Senior Volunteer at Public Library

by Julie N.
(CA)

I volunteered at at the main branch of a public library in a major city. My schedule was flexible but I usually worked at least two days a week from 10:00-2:00pm.

My duties were to assist the librarians in the Art and Music Department. This consisted of anything from locating books on the reference shelves to assisting with catalog management.

The positive part of this job was being able to learn how major public libraries work and to see how people use the library.

The negative experiences were many, I'm sad to say. I never felt as if I were part of a "team" but was always treated as at best an outsider, at worse as a non-entity. I observed quite a few areas that I thought could benefit from some changes but I was never asked my opinions nor ever invited to any staff meetings, etc. which could have provided a forum for sharing my thoughts.

I eventually quit the position and am now looking for another volunteer position where I can feel valued and part of the team.