Volunteer at the Library

The Hub that serves the community so well wouldn’t be the same without our amazing, dedicated team of volunteers. They donate their time and expertise to our services and gain a lot in return. We offer training, opportunities to work in teams, run activities, work experience, skills in health and safety, you can gain a DBS check (which you can take to other employers) and much more. Our volunteers make the service what it is, but we are always looking for more.

 

Every volunteer undergoes an induction before starting at the library. Where they will be working with vulnerable groups, such as children or dependent adults, we request a DBS check, which we pay for. We also plan to offer a time-banking service. So you volunteer some of your skilled time and get something back in return.

 

If you wish to volunteer or have any further queries, please email our volunteer coordinator Anne Henderson at mancgeordie@hotmail.co.uk, or come in and visit us at the hub. We’re always looking for volunteers and very much look forward to having you on board! You’ll meet an amazing and supportive group of people, contribute towards and gain both employment and life skills.

 

FAQs

Our prospective volunteers often have a lot of questions they’d like to ask. We’ve compiled a list of the main ones below. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we’ll do our best to answer them.

← Volunteer at the Library

Volunteering

Do I need a CRB/DBS check to become a volunteer?

The use of DBS checks, which superseded CRB checks in 2013 and combined the Criminal Records Bureau and Disclosure and Barring Service checks into one check. Whether or not you need a DBS check and what level of check is required depends upon several factors, including the role you wish to engage in, the responsibility you will have with dependent persons, such as children and vulnerable adults, and also whether or not you wil work with dependent persons unsupervised. In some cases, we may need to renew your DBS check, but unlike the previous CRB checks, it is at the employers discretion as to whether personnel need a new check. Your volunteer coordinator will be able to advise further.

How many hours do I need to commit to?

We ask that our volunteers attempt to commit to one 3 hours every week or fortnight.

What roles can I volunteer for?

We have needs across the service such as face-to-face or customer facing roles; administration; co-running children’s story times; coordinating activities and supporting learning; IT support and facilitating the borrowing of books through the self-service machine. We are developing new services all the time and new roles come about which volunteers may find interesting or feel better suits their experience. Sometimes roles come about through suggestions from the volunteers themselves.

← Volunteer at the Library