When students walk into the library, oftentimes, the people manning the front desk are not librarians but peers. These volunteers don’t just check out books, they also answer questions, shelve books and come up with ideas for library events.
Library volunteering is an application-based program for students to help the librarians during their free blocks. From laminating books to organizing reading challenges, student volunteers help the library remain organized and welcoming.
Junior volunteer Jieling Pua said that student volunteers manage the library so the librarians can focus on other responsibilities.
“It’s a really big space for just three adults to take care of, especially when they’re also teaching classes, because a lot of librarians are often teaching English classes,” Pua said. “So, it’s sort of important to have the students start to engage.”
Librarian Molly Wallner, who works at the 115 Greenough library, said that becoming a library volunteer helps with the organization of the library and with creating community building among students.
“The thing that I love about our volunteers is that they really become a strong, almost family union in here,” Wallner said. “Students who might not necessarily have ever spoken to each other will come and volunteer in the same block and then, over the course of the year, you see them build a really lovely friendship out of that.”
As a library volunteer, senior Aditya Kaushik helps plan events like the Monthly Reading Challenge and Halloween Spooky Storytelling.
“A lot of library volunteers meet after school on Mondays. It’s called the Student Library Advisory,” Kaushik said. “We discuss ideas, then vote on the ideas and [decide] which ones we think we should do. And then we plan them and put posters around and advertise.”
In order for students to become library volunteers, they go through an orientation at the beginning of the school year. The orientation gets students used to the library space and expectations. According to Wallner, taking accountability and responsibility as library volunteers helps students build career skills for their future.
Pua said that being a library volunteer means putting in effort and being committed to making the library a better place.
“If you’re willing to take time out of your school day to do something in the library for people, that can be very important, because there’s a certain level of care that the volunteers put into their work,” Pua said.
Kaushik, who rediscovered his passion for reading through library volunteering, said that the library can open up a wealth of resources for research, reading and more.
“I think that if people volunteer at the library, they’ll be more inclined to read books and enjoy the amazing resources that we have,” Kaushik said. “And we also have online resources that I never would have learned about if I hadn’t been a library volunteer.”
