The Eugene Downtown Library Volunteer Program

In 2013 at least 600 volunteers worked at the Eugene Downtown Library. They contributed approximately 27,000 hours between the library, the Friends of the Eugene Public Library (FEPL) and the Eugene Public Library Foundation (EPLF).

“Their role allows us to do more,” library manager LaVena Nohrenberg said.

The FEPL is a non-profit organization that runs a bookstore of donated books on the first floor of the library and holds an annual book sale to raise funds for the library. They donate $100,000 a year to the library from the proceeds. The EPLF is a non-profit organization that holds fundraisers, distributes traditional appeal letters, seeks endowments and applies for grants to raise funds for the library. They donate $200,000 a year to the library. Both of these organizations’ contributions are vital to the library, Nohrenberg said.

LaVena Nohrenberg, Library Manager

Barbara Olson, Assistant

 

Nohrenberg said that there isn’t really a way for the library to make a connection between the contribution and dollar value of their volunteers’ time. They utilize volunteers to staff activities and programs that are added to the already functioning structure of the library as it is funded by their city budget. She said if the volunteers did not contribute their time, activities and programs that they run would simply not exist. When the staff has a program or activity that they want to add, they staff it with volunteers. If the volunteer is absent, then the service is not provided that day. This rarely happens because their volunteers are amazingly dedicated to being present and serving the time they have committed to, she said.

According to www.independentsector.org, in 2011 the worth of an hour of volunteer contribution in Oregon was $19.33. This is another way to look at the monetary value of what volunteers in Oregon contribute if volunteers were utilized to fill in holes in services. But the library doesn’t use them in this way.

Volunteers staff many programs at the library, Nohrenberg said. Three examples are the Information Desk, the Technical Services Department (TSD) and Hold Services.

The information desk is fully staffed by volunteers; if the person doesn’t show up, the desk goes unstaffed for that period of time. Paid staff does not fill in for programs staffed by volunteers.

The TSD utilizes 40 volunteers who are supervised by Barbara Olson. They provide many services including processing new books, retagging older books, resurfacing DVDs and CDs, unpacking new materials, and coding any items available for check-out.

Hold Services processes all requests from patrons to hold materials for checking out. This includes requests over the phone, online and in person. Once the request is processed, the item is pulled off the shelf. Then it is entered into the computer system and placed in the holding area for pick-up. If not for volunteers, none of these services would be available. The library staff value volunteer contribution because they make it possible for the library to offer more to the community, Nohrenberg said.

The library volunteers range in age from 14 to 98 and from all walks of life. Even middle school students can volunteer through the Teen Team program. Olson said they celebrated the 98^th birthday of one of their volunteers this year. She said that all ages of volunteers work together seamlessly, and it’s one of the best places to work because no matter how different they are, everyone gets along.

“Everything we do here impacts the whole city of Eugene because all of those people come to the library wanting our DVDs, wanting our books, and we make it happen in a timely manner; it’s out on the shelves for them and we love doing it,” Olson said.

The library processes approximately three million items checked out a year, and volunteers handle them all.

The difference between supervising paid employees (as Olson has in former positions) and volunteers, lie in the motivations of the employees, she said. Paid employees are primarily motivated by their paycheck and benefits. Volunteers are primarily motivated by their desire to contribute their time to the community.  They want to be there, they can walk away, Olson said, but volunteers are very dedicated and come back every week.  She’s in charge of training them after their orientation and feels strongly that since they come back every week, they need to be well trained.

“We invest a lot of time in training and making sure that things are done right so that the ultimate product gets out to the patrons and they (volunteers) come back every week and replicate what we’ve trained them on,” she said.

Library volunteer coordinator Laura Philips hires the volunteers, conducts their two-hour orientation and decides where they could best serve in the library. The volunteers that are chosen for the TSD are brought to Olson who puts them through specific training for the position they will fill. This training takes approximately two more hours.

Olson said that the 40 volunteers she supervises-each working about two hours a week-are equal to 80 hours of work or two paid staff people. She’s been working at this position for 10 years, 17 years total for the library.

She has respect for her volunteers and the work they provide, Olson said. It’s so important to keep it interesting for them since many of their tasks are mundane. The ongoing training that keeps them up-to-date on recent technologies and procedures keeps the volunteers interested, she said.

“I love it; I tell everybody shhh, don’t tell anybody it’s the best job in the city,” Olson said.

Volunteers at the Eugene Downtown Library

By Stella Clarkson

Barbara Olson says she couldn’t do her job without volunteers. She supervises 40 of the 600 volunteers at the Eugene Downtown Library. The volunteers enrich the library and the city of Eugene, she said. They make it possible for the library to offer the community more services.

Gary Smith, 73, finds volunteering extremely satisfying. After retiring from the University of Oregon as the assistant director of printing, Smith thought, “Oh crap, how am I going to fill my time?”

Smith has contributed years volunteering at the library, finding the work that provides structure to his week valuable.

Volunteers save the library money, Smith said. Their contribution increases the hours of operation, the purchase of more books, and frees up the paid staff to offer more services to the patrons.

The library’s paid staff performs more technical tasks, Smith said, while volunteers perform more menial tasks.

Smith works in the library’s Technical Services Department (TSD) processing new books that have arrived from the publisher. He carefully tapes on the bar codes, Dewey codes and radio frequency ID tags (RFID). He applies clear book tape to the edges of the covers of books that will become particularly worn, like the graphic novels or other books in the juvenile department.

Sue Peterson, 78, also works in the TSD putting stickers on DVDs and CDs. She said volunteering at the library gave shape to her life after she retired. She has volunteered for over 11 years.

Library computers scan the RFID tags to identify whether the book/item is in a patron’s record as having been checked in or out. The tags trip the receiver in the scanner as they pass over it, making a buzzing sound to alert when an item that shouldn’t be taken out of the library is going through the doors. These are the stickers that volunteers like Smith and Peterson apply to the items processed through the TSD.

Volunteers staff programs like the library’s story-time, which impacts 100s of children yearly, Nohrenberg said. This program takes story-time to children who can’t come to the library. Programs where children are read to are critical to a child’s development of literary skills. Specially trained library volunteers make this possible, she said.

Volunteers are asked to commit to six months, but the story-time program requires a year. Although volunteers can walk away whenever they choose, Nohrenberg said they rarely do. They’re serious about they’re commitment to the library because they want to be of service. She said the experience on both sides is very positive.