The recruitment process started in March, when we put the posters out in the library and undertook informal interviews. Each new volunteer that we accepted needed to either fill in a CRB form, or provide parental consent, and sign an agreement. They then had to come in for one of three hour long training sessions before the SRC was launched in mid-July. It was at this point that the 5 volunteers failed to make contact to tell me they were dropping out. I tried ringing and emailing but was only able to speak to one 16 year old girl and was informed by the mother of another. During each training session, each volunteer was talked through and given a pack that included: A step-by-step guide to how the SRC is run in Wiltshire A guide to safeguarding children with FAQs A list of books that they could recommend Contacts They were also introduced to staff and given a tour of library and stock In addition to this training, volunteers were supervised when they first began, to ensure they felt confident to do it on their own. They were always encouraged to ask for help at anytime no matter how small the query.
Example - Just read bold bits
Document 2 Poster for SRC volunteers
A Criminal Bureau Record check - essential (will be sorted out if appointed) Applications will be accepted from younger applicants (15+) as well as adults Commitment : Will vary in each library - to be agreed with Librarian At least one 3 hour session per week, morning or afternoon, for 6 weeks (or the equivalent) i.e. minimum of 16 hours commitment This may include some Saturdays and other busy times e.g. lunchtimes Length of Opportunity : The Summer Reading Challenge 2011 runs from 16 July to 3 September 2011 (7 weeks), so volunteers would be needed throughout this period (specific times to be agreed with the Librarian) Expenses : n/a Selection process: Depending on the number of suitable applicants we may have to restrict the number of placements we can offer in individual libraries Training : Training to be arranged and provided locally – session to cover the purpose of the Reading Challenge, Children’s If interested: Please ask a member of staff for an application form Closing date 30 April 2011
Risk assessment
You are not expected to do a formal interview like we do for staff, but there are certain areas you will need to cover. Depending on who the potential volunteer is (e.g. a teacher or full time mum) you may need to ask more questions/probe deeper. You will need to cover the following questions. Question 2 Likes and is empathetic with children (aged 4-11) Ask them what are the important qualities for working with CYP, we are looking for someone who: Is friendly and patient Is good at verbally communicating with children and their accompanying family and friends At the end of the session you may wish to “appoint” straight away or consider your options, especially if you are seeing a number of volunteers, tell them when you will be in touch.
listening to children talk about the books they have read Encouraging children in their reading - to complete the challenge (we prefer to approach this through fun and enthusiasm rather than too serious or school-like) Encouraging children to explore new and different reading choices – key message - children don’t have to read one type of book Giving out stickers and other incentives and registering children for the challenge- the mechanics Ask how they feel about dealing with difficult people? Have they had to do this before? What did they do? What would they do if it happened in the library? Give them possible (though unlikely) scenarios e.g. an adult library user who complained about the noise made by children or a parent who is complaining about some aspect of the challenge. Go through how to deal with – being polite, listening and referring to a member of staff. Talk about when they are going to be available. We are looking for commitment of ideally at least 16 hours ideally – this can be over a number of sessions – to be agreed between you and them Talk about what they can expect from us: Training to be arranged locally (or possibly in another library) – approx 1 hour session to cover the purpose of the Reading Challenge, Children’s Library Services generally and overview of Children’s Books currently available. Regular supervision – will be someone designated to supervise/support them Will be observed closely initially If we feel they are not suitable after being observed, they will be asked to leave Talk about what we expect from them Reliability – let us know asap if they wish to stop volunteering or can’t make agreed sessions They will be seen as a member of staff – it is important that the image to customers is a positive one e.g. if it is not busy - bring something to read/to do/look professional/busy or ask supervisor for something to do They will need to have a CRB check (if 16 or older and if not had one in last 3 years with Wiltshire Council), explain what this means if they don’t have one.
We also have descriptions and do this for different age groups
Timetabling I created a very basic timetable that broke into two-hour slots, from opening time until we closed each day for the six weeks that the scheme ran. This was kept in a folder with the SRC box, which contained bookmarks, stickers, membership cards etc. All volunteers were told verbally and in their guides, that our busiest times were on Monday mornings, and each day between 12-2. We encouraged at least 2 people to sign up for each shift and to let us know if they would be unable to come in.
Chippenham is a busy library and staff would have been unable to cope with the volume of children taking part in the challenge without the help of the volunteers. Under staff supervision the volunteers were responsible for registering children taking part in the challenge, listening to their book reviews and giving them their rewards.
Library staff regularly checked on volunteers and made sure that they felt supported. This gave us regular feedback on what was and wasn’t working. At the end of the summer, each volunteer was also given an evaluation form and told they could fill it in anonymously.
The register did not accurately credit children for the books that they had read. This is important for the children’s self-esteem and because their results were fed back to schools to be celebrated in assemblies. With so many volunteers, close monitoring of individual work was not possible. The time it took to remedy these mistakes equated to roughly 7 hours on the phone to clarify information. This contact revealed and remedied 40% of mistakes on the register. As well as listening to the children talk about the books, providing the incentives, and logging the books on the register, we asked them to create a star display for children who had read 2, 4 and 6 books.
Put a greater focus on choosing volunteers with good people skills Being realistic and clear about what volunteers are signing up for, about how much time they are expected to commit to and ensuring the importance of turning up regularly and on time Emphasising the importance of accurately recording information Communicate reality of consequences to the child if errors are made (e.g. missing a child out in assembly) Clearly communicate that either party can end the volunteer opportunity at any time
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