Library volunteers: do they have a valid role in libraries?

Citation

Evans, G.E. (2010), "Library volunteers: do they have a valid role in libraries?", Library Management, Vol. 31 No. 4/5. https://doi.org/10.1108/lm.2010.01531dab.001

Library volunteers: do they have a valid role in libraries?

Article Type: Case study From: Library Management, Volume 31, Issue 4/5

G. Edward Evans Received 2 October 2009

Volunteers are widely used in public and school libraries, at least in the US Academic libraries tend to be highly selective in their use of volunteers, often through their friends of the library programs rather than for library daily activities. However, there is growing pressure to make greater use of volunteers as the economy is slow to recover. Library operations must go on despite shrinking staffing budgets or hiring freezes put in place when full-time employees resign. Thus, volunteers are or may have to play a growing role in the daily operations of libraries.

There are, however, challenges regarding if, when, and where to make use of the people who volunteer. In past, a library might have been highly selective in what tasks it allowed volunteers to engage in; today there is real pressure to expand the roles they play in the daily operations.

There is a vast pool of talented energetic and motivated volunteers to tap into and, hopefully, retain. Volunteers can become highly committed to a library’s organizational goals, given the proper environment, even if they never worked in a library. Part of that environment is thinking about volunteers as just as important to quality service as any paid staff member.

One reason for thinking about volunteers in the same way as paid staff is because there is a monetary value associated with their activities in the United States. As of 2010, many granting agencies allow a library to use a value of $18.21 per hour rate for volunteer service; this is very useful when the grant requires a matching institutional contribution. The annual contribution of volunteers is in the billions of dollars nation-wide.

While volunteer work is increasing, there is concern about being able to retain volunteers. Daniel Kadlec (2006, p. 76) reported that “Nearly 38 million Americans who had volunteered in a nonprofit in the past didn’t show up last year … That is a waste of talent and desire”. The “last year” in the quote was 2005. Organizations cannot waste such potential people power. As Boomers retire, they take with them a vast amount of experience and, perhaps more importantly, institutional memory that is very valuable. You will find frequent stories in the professional literature about library staff members retiring and then returning as volunteers. Losing such people because the volunteer activities have not been properly planned is/would be very sad.

Begin your thinking and planning for volunteers by considering a few basic questions:

1. 1.

   Should we use volunteers? (A very key question to ponder.)

2. 2.

   Where could we use volunteers?

3. 3.

   How would we use them?

4. 4.

   Would the tasks be meaningful for volunteers?

5. 5.

   Who would supervise the volunteers?

6. 6.

   Would we have one person in charge of the overall program?

7. 7.

   Do we have or can we create meaningful volunteer rewards?

Dale Freund (2005) explored the question of whether volunteers should be used in libraries. He believed that when done properly and for the right reasons, the answer is yes. Essentially, success hinges on your thinking through questions such as the above and creating a plan.

There are three major volunteer categories to think about, at least in the United States. One is the “short-term” volunteer. These are the people who will work on special projects or events but have no interest in a regular commitment, such as coming in one day per week for a few hours. Some library examples of such projects are an annual book sale, disaster recovery efforts, or a capital fundraising campaign.

A second category is the “commitment” volunteer. These are people who have a strong interest in the area in which they seek volunteer opportunities. They expect to gain gratification, knowledge, and useful skills as well as a sense of accomplishment from the work they perform. For most libraries, these are the people who form the backbone of a successful long-term volunteer program. They are also the group that requires the most careful planning and they must have meaningful work to perform.

Finally, there are “volunteers” who engage in the activity because of some outside pressure rather than any personal desire. You may be able to transform some of these people into committed volunteers, but only through careful planning. There are two significant sources of such outside pressure – the workplace and school. Many US for-profit organizations, while not requiring volunteer work by their personnel, make it very clear they expect employees to engage in some form of volunteer work. Such organizations normally have a very broad definition of what constitutes volunteer work and how that activity counts in the performance review process. A few colleges and universities have gone so far as to make volunteer work a graduation requirement. Most do not go that far, but they do encourage students to volunteer, often through such means as adding it to the student’s transcript, or offering credit for approved activities. Higher education has been rather successful; for example, in 2005 more than 3.3 million US college students engaged in service to some non-profit organization and averaged just under 100 hours per student (Pope, 2006, p. A1).

The best way to develop a cadre of committed volunteers is to start with job descriptions (JD), using the same method as you do for paid staff positions. Doing this provides a solid base for everyone about the “whats and hows” of the position(s). Surprises such as “I don’t want to make photocopies” are much less likely when the person had an opportunity to review a JD indicating photocopying was part of the job. As with paid positions, the JD should outline duties and experience/skills sought. (Note: after preparing the descriptions it is wise to consult with the HR department to explore any issues such as injury or liability coverage for volunteers).

Where do you begin your search for volunteers? Your recruiting efforts will not take place in the same venues as for paid staff. There are five major places to explore; each requires a somewhat different approach both in the message and where to place that message. The pools are:

1. 1.

   Retirees.

2. 2.

   Students.

3. 3.

   Homemakers.

4. 4.

   Employed people.

5. 5.

   Unemployed people (most hope to gain a marketable skill or perhaps secure a paid position with the organization).

Reaching out to students, the employed, and the unemployed is relatively easy as you have organizations to contact that will assist in getting your message out. Retirees are a little more challenging; however, senior centers and other locations that offer senior programs are a good starting point. Homemakers are the biggest challenge; in this case school libraries have an inside track on getting great volunteers.

