from transactional library volunteerism toward transformational volunteering is the California State Library's state-wide initiative, 'Get involved: powered by your library'. At its core, this project is driven by volunteer engagement: an emerging theoretical and practical model of approaching, perceiving and working with volunteers. At a strategic level, volunteer engagement is fuelled by high-impact, skills-based volunteer opportunities in a project delivery context.