Student+Volunteers

=Student Volunteers in the School Library= Without student volunteer workers, school libraries would likely find themselves in a difficult situation. In an age of shrinking staff and budgets, student volunteers can make a meaningful positive difference in the operation of a school library. However, there are difficulties when working with and utilizing student volunteers in the library, namely proper training, management, evaluation, and turnover.

The following resources speak specifically to these issues, and offer insight into the benefits, disadvantages, and general utilization of student volunteers in the school library.

The main take-aways listed within the paraprofessional and community volunteer sections carry over and apply to student volunteer situations, but unique considerations include:


 * different motivations than adults
 * privacy concerns between students
 * variety of tasks is critical to maintain interest
 * public recognition is more successful, the younger the volunteer

=Documents= Suellentrop, T. (2007). Step Right Up. // School Library Journal // v. 53 no. 12 (December 2007) p. 24

This article discusses the start-up of a student volunteer program in a school library, reasons for doing it, how to do it, and other details of managing the program and keeping it going.

O'Neill, C. (2010)  Pupil Librarians : The Pros and Cons of Volunteer Students in School Libraries. // The School Librarian // v. 58 no. 4 (Winter 2010) p. 201-2

As the title of the article suggests, you will find reflections from a school librarian who has built a student volunteer program to support library operations. General advice is given on operations and policies, along with examples of problems you might encounter in such a program.

Fullner, S. (2005). Library Foundlings. // Library Media Connection // v. 23 no. 4 (January 2005) p. 48-9

If you are operating an elementary or middle-school library then this article may be useful to you. You will find example jobs to create for the 'foundlings' who migrate into your library, and there is a suggested rewards program for the volunteers who choose to stay committed to servicing the library.

Miller, P. (2003). Shelve, Shelve, Shelve Those Books. //School Library Media Activities Monthly// 20 no2 31, 39 O. Retrieved from Education Full Text database.

This article refers to a middle-school situation and describes a VISA (Very Important Student Assistant) program. The focus of the information is intended to deal specifically with shelving print materials because, "like housework, shelving books is a never-ending job", but the methods could likely be adopted for many other tasks in the library.

Schipman, M. (2006). It's Cool to Work in the Library...Student Library Aides. //Library Media Connection//, //25//(3), 26-7. Retrieved from Education Full Text database.

Mavis Schipman describes the volunteer program she has developed and talks about which elements seem to be most attractive the the students who participate.

 Thelen, T. (2001). Volunteer Magic: Finding and Keeping Library Volunteers. //School Library Media Activities Monthly// 18 no3 22-5 N. Retrieved from Education Full Text database.

This article gives advice for recruiting, training, and rewarding volunteers involved in a school library. The focus includes student volunteers, but also considers parents, grandparents, and the possibility of drawing from a community volunteer corps.

=Website= [] This site offers an example of a student library volunteer training program. (from the University of Southern Alabama)