From Management to Engagement: Skilled Volunteers in Public Libraries

Engaging volunteers on-demand imageWe often hear about "skilled volunteerism" but what does it mean and how can it help to build capacity in your library? How do you plan for and recruit skilled volunteers? What changes might you need to make to your traditional volunteer services to be successful with skilled volunteers?

During this on-demand webinar, you'll hear from libraries who have been participating in the "Get Involved: Powered by Your Library" volunteerism initiative. Learn about their successes and how to plan your next move.

This archived webinar was originally presented July 22, 2015.

Running time: 58 minutes

Takeaways

At the conclusion of this on-demand webinar, participants will:

  • Understand why they need to move from traditional volunteer management to volunteer engagement;
  • Know how to plan for and find skilled volunteers to expand library capacity; and
  • Be able to articulate the seven success elements for volunteer engagement programs.

Who Should Attend

All public library staff.

Instructors

Carla LehnCarla Lehn began her career as a VISTA Volunteer. As library programs consultant for the California State Library, Carla assists libraries with volunteer, board, and community development issues. In addition to her role with California’s volunteer-based Library Literacy Service, Carla leads the statewide volunteerism initiative “Get Involved: Powered by Your Library.” The project’s dual purpose is to recruit high impact volunteers to share their skills, and through those relationships, engage them as strong library supporters. Carla has authored several published articles on volunteerism, as well as the California State Library’s book Volunteer Involvement in California Libraries: Best Practices. She recently contributed a chapter called “Leading Big Volunteer Operations” for the book Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights Changing the World.

Joan YoungJoan Young is the analyst of volunteer services at the San Jose (Calif.) Public Library where she leads the library’s volunteerism efforts. Joan has been a key player in California’s “Get Involved: Powered by Your Library” initiative and serves as a regional network leader and part of the training team for the project.

Amy CampbellAmy Campbell is a reference librarian at the Marshall Public Library in Pocatello, Idaho. She has a keen eye for ways to engage volunteers and has been a key player in a four state effort to design scalable approaches to the “Get Involved: Powered by Your Library” initiative for other states.

 

Registration

Cost

As ALA transitions to a new, centralized eLearning site, PLA’s on-demand webinars are temporarily unavailable for purchase. If you’d like to purchase access to an on-demand webinar, please contact PLA at plawebinars@ala.org and we will follow up with you when these products are available on the new eLearning site. However, many of PLA’s on-demand webinars are free, each denoted with a green “Free!” icon below the title.

How to Register

Please note: As ALA transitions to a new, centralized eLearning site, this on-demand webinar is temporarily unavailable for purchase. If you’d like to purchase access to this on-demand webinar, please contact PLA at plawebinars@ala.org and we will follow up with you when this product is available on the new eLearning site.

Tech Requirements

To playback this on-demand webinar you should have either the latest version of Flash running on your computer, or use a browser with native HTML5 support. Please use the most up-to-date version available of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer. A fast Internet connection and computer is recommended.

We suggest that groups, especially larger groups, plan ahead to use an LCD/LED projector in the room to project the webinar recording. Groups will also want to have speakers capable of amplifying the webinar audio for the entire room.

Credits or CEUs

PLA does not award credit hours, or CEUs, for its on-demand webinars and cannot verify participation.

Contact

If you have questions or problems accessing a recording, send a message to plawebinars@ala.org, or call 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA.