You know your volunteers do valuable work -- but how do you know which of their results will be most compelling to the decision makers in your communities? In this one-hour webinar, Jennifer Rackow (JFFixler Group) outlines the kinds of results to look for, questions you can ask to uncover them, and considerations about who tells these stories about your library's investment in volunteer engagement.

This section of "The Community Toolbox" will help you think through and design your organizational orientation for volunteers.

Developed by the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration to guide volunteer program coordinators during the recession in how to work with folks who are seeking volunteer opportunities while they look for work.

ESL Conversation Club Kit. Developed by the San Jose Public Library, this “kit” is available for volunteer facilitators to use each time they come to facilitate a group. A great list of materials you might want to prepare too!

Do our Present Volunteers Require Annual Banqueting? Maybe some do, but not as many as some seem to think. Among myriad motivation studies I have seen, none gives as a reason people volunteer in the first place or continue to do so, "the prospect of formal recognition." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard of just about every incentive except this. Extrinsically motivated volunteers do need rewards beyond the work itself-- pins, buttons, badges, public praise, etc.

San Jose Public Library requires volunteers age 18 and over who work directly with children be fingerprinted. This is their procedures document for implementing that policy.

Need a format for setting goals and developing action plans for your program? Here's a template from VolunteerMatch.

This document contains a signature line for the volunteer to sign saying they understand appropriate behaviors when working with children at the library.

Brochure used by the Orange Public Library to recruit both volunteers and patrons in need of the home delivery service.

The Torrance Public Library Homework Help program seeks the following outcomes: Students will be better prepared for exams and achieve better grades, children will be less frustrated with their homework, and parents will regard the Library more favorably and consider it a component of their child's education.