Courtesy of Library Friend and Volunteer Helen Lebowitz:
Did you know? There are two types of volunteers who are associated with the San Diego Public Libraries.
There are those who volunteer with the library and often are assigned functions by the Branch Manager. Tasks often have to do with the day-to-day running of the library such as shelving books, helping with Storytimes or crafts for the kids, mending books, to helping weed books such as removing non-circulating items from the shelves.
These volunteers are recognized as City Volunteers and go through a vetting process, which includes on-line training modules. In addition, in cases where they will be in contact with children, these volunteers undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks. They are not involved with money raising activities, although they save the city huge amounts of money by doing jobs the staff would have to do. Their volunteer hours are entered into an on-line tally sheet.
Library Friends, on the other hand, are a volunteer organization whose main purpose is to raise money to supplement the branch’s budget for programs, equipment and materials (books, etc.) The funds raised are matched by the Library Foundation at either 100% or 50%, depending on the fund to which they are submitted. The Friends usually do not interact on a day-to-day basis with library patrons, except at book sales. They pay a small membership fee and their hours are recorded separately, not on- line, and reported every six months to their “Umbrella” organization, the Corporate Friends.
Now, Friends may be Volunteers too, and Volunteers may be Friends, but hours are kept and reported separately. This is important because for many years this was all a very grey area which was just clarified by the City of San Diego last year.
For more information, visit the San Diego Public Library web page http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/ and click on the Volunteer button. Or stop by your local library and talk to the branch manager. At the University Community Library on Governor, talk with Melissa Martin.
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What do Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor, ImproveUC and UCCA have in common? They are all ways neighbors can connect with neighbors and the University City community. Create a post, start a conversation, share the news, organize an event, keep in touch, take a look:
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/universitycitycommunityassociation
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/UCCA_SD
- Nextdoor– https://nextdoor.com/sandiego/
- ImproveUC– http://improveuc.org/
- UCCA – https://www.universitycitynews.org/
