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zero hours contracts and self-service technology in addition to removal of specialist services in order to keep services­afloat.


At the time of the survey the mean number­of­FTE­paid­staff­across­library­ services was 128. However, many were much­less­(40­staff)­and­a­few­signifi- cantly­more­(260­staff)­so­it­is­useful­to­ consider­the­modal­number­of­FTE­staff­ which­was­78­paid­staff.


Volunteers


In contrast, volunteer numbers were reported to have increased in the past 10 years for nearly all library services surveyed (89 per cent) and for the few that didn’t report increases this was largely because volunteer numbers had already increased long ago, or there were­insufficient­paid­staff­to­manage­ any volunteers.


Library service volunteer numbers ranged from 45 to 822, with an average of 253 volunteers per service. Examination of data shows that nearly half of public library services surveyed had a mix where volunteers made up at least­half­of­all­the­staffing­profile.­­ It was clear that the Covid-19 pandemic had dented the volunteer capacity for many library services, and although this is slowly recovering numbers are still below­pre-pandemic­figures­for­most­ libraries.


A grey area


The survey found that half of volunteer roles were value-added and the rest a combination­of­staff­replacement­–­or­ a mix of both. We found that county councils­used­more­paid­staff­than­ volunteers, whereas unitary authorities used­more­volunteers­than­paid­staff. Although value-added volunteers did


not­directly­replace­paid­staff,­they­were­ in some cases being used to undertake roles­that­paid­staff­no­longer­had­ the time to carry out. This was due to reductions in budget and involved roles such as shelving, as mentioned by one respondent: “Introducing volunteers to our teams has allowed us to continue with services that may otherwise have been seen as a “nice extra” but would not have been possible as budgets and staffing­levels­were­squeezed”.­ Therefore, there is perhaps a grey area between maintaining service provi- sion and enhancing service provision. Increasingly value-added volunteers support­paid­staff­to­do­the­work­that­ they can no longer carry out due to diminishing budgets.


The challenge of unintended conse- quences resulting from volunteer use such­as­blurring­boundaries­between­staff­ and volunteer roles, and reduced service quality and accountability due to volun- teer inexperience were highlighted by


June 2023


a quarter of library services, having been originally predicted in previous research 10 years ago. Library users tend to see people working in a library as a librarian whatever their status or role, and it was suggested that the use of badges or lanyards to help library users distinguish between volunteers and­staff­was­advisable.


On a more positive note, value-added volunteers brought a wealth of new skills and experience to the library service, with examples cited such as gardening, and computing skills, in addition to helping diversify­the­staffing.­There­was­also­ mention of the importance of community engagement and inclusivity, in addition to providing an opportunity for advocacy, and funding through friends group.


Changing


Library services have had mixed experi- ences regarding how volunteer roles have changed. Nearly half of library services felt their volunteer roles had changed over the past 10 years, with many seeing the changes more recently. The most popu- lar roles that had grown were to do with community library volunteers, digital, and library support. Volunteer roles changed more in library services which had greater proportions­of­staff,­which­may­suggest­ that all libraries are having to embrace the role of a volunteer to support the service in some way. Other more traditional roles such as local history volunteers and help- ing with summer reading challenges were also popular responses.


Library services reported increases in volunteer numbers over the last decade were in both value-added roles and those replacing­paid­staff­with­a­diversification­ in­the­types­of­roles­offered.­As­previously­


discussed, value-added roles were often to­do­the­jobs­that­paid­staff­could­no­ longer­do­due­to­staff­reductions,­such­as­ IT support and shelving, being perceived as added-value aspects rather than library user support.


Library services who reported more recent­diversification­of­volunteering­roles­ cited reasons to do with the extension and broadening of the service, particularly related to home delivery, digital assistance and supporting reading. This had resulted in the development of new volunteer roles enhancing community engagement, but also­hinting­at­the­budgetary­and­staff- ing challenges public libraries are still facing. Indeed, library budget reductions, community transfer and the develop- ment of public sector mutuals were all reported as reasons why volunteer roles have changed. However, libraries also displayed increasing clarity in what volunteers should be doing to support the service, demonstrating a desire to do what is best for library users.


Challenges


The key challenges that public libraries face when using volunteers (whatever their type) were generally related to their initial recruitment and ongoing manage- ment­and­supervision.­Paid­staff­often­ struggled­to­find­time­to­manage­the­large­ number of volunteers required to run services, particularly as volunteers tend to work­shorter­hours­than­paid­library­staff,­ further­exacerbated­by­cuts­in­paid­staff­ resulting in higher workloads and addi- tional responsibilities to juggle. Indeed, one library service noted that volunteer management has become a key part of the library manager role in their service.


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 41


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