It takes a lot of time to recruit, induct, train­and­organise­a­volunteering­effort.­ Volunteers­were­also­mooted­as­a­difficult­ resource to control, due to their very nature, possessing strong views about the roles they should be undertaking, being unavailable when required by the service, and dropping out due to fatigue after sev- eral years of service. Active management required time, and also communication to ensure that volunteers felt appreciated and rewarded, and to keep them in line with service priorities.


Recruitment Recruitment was suggested as a key challenge when working with volunteers, particularly as some library services report- ed that the pool of volunteers had shrunk, particularly since Covid, and the cost-of- living­crisis.­Retention­was­also­identified­ as a key challenge, requiring active volunteer management. In addition, paid­staff­hostility­to­volunteers­was­still­ evident in some cases, particularly where volunteers were taking on roles that had­previously­been­done­by­such­staff,­ although this was not the case for some library services. Objective setting for the library service was also challenging with a volunteer resource that was transient, as was building relationships, particularly when dealing with third party organisa- tions requiring close working, where the skill-set of volunteers from a third-party organisation might not match that of the library and volunteers based there.


Solutions Library services used a variety of tools and techniques to mitigate these challenges. Three quarters of respondents used communication, together with formal recruitment and selection of volunteers, and their subsequent training and develop- ment.­Partnership­working­between­staff­ and volunteers was encouraged, as was the importance of volunteers adopting a professional approach.


The idea of volunteer relationship man- agement involving the active development of relationships between all stakeholders to develop trust and commitment was also a key tool used by over two thirds of library services. But also creating a mutu- ally­beneficial­relationship­was­crucial. Less popular techniques and tools included the use of active volunteer management policies, contracts or agree- ments for volunteers, intangible rewards, technology, shared spaces, and a customer focus. Least used tools and techniques were team-building and using a third sector organisation to recruit and train volunteers.


Tech and other ideas


Technology was reported as having a role to play in facilitating the volunteering effort,­for­example,­volunteering­portals­


42 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


mitigate the challenges and ensure a­­mutually­beneficial­relationship­ between­volunteers,­paid­staff­and­the­ library service, and include:


l communication; l formal recruitment and selection;


l adopting clear procedures for training and development;


l partnership working; l encouraging professionalism;


l And using volunteer relationship management strategies.


There were also a number of exam- ples of best practice in other aspects of volunteering like growing and developing volunteer roles to suit library service user requirements. This included roles like dig- ital support and training, books at home delivery, and reader support. Library services felt that these have helped to grow the diversity of library users and enhanced community engagement.


can help grow volunteering, in addition micro volunteering both face-to-face and online helps to provide a link to groups who may not be currently volunteering and provides ‘hooks’ that attach people to the library volunteering community. One library service considered their use of a new volunteering portal as a major factor in helping volunteering numbers grow, using the idea of micro-volunteer- ing, whereby people could sign up and get involved­with­specific­projects­face-to-face­ and online. Indeed, digital volunteering had been a strategy used by library services for maintaining involvement during the pandemic, coupled with the use of volun- teer relationship management actions such as keeping in touch with volunteers through well-being phone calls during the lock- downs, and regular email contact providing additional support where required. An increase in advertising also helped to boost volunteer numbers, and it was reported­that­different­types­of­people­ were also considering volunteering rather than just retired people. Advertising to a broader base of people to grow volunteers from outside who normally volunteer is really important. Paid­staff­such­as­a­volunteering­officer­ can also help to grow and manage the volunteering­effort­in­a­library­service.­The­ recruitment­of­a­volunteering­officer­made­ a­real­difference­for­one­library­service­ surveyed.


Sharing best practice


Volunteers are still a contentious issue for some libraries that were surveyed, par- ticularly­when­they­replace­paid­staff,­and­ require careful management. Tools and techniques can serve to


Another best practice is the use of value-added volunteers to preserve the core functions in a public library. They can provide enhancements to the service­offer­through­application­of­their­ new skills and experiences. This was in addition to enabling the ‘nice extras’ that help to diversify and develop the service like gardening, computing skills. Volun- teers have the potential to enrich services where­paid­staff­lack­the­necessary­skills,­ and­allow­paid­staff­to­focus­on­service­ priorities and user engagement. Friends of library groups also provide important advocacy and access to addi- tional funding, acting as important allies and democratising the library service by bringing in new ideas and perspectives. They also provide a point of contact where­library­branches­are­unstaffed. Sharing buildings run by third sector organisations may help to maintain a physical library service, and results in enhancement of a community-based approach. It can also allow vulnerable volunteer groups to be supported by the third sector organisation to take part. Finally, use of technology to support


and­develop­the­volunteering­effort­is­ worth considering, use of a volunteering portal can help grow micro volunteer- ing, involve hard to reach groups, and act as the ‘hooks’ that attach people to the library volunteering community. However, strategies for successful vol- unteer use are partly dependent on the library service involved, so the size and arrangement of the service and its loca- tion are all key factors in determining what type of hybrid model works, and with a third of library services reporting that a hybrid model of library provision was the norm for them it is very much something that we cannot ignore. IP


June 2023


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