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Revised and Re-adopted by the Louisville Public Library Board of Trustees,
November 17, 2004.
Definitions
A volunteer shall be considered as any individual, 16 years or older, who assists with work done at the Louisville Public Library, without remuneration. Exceptions to the age requirement may be made by the Library Director.
A student intern shall be considered as any middle school, high school or college student who performs volunteer work, without remuneration, as part of an authorized school program to earn academic credit. Individual Boy Scouts working on advanced awards are also classified as student interns.
Statement of Purpose
The Louisville Public Library shall use the services of volunteers to:
- Supplement the efforts of paid library staff in meeting demands for quality public service.
- Serve as a method for encouraging citizens to become familiar with their library and the services being offered.
- Staff or support fundraising activities sponsored by the Library Foundation.
Louisville Public Library shall make use of the services of interested volunteers to supplement and not replace the work done by library staff.
Recognition
Recognition is an important component of a volunteer program and is often the only way in which the Library can say "thank you" to a volunteer. Although individual, informal recognition of volunteers should be ongoing, it is important that volunteers be recognized formally as a group on a regular basis, at least annually. The Library staff and Library Board shall find ways of recognizing volunteers throughout the year.
General Provisions
Nothing in this policy shall be deemed to create a contract between the volunteer or intern and the Louisville Public Library or City of Louisville. Both the volunteer and the Louisville Public Library have the right to terminate the volunteer's association with the Library at any time, for any reason, with or without cause.
Neither the City of Louisville nor the Louisville Public Library will provide any medical, health, accident or worker's compensation benefits for any volunteer. Volunteers will not be eligible to receive any worker's compensation benefits for any injuries sustained while functioning as a volunteer.
Prior to engaging in any volunteer activity, each volunteer will be required to submit a City Volunteer Application form for volunteer work, and visit with a supervisory staff member. Upon approval of the City's Human Resources staff, the volunteer may be scheduled for training and work assignments.
Volunteers may be asked to work on projects that are supportive of staff efforts. Examples include: shelving books, returning books, processing new materials, storytelling, helping to prepare for programs, assisting with maintenance of the vertical files, discarding materials, maintenance of periodicals, public relations activities, et.al.
Hours of volunteer service will be determined by the supervisory staff member in discussion with the volunteer. Volunteers are expected to arrive at the library in time to begin work as scheduled or call the library if they will be absent. All volunteer work must be completed within normal library hours. Exceptions may be made by the Library Director.
Recruitment and Supervision of Volunteers
Volunteers will be sought through a variety of methods (newspaper announcement, in-library publicity, requests through volunteer coordination organizations), to meet specific as well as general project needs. Recruitment shall be the responsibility of the Library Director, with the assistance of the City of Louisville Human Resources Office.
Volunteers will work directly with library staff members to receive training and complete projects. All volunteers will be assigned one primary staff member to guide them in their work; however, staff members may offer guidance to any of the volunteers.
When appropriate and affordable, the Library Foundation may fund the cost of training for volunteers who have made a long-term commitment to the Library. Examples of appropriate training classes are: book mending classes at BCR, Junior Great Books leader training, and classes offered by CCLS.
There will be no formal evaluation process for volunteers.
Recruitment and Supervision of Student Interns
Student interns will be sought by the Adult and Youth Services supervisors through educational contacts in area schools and colleges. A job description will be tailored for each school program that may offer student interns. The job description must stress the value of the project for both student and Library. A representative of the school or college will usually be involved in developing the job description and outline of the project.
The professional staff member who shapes an individual project will be responsible for the training and supervision of the student intern. Interns can be very valuable to the Library, but the Library must also offer a genuine educational opportunity. Because much staff time will be required, each project must be carefully planned and approved by the Library Director before the intern is accepted. Participation in student internship programs shall be considered a privilege which may be revoked at any time by the Louisville Public Library or the student intern. All schedules will be worked out between the student intern and the supervising librarian and should not conflict with school schedules.
A method and schedule for evaluation will be agreed upon between the supervising librarian and the school or college representative before the student intern is accepted. The supervising librarian will follow this schedule and report student progress to the representative.
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