Carla Campbell Lehn - From Library Volunteer to Library Advocate

FROM LIBRARY VOLUNTEER TO LIBRARY ADVOCATE

Tapping into the Power of Community Engagement

Carla Campbell Lehn

Copyright 2018 by Carla Campbell Lehn

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lehn, Carla Campbell, author.

Title: From library volunteer to library advocate : tapping into the power of community engagement / Carla Campbell Lehn.

Description: Santa Barbara, California : Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018005115 (print) | LCCN 2018020676 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440856716 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440856709 (paperback : acid-free paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Volunteer workers in librariesUnited States. | Libraries and communityUnited States. | LibrariesPublic relationsUnited States.

Classification: LCC Z682.4.V64 (ebook) | LCC Z682.4.V64 L44 2018 (print) | DDC 021.20973dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005115

ISBN: 978-1-4408-5670-9 (paperback)

978-1-4408-5671-6 (ebook)

222120191812345

This book is also available as an eBook.

Libraries Unlimited

An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC

ABC-CLIO, LLC

130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911

Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911

www.abc-clio.com

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

Portions of this book are quoted and adapted with permission from: Volunteer Involvement in California Libraries: Best Practices, Carla Campbell Lehn. Sacramento, CA: California State Library, 1999. Available online at https://getinvolvedclearinghouse.org/resource/training-materials/volunteer-involvement-california-libraries-best-practices; Get Involved: Library Volunteer Program Improvement Model. Sacramento, CA: California State Library. Available online at https://getinvolvedclearinghouse.org/resource/training-materials/library-volunteer-program-improvement-model; Get Involved Initiative, Transforming Life after 50. Available online at transforminglifeafter50.org/innovators/get-involved-initiative; and Volunteer Engagement Course, Transforming Life after 50. Available online at transforminglifeafter50.org/tools-ideas/volunteers/volunteer-engagement-course.

Contents

Preface

WHY THIS COULD WORK FOR YOU: CALIFORNIAS EXPERIENCE

Get Involved: Powered by Your Library, a statewide volunteerism initiative of the California State Library, was unveiled in late 2008, during the worst recession since the Great Depression. The national economic disaster created a crisis for libraries, as it did for most public and not-for-profit organizationsless funding, fewer staff, and an increased demand for services.

Libraries were being asked to serve hundreds of new library users by accommodating people who could no longer afford Internet at home; assisting job seekersmany of whom had never touched a mouse beforeapply for a job online; and circulating many more books, DVDs, and other materials that were no longer able to be accommodated in the household budgets of many community members.

The Get Involved initiative trained libraries in new approaches to volunteer engagement, including skilled volunteerism, and how to add online sources to a mix of volunteer recruitment strategies through a partnership with VolunteerMatch.org.

Californias Get Involved initiative was designed to:

• Raise public library awareness about the benefits of volunteer engagementan updated approach from the traditional volunteer management model.
• Assist public libraries in recruiting and engaging high-skilled volunteers.
• Build public library capacity to engage more volunteers, and through this process, develop more library supporters and advocates.
• Position public libraries as centers for civic engagement.

Through the Get Involved initiative, a growing resource has been brought to the library tablehigh-skilled, high-impact volunteers. Although volunteers can never replace the work of library staff, engagement of more and higher skilled volunteers has aided libraries in enhancing or expanding services to meet user needs. Libraries have successfully recruited for a multitude of skilled volunteer positions including event planner, photographer, graphic designer, homework club coordinator, and public relations specialist, to name a few.

In the first five years of the Get Involved initiative, Californias libraries experienced a 52 percent increase in volunteers as measured by the annual statewide library survey and found that 79 percent of these new volunteers were volunteering for a library for the very first time. Both of those statistics were encouraging as they pointed to the fact that new community members were being attracted to the library.

But increasing numbers wasnt the only goal of the initiativewe were also interested in seeing if volunteering for the library could be viewed as a gateway for increased connection to the library.

More than 500 California library volunteers recruited through the Get Involved initiative between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2016, returned surveys and reported the following when asked how their volunteer experience led to other forms of library support:

• Sixty-six percent had told friends about what the library has to offer.
• Thirty-four percent had introduced friends to volunteer opportunities at the library.
• Seven percent gave money to support the library, and 5 percent asked friends to give.
• Six percent attended a meeting or rally in support of the library.
• Eight percent individually spoke to one or more local decision makers on behalf of the library.

Looking at the data it was evident that if 76 percent of these new volunteers had never volunteered for a library before, and 66 percent of them were out talking to their friends about what the library had to offer, we are already reaching a huge group of people with information about the library beyond those we were able to reach before. And even though asking them to give money to the library, or asking others to do so, was not part of our volunteer engagement initiative, a significant number of volunteers were naturally so inclined.

The survey also contained open-ended questions. Included below are two of them, with just a sampling of volunteer responses:

Is there something you learned about libraries that surprised you?

• I am amazed at the vast programs the library offers to the public free of charge. This library is no longer a place just to pick out a book, but a place for early childhood enrichment, school age programs, travel, and literature lectures, etc.
• They offer so many useful, and free, services for the community that more people should take advantage of.

How has your experience volunteering in a library helped you understand the changing role of libraries in the community?

• Libraries have kept up with technology and yet still have resources available for those who are not tech savvy.
• Theyre really more than what most people think a library is. Its a community center or even a technology center, and they serve so many people with, sometimes, very little resources.