Library Volunteers Welcome!: Strategies for Attracting, Retaining and Making the Most of Willing Helpers - Paperback

by Carol Smallwood (Editor), Lura Sanborn (Editor)

Volunteers are crucial to the daily operation of any library. Finding and retaining the right people, motivating them and matching their skills with projects is challenging. This collection of 30 new essays brings together the experiences of numerous individuals across the U.S., providing ideas, projects and best practices for volunteer recruiting and management. The contributors--among them library board members, heads of special collections, directors of state library associations, outreach coordinators, archivists and researchers--discuss a broad range of topics in five sections: recruitment and retention; policies and process; mentoring and empowering; placement, programs and responsibilities; and outreach.

Author Biography

A Michigan resident, Carol Smallwood has practiced in school, public and special libraries. Her primary interest is practical librarianship, and she is the author of journal articles and editor of numerous books. Lura Sanborn is the instruction & research librarian at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.