Support Your Library

Volunteer Position Descriptions

Actual positions for each of these job descriptions may not always be available. Please contact the Administration Office - Carol Sawyer at 266-6342, or by email at csawyer @ cityofmadison.com - if you are interested in volunteering.

• Annotator
• Book Discussion Facilitator
• Book Finder
• Bulletin Board Organizer
• Children's Programming Preparation Assistant
• Clerical Assistant (Central Library)
• Home Service Delivery Person
• Home Service Services Helper
• Indexer
• Magazine Assistant
• Mailings Helper
• Materials Shelver
• Office Assistant
• Plant Care/Gardener (all locations)
• Shelf Cleaner
• Spanish Translator
• Special Events Volunteer
• Visitor Greeter (Central Library)
• Weeding Assistant

Annotator

Job Description: Writes short descriptions of books, based on information garnered from book jackets and/or reviews, for use in booklists and other library publications.

Location: Central Library

Time Commitment: 2 to 3+ hours per week; 6+ months

Qualifications: Good writing/editing skills; typing/word processing skills useful, but not essential; ability to work independently; ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions

Book Discussion Facilitator

Job Description: Facilitate book discussions in libraries, including helping groups decide on dates and times, reserving meeting space, suggesting reading choices and helping group members reserve books through the library's computer system

Location: Central and branches

Time Commitment: 2 hours per month at the library per book discussion; time at home for reading the book, researching the author or any other topic of interest, creating discussion questions

Qualifications: A well read person with a background in literature, the Humanities or teaching; must feel comfortable guiding and facilitating groups

Book Finder

Job Description: Browse library shelves in order to retrieve books, dvds, cds, etc. which others have reserved. This is an opportunity to learn more about library collections while assisting in locating numerous items to be shipped each day. Volunteers enjoy this “scavenger hunt;” many volunteers are needed.

Location: Branches

Time Commitment: 1 or 2 hours per day; fairly flexible as to schedule; commitment to a particular day or days of the week is appreciated. Some book finders come in every day.

Qualifications: Able to understand the arrangement of library materials in alpha or numeric sequences; able to read labels, bend, reach, stretch; attentive to detail; able to work independently after training.

Bulletin Board Organizer

Job Description: Assists library staff in maintaining community information "give away" materials and posting community information on bulletin boards.

Location: Central Library and Branches

Time Commitment: 1 day a week, 2+ hours a day; 6+ months

Qualifications: Able to work independently; good organizational skills; able to push, bend, stretch and lift.

Children's Programming Preparation Assistant

Job Description: Assist Youth Services staff in preparing programs for children and young teens. This could include: preparing craft project material for preschool storytimes, using the Ellison Die machine, assembling Summer Library Program materials.
Note: Jobs may involve repetitive motion, which may be hard on elbow/wrist joints.

Location: Central Library, branches

Time Commitment: 11/2 to 2 hours per week; 10 weeks or length of program

Qualifications: Ability to work independently; ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions; ability to adapt to routine repetitive activities.

Clerical Assistant

Job Description: Perfect for volunteers who enjoy the "behind the scenes" work. Assist the Development Director in prospect research, data entry, data look-ups, and fundraiser mailings.

Location: Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St.

Time Commitment: 2-6 hours per week

Qualifications: Requires basic computer skills, and knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Acess is desired. Ability to work independently; ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions.

Home Service Delivery Person

Job Description: Delivers books and other materials to people's homes and returns finished materials to the library; serves as the library's contact for homebound users, passing on requests and problems; promotes a positive image of the Library through all contacts with the homebound user. If interested, please call Home Service at 608-266-6314.

Location: Branches and Homebound users' residences

Time Commitment: 1 to 2 hours per week on a scheduled basis; 6 months

Qualifications: Reference check; ability to work effectively with homebound users and staff; ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions as well as possessing good oral communication skills; access to transportation as needed

Home Service Helper

Job Description: Under the supervision of the Home Service staff: assists in choosing appropriate library materials for homebound users, maintains records of materials for all homebound users, and assists with management of retirement loan collections. If interested, please call Home Service at 608-266-6314.