An interesting article about a public library using its young adult (YA) program as a specialized volunteer program was by Anthony Bernier (2009). In the article, Bernier outlined some the positive aspects of YA volunteer program. Two of his points were, a program “engenders a higher profile within the community for valued-added youth opportunities and highlights greater public value for the library in the community” and “Among the positive dimensions of this heightened community profile are workplace preparedness and public service opportunities it offers youth” (p. 136). This type of increased community awareness about the library and its services can enhance the library’s image and even translate into budget support from the community.

When it comes to volunteers, you rarely have a pool of applicants to interview – you are happy to have someone interested in the position. That notwithstanding, the interview is just as important for volunteers as it is for paid staff. This is the opportunity to assess skills, motivation, and the nature of the work by both parties.

Generally, volunteers require more initial training and development than paid staff. This is particularly true when the volunteer has retired from a somewhat similar paid position – for example, a retired school librarian volunteering in an archive. They need time to unlearn years of past practices and/or modify beliefs about “how things should be done.” Too often the supervisor’s assumption is that such people have done this before and therefore need very little training. It may be a while before it becomes apparent that that was a poor assumption and work must be redone.

Many organizations may face a challenge when they accept a volunteer (the author of this case had first-hand experience with that challenge) that is, should the organization do background checks on its volunteers? The situation the author experienced took place when the institution changed carriers for its liability insurance. One of the requirements of the new insurance was all staff and volunteers had to undergo a background check because the institution offered a variety of programs for children. Many of the people felt this was insulting, especially when they were not involved in any of children’s programming. The result was a large number of volunteers left, including two from the library/archives. Now, as part of the volunteer interview process, it is necessary to inform the potential volunteer about the background check and explain why it is necessary in the library which is not involved in any children’s programs. Library Journal (2007) carried a news note about a public library being required to conduct background checks and the issues that volunteers had with this concept.

Motivation is critical for volunteers if you expect to keep them. William M. Marston (1931) identified four basic personality types (the concept has taken on a number of labels over the years). Marston’s original labels – dominance (D), influencing (I), steadiness (S), and conscientiousness (C) – are as good as any. People of type D personality are action oriented – get something done, seek quick results, solve the problem now, are examples. “I”s are socially oriented, they are verbal, enjoy interacting with people, and being liked is important to them. “S”s are dependable and steady, prefer to focus on one task at time and, whenever possible, they want a workplace where they can concentrate on the task at hand. “C”s are focused on standards/procedures as well as being very detail oriented. The following discussion applies to any group of employees, full-, part-time or volunteers. Take some time to think about yourself in light of the above, and then think about your volunteers and where you think each one fits into the categories. Here are some tips regarding how you might want to interact with the various types.

If you have a “D” type personality, your usual style works well with “D” volunteers. When it comes to “I”s, be less formal than you normally are. Take your time when working with “S” volunteers. Be certain to present facts/evidence when working with your “C”s.

If you are an “I” type person, avoid your usual “small talk” with “D” volunteers. Obviously, being yourself works well with your “I” type volunteers. Go against your normal style and be rather formal at first and stay focused on activities when starting off “S” volunteers. With “C”s, drop your normal approach and just deal with facts.

If you are an “S”, maintain your confidence in how to do things when working with “D” volunteers – they can be a challenge for you. Be more open than usual when working with “I” volunteers; remember they are people-oriented. “S” volunteers will call for more than your usual level of support/encouragement. Even if no “standard” exists, you must firm about what you require when working with “C”s, especially when they think it is nonstandard.

Finally, if you are a “C”, be less fact-oriented than usual, just hit the main/high points when working with “D” volunteers. Although it may require lots of effort on your part, try to be as informal as possible, while conveying the facts, when working with “I”s. Be patient, and present facts/issues completely, when working with “S” volunteers. Being yourself is fine when it comes working with “C”s.

Just as is the case with paid staff, providing lots of positive feedback is essential for volunteers. However, this does not mean you should not correct problems with volunteer performance. When it does becomes necessary, do it in as positive a manner as possible. (Volunteers can be quick to leave if they do not think their efforts are appreciated.) Forgetting to thank them each time they come in can be, and often is, viewed as being taken for granted and cause for leaving.

There is no doubt that volunteers provide wonderful assistance to thousands of libraries. However, there are a few areas in which tension can arise between volunteers and paid staff. One obvious area is a fear/concern on the part of the paid staff regarding job security, especially where funding is tight or hiring freezes are in place. Paid staff may harbor unstated worries that their jobs may be in jeopardy, especially if some of the volunteers have prior library experience. I am unaware of any documented case where paid staff lost their jobs because of the availability of volunteers. However, there are instances where layoffs took place because of funding problems and sometime later the organization restarted an activity based on volunteer help. When starting a volunteer program, you should address this concern openly and honestly with the paid staff.

Another challenge is when volunteers and paid staff perform the same task(s), something to avoid whenever possible. When it does happen, performance assessment becomes a significant issue. There may be strong resentment of the volunteers’ apparent freedom to come and go with little or no notice and the appearance that they are held to a lower work standard. Paid staff may also think/observe the volunteers receiving encouragement/praise for work they believe is less than standard, or at least a lower standard than they are expected to deliver. Your managerial creativity and ingenuity will face great challenges when you try to provide that extra level of encouragement to volunteers and retain their services, while not undermining staff morale.

Sue McGown (2007) summed up the case regarding volunteers; “Recruiting and working with volunteers requires a time investment, but it pays off in building advocates for the library program. Volunteers become true ‘friends of the library.’ We can never say ‘thank you’ enough for the work done by wonderful volunteers” (p. 13).