Hot Topics Archive | Get Involved! Resource Clearinghouse

Month	Topic	Update
2nd Hot Topic For July 2020	Re-Opening the Library to Volunteers During COVID-19	COVID Safety Training – Boulder CO Volunteer Safety Precautions – Indianapolis PL, IN Volunteer General Safety Guidelines – Cedar Rapids IA REALM Research Project (Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums) Home Delivery Volunteer Safety Requirements Sign-Off Sheet – Boulder CO Changes to “Holds Hunter” Volunteer Process during COVID-19 – Cedar Rapids IA Book Drop Helper and Sorter Volunteer Job Description – Boulder CO Book Drop Helper and Sorter Training Powerpoint – Boulder CO Book Drop Helper and Sorter Training Video #1 – Boulder CO Book Drop Helper and Sorter Training Video #2 – Boulder CO *NOTE: We have added a COVID-19 tag to the Get Involved Clearinghouse – if you just want an overview of what’s specifically here on that topic, type COVID-19 into the search box above.
Hot Topic for July 2020	Diverse and Inclusive Volunteer Engagement	Fighting Racism Through Diverse and Inclusive Volunteer Engagement Programming (Part 1 of 2) Fighting Racism Through Diverse and Inclusive Volunteer Engagement Programming (Part 2 of 2) Recognizing Racism in Volunteer Engagement Systemic Exclusion in Volunteer Engagement Engagement as a Path to Inclusion and Justice Talking racial equity? Make sure you understand these 17 words Why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matter for Nonprofits Racial Equity and Inclusion Resources for Volunteer Engagement Leaders
Hot Topic for June 2020	Engage Virtual Volunteers While We Shelter in Place – TEEN EDITION	Austin Public Library Teen Virtual Volunteer Program When the Austin Public Library closed for the corona virus there was concern about the need to keep staff busy during telework, so Stephanie designed teen volunteer assignments to function more like a teen program that would create supervision opportunities for staff. Here are the virtual volunteer positions she created for teens: Video Content Creators - and bonus Planning Template for Teen Craft and Gaming Videos – Bibliocommons Book Reviewers Distance Puppeteers World Language Info Guide Art and Lit Mag (loosely based on this: https://www.jocolibrary.org/teens/elementia More Teen Ideas: Boulder Teen Summer Volunteer Roles During COVID-19 Woodland QuaranTEEN Book Reviews
2nd Hot Topic For May 2020	Engage Virtual Volunteers While We Shelter in Place - Part 3	Many thanks to our library friends around the country who are sharing their COVID-19 plans and materials! Sample Volunteer Re-Engagement Surveys: Assessing Volunteers’ Interest in Returning After Shelter in Place Assess HomeBound Delivery Volunteers’ Interest in Continuing after COVID19 Program Changes in Place Ideas for Summer and Re-Opening Volunteer Roles: Teen Summer Volunteer Roles During COVID-19 Book Drop Helper and Sorter Volunteer Job Description
Hot Topic for May 2020	Engage Virtual Volunteers While We Shelter in Place - Part 2	Here are some more ideas for keeping current volunteers engaged and/or expanding services: Queens Public Library Social Media Ambassadors Austin Public Library Social Media Ambassadors Queens Public Library Covid19 Oral Histories Project Virtual Volunteering Opportunities – San Jose Public Library And some current volunteer job descriptions could be amended to describe service provided on an online platform: Job Center Volunteer – Chandler Public Library AZ Job Center Coach, Sacramento Public Library Homework Coach – San Jose Public Library EBooks Coach – Huntington Beach Public Library ESL Conversation Club Facilitator – San Jose Public Library Please consider sharing your materials at the link below to be added to the Clearinghouse to keep others from having to re-invent the wheel!
Hot Topic for April 2020	Engage Virtual Volunteers While We Shelter in Place	Need to find ways to keep your current volunteers engaged? Or just need different kinds of help during this uncertain time? Consider Virtual Volunteers – they do work for you from home! Could you use a graphic designer, researcher, writer, translator, proofreader, or video editor? Those opportunities can be posted on VolunteerMatch and marked “virtual” rather than “one location.” VolunteerMatch has also added to each volunteer opportunity posting a chance for you to answer this question: “Is this opportunity helping your organization respond to the COVID-19 crisis?” When you answer yes, your posting will get visibility in additional ways. Here are some more resources to get you started: Never a Better time to Explore Virtual Volunteering than NOW How to Tap Into the Power of Virtual Volunteers VolunteerMatch Covid-19 Hub Virtual Volunteer Success Story – Brownwood Texas Spanish Language Virtual Document Translator Job Description - Salinas CA Social Media Specialist Job Description – CA State Library 4 minute interview California State Library Virtual Volunteer – Social Media Specialist
What’s New for March 2020	New Resources	How to Find a Volunteer Management System that Actually Meets Your Needs 14 Volunteer Interview Questions The Volunteer Perspective – Industry Insights 2019
What's New for February 2020	Online Book Sales	The Mesa Public Library in Arizona has an amazing online booksale operation. In Fall 2019 we had the opportunity to tour it, and talk to staff and volunteers. Many thanks to Janice Dell, CVA, Mesa's Volunteer Coordinator who welcomed us and shared her materials, and to Jeffrey Stoffer, Mesa's THINKspot Librarian, who created the video. This 10 minute video will give you an idea about how it works and how you might get started. Online Book Sale Volunteer Job Description And a series of 3 parts of their training for the project: #1: Bookbinding Styles #2: Parts of a Book #3: Assessing the Condition of a Book
What's New for January 2020	New Resources	Five Survey Templates to Measure Volunteer and Board Satisfaction The essential guide to managing volunteers at your nonprofit Beware of these 6 trends lurking in your volunteer program Volunteer Management: How to Get It Right
What's New for December 2019	New Resources	Archived Webinar November 20 VolunteerMatch “Tour” New Volunteer Job Descriptions Creation Station Coordinator – Show Low AZ Library Assistant – Show Low AZ Computer Coach – Show Low AZ Also New This Month: New Maker Space Photos
Hot Topic for November 2019	Archived Webinars	Writing Accurate & Useful Volunteer Position Descriptions - March 2020 Connecting with Today’s Volunteers to Transform the Friends of the Library - September 2019 Revitalizing Library Volunteer Engagement - 2018 Successfully Managing Library Volunteer Program Changes - August 2018
What's New for October 2019	New Resources	Do’s & Don’ts of Supervising Library Volunteers Adult Volunteer Application – Huntington Beach Volunteer Handbook – Pacific Grove Beyond Retention: How to get better data to inform your volunteer engagement strategy
What's New for September 2019	Recognition, Part 2	Don't Just Recognize Volunteers, Invest in Them . . . and in Yourself Volunteer Recognition: Matching Motivation to Rewards When Recognition Hurts Recruitment (and what we might do about it) Recognizing Online Volunteers and Using the Internet to Honor ALL Volunteers
What's New for August 2019	New Resources	Skills Based Volunteering ToolKit Building Capacity Through Volunteer Leadership Want to Write a Volunteer Program Annual Report? Here’s How to Start Why Should We Pay Attention to Volunteering Trends CRM Integration
What's New for July 2019	Recognition	Rethinking Volunteer Recognition Volunteer Appreciation Guide Volunteer Recognition: Just Say No to Years of Service Awards 3 Ways to Recognize Volunteers Recognizing Volunteers in 2017 Celebrate Collective Accomplishments, Not Volunteered Time
What's New for June 2019	New Tools Shared by Libraries	Many thanks to these libraries who recently shared materials for us to share with you! Please send us yours in the “Share Your Materials” box below. Social Media Coordinator Volunteer Job Desc -- Salinas CA Spanish Language Virtual Document Translator – Salinas CA List of Volunteer Job Descriptions – Corona CA Volunteer Guidelines – Austin TX
What's New for May 2019	Return on Investment (ROI)	California's Get Involved Regional Leaders develop networking and training events for library volunteer engagement coordinators in their regions across the state. They decided a tool was needed for library volunteer programs to determine their Return on Investment, and then share that data both internally and externally in the form of an attractive but brief infographic that could also be used as a program's annual report. They developed this ROI worksheet to be used by individual libraries to create the data for the infographic, and included sample infographics. Feel free to download and use this worksheet for yourself, and if you're interested in using one of the infographics, there are 3 templates with minor variations that can be found for your use here: Infographic Template #1 Infographic Template #2 Infographic Template #3 And 3 different library examples using the templates here: Example A Example B Example C
What's New for April 2019	Millennial Volunteers	Three Things We Know About Engaging Millenials in Your Cause Millenials and Volunteering: Bridging the Generation Gap
What's New for March 2019	New Resources	NOTE: Please share your materials - volunteer job descriptions, handbooks, policies & training materials - with us for the Clearinghouse. Just click on "Suggest a Resource." Position Descriptions Genealogy Group Facilitator - Texas Circulation Assistant – Texas Volunteer Technology Coach – Texas Training Materials Shelving with Dewey - Illinois Recruitment Success Story – Flagstaff, Arizona Buckeye Arizona Library’s Experience with Get Involved
What's New for February 2019	Handling Common Problems	Can We Reject a Volunteer? You Can’t Fire Me, I’m a Volunteer! Controlling Complaint Conversations