Thing 22 - Volunteering

I have volunteered in the past to get the necessary library experience before I applied to go to library school. I tried to apply for library jobs but was unsuccessful as I didn't have any relevant experience so voluntary work was the other alternative. It was quite hard finding a voluntary placement at the time and I ended up writing to several libraries in the East Midlands before I was offered an initial 6 week placement with Gedling Libraries. This gave me a good insight into not only the role of the Community Librarian but also experience across the board - from working on a busy reference desk/local history area at Arnold Library to general library duties (I had no experience whatsoever in the library so everything was a plus). I continued to volunteer at Carlton Library on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings which benefitted everybody as not only did I gain additional experience, there was an extra pair of hands helping at the busy Saturday morning counter and my quick typing skills meant that I gained the job of typing out the overdues on Tuesday evenings (it was pre-computer days).

I think this stood me in good step to gain a bursary, in addition to having a good degree. I also think I may have struggled with some aspects of the course if I hadn't done the voluntary work and not seen some of the library work in practice.

I also did voluntary work again after I finished my course to try and boost my experience as I found that I still didn't really have enough experience to get a library job straight away. This time, it was Mencap and Dial (UK). I think this experience helped me to get the job at the RNIB rather than my paid work at the FE Colleges.

I have also put on my list of things to do a small stint of volunteering next year ie perhaps 1 day a week for a month, particularly if I have enough holidays saved up to use. It's something that I'm going to look into and see what options are available as it's a way of developing new skills, making new contacts and also just getting a chance to work in a different library sector. I will certainly volunteer again if I'm made redundant from my current post.

Volunteering should be something that benefits both parties, unfortunately I've seen people being made redundant and then a few months later, volunteers are doing that same work. It's that abuse that gives volunteers (and also temporary staff) a bad name.