Location: Central Library

Time Commitment: 1 day a week, 2 to 3 hours a day; 6+ months

Qualifications: A wide range of reading interests, with some knowledge of genre fiction; the ability to learn to use the Library's computer system; the ability to follow oral and written instructions; the ability to work independently; detail oriented

Indexer

Job Description: Read and index articles from the Wisconsin State Journal. Note: Job involves using a microfilm and/or microfiche reader. Some people find using this equipment for long periods of time hard on the eyes.

Location: Central Library

Time Commitment: 1 day a week, 2 to 3 hours a day; 6+ months

Qualifications: Knowledge of Madison's history, past and present; experience with indexing is useful; must be detail oriented; ability to work independently; ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions

Magazine Assistant

Job Description: Assist library staff in maintaining the magazine collection in an orderly manner.

Location: Branches

Time Commitment: 1 day a week, 2+ hours a day; 6+ months

Qualifications: Attention to detail; able to work independently; able to arrange materials in chronological and alphabetical order; able to push, bend, stretch and lift.

Mailings Helper

Job Description: An on-call crew is needed to assist with labels, sorting and staging large mailings several times a year.

Location: Central Administration

Time Commitment: varies; negotiable

Qualifications: Ability to understand and follow oral instructions; manual dexterity required.

Materials Shelver

Job Description: Assists library staff in shelving all types of materials. May also read shelves to determine that materials are in proper order. Job may be limited to putting Qwik cases on compact discs or videos prior to shelving.

Location: Branches

Time Commitment: 1 day a week, 2+ hours a day; 6+ months.

Qualifications: Able to pass library skills and aptitude measurement test; able to accurately arrange items in alphabetical and numerical order; able to bend, stoop, reach, stretch and lift; attention to detail; able to work independently.

Office Assistant

Job Description: Helps assemble in-house printing projects such as brochures, invitations, booklists, reports and the Library's newsletter. This may involve folding, stapling and/or collating.

Location: Central Library

Time Commitment: 2 to 4 hours at a time; could be a one time commitment. Newsletter volunteers meet quarterly.

Qualifications: Ability to understand and follow oral directions; manual dexterity required.

Plant Care/Gardener (all locations)

Job Description: Helps maintain indoor and outdoor plants, including watering and pruning when necessary

Location: Branches or Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St. 

Time Commitment: 1-2 hours per week depending on season

Qualifications: Knowledge of house plants and outdoor plants and their care; ability to work independently

Shelf Cleaner

Job Description: Under direction of library staff, assist in cleaning book shelving areas to maintain a clean, healthy environment for library users.

Location: Branches

Time Commitment: 1 day a week, 2 hours a day

Qualifications: Able to push, bend, stretch and lift; able to work independently; no allergies to dust, mold, cleaning materials.

Spanish Translator

Job Description: Works with library staff to help Spanish speaking customers obtain a library card, understand how the library operates and utilize the many resources available at the library.

Location: Currently at South Madison Branch

Time Commitment: 2 hours a week; 6 months

Qualifications: Fluent in Spanish and English; good "people" skills; understanding of how the library works

Special Events Volunteer

Job Description: This description covers a wide variety of jobs, all of which are short term and deal with a one time or once a year event such as the Book Club Café, Summer Library Program, a library anniversary, a book sale, etc. A job could last several hours, such as selling books at a sale, or 20 hours over a span of several months, such as hiring and negotiating with a caterer for the Book Club Café.

Location: Central, branches and off site

Time Commitment: 2 hours to 20 hours or more depending on the individual job

Qualifications: Vary widely depending on the specific job.

Visitor Greeter

Job Description: A wonderful opportunity for volunteers with people skills and a love for the Library! Staff a desk at the entryway to the library. Welcome visitors, and hand out library literature such as bookmarks or event flyers. Direct visitors to requested locations or resources, or refer them to the Reference desk. Training provided.

Location: Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St.

Time Commitment: at least 1 day per week, 2-4 hour shifts

Qualifications: Knowledge of library resources and collections; friendly, outgoing personality.

Weeding Assistant

Job Description: Assists professional staff in weeding collections by removing worn, damaged materials from the shelves on the basis of condition or using other specified criteria.

Location: Branches

Time Commitment: 1 day a week, 2+ hours a day; 6+ months

Qualifications: Attention to detail; able to work independently; able to bend, stoop, stretch and lift.