Do you want to volunteer?--to contribute your ideas and talents to the library?--to earn community service hours? Great! We need you! Our teen volunteer program is called Y.E.L.L. Youth Engaged in Library Leadership. Why Y.E.L.L.? Because we want your voice to be heard; because the library values your ideas and service.
All prospective Y.E.L.L. volunteers must be at least 14 years old and must be able to work independently after instruction. Also, before starting your volunteer service you must attend an orientation with the Young Adult Librarian. Please fill out the online application found below if you are interested in volunteering. Please use a personal email address, not a school-issued email, when
registering. Due to your school's network security settings, we are
unable to contact people who use school-issued email addresses.
Expectations for Teen Volunteers:
Volunteers are required to attend a 2 hour orientation (participation will earn an hour of community service) with the Young Adult Librarian prior to beginning any volunteer work for community service hours at the Hamilton-Wenham Library. Orientations are usually scheduled in the evening, 5:30 to 7:30pm, on a Tuesday or Wednesday, when there is a minimum of 2 applicants.
Volunteers are expected to commit to a set schedule. Your schedule will be arranged with the Young Adult Librarian. You will be expected to adhere to your schedule; however, we understand that sometimes you cannot make your scheduled shift. If you are unable to come in when you are scheduled, please let the Y.A. Librarian know as soon as possible. If you do not call and do not show up for your scheduled shift