The Good Library Blog

This is a Friends of Libraries group asking the council officer responsible to elaborate his view about using volunteers so they could discuss it.

We are developing a policy on volunteering. In this context, we would like to test a factual interaction between our employees and members of the community who may have an interest in what we do. The result will hopefully inform a document that will contribute to the policy.

What criteria will be used in the choice of volunteers?

There may be four:
-one essential criterion is the willingness to champion the services we provide by standing next to us every day (or so).
- an additional criterion has to do with the fundamental willingness to give up our time on a voluntary basis.
-the third has to do with knowledge, which may relate to computing, love of books, art, etc.
-the last one pertains to one's ability to relate to members of the public. We would be looking for someone who truly enjoys engaging with people of all walks of life.

Will they be vetted?

Yes. There will be a formal selection which results in the volunteer committing to volunteer and the service committing to support the volunteer.

What training will be given?

This will very much depend on the type of contribution the volunteer is prepared to make. It can go from full training, as we do with our own staff, to an introduction to what is available in the building.

Will they replace qualified staff?

No.

Has Unison (the Trade Union) expressed a view on this?

As I said, this is a new area for us, (this project) is very much an experiment, which may lead to exceptional results in terms of engagement with the local community, active participation, improved dialogue with users and non users, etc.
We started talking to Unison representatives within the service, but there are limited comparators to express a view. One common point is that the introduction of volunteers will not replace qualified staff.

Will the hours of duty be negotiated?

In theory, yes. But we would like to see a firm commitment to the service.

What happens when volunteers are unavailable either due to sickness, holidays or other commitments?

These may be replaced by other volunteers

Will there be a contract of work?

No. There will be an agreement between the volunteer and the Service, whereby we respectively agree to provide services and to support the aspirations of the volunteer.

Is this policy intended to widen the hours of opening or to save money on staffing?

Widening opening hours may well be a result of this, because it may allow us to deploy our staff in different ways.
There will be no savings on staffing, only improved services.

Will they be IT trained to a reasonable standard to help the public?

Again, this is up to the volunteer. They decide how much or how little of the opportunities we offer they are willing to take. If they enjoy using computers and would love to sit next to a friend showing them how to make the most of Google, we can equip the volunteer with the knowledge to do just that.

How will this scheme be funded and what are the considered costs?

This is very much a test of us. The scheme will not require additional funding. The costs will remain within the service's budget.

It is a great pity this is not being made known to the wider public.

Again, this initiative is not ready to be widely applied. We need to test it enough to develop a better understanding about the interactions that may result from introducing volunteers in our libraries. My authorities have done it for many years, but we are new to this and willing to learn.

Can you also see from this the positive contribution a "Friends of Libraries" group can make in support of a council officer who is trying to make improvements? This is impressive stuff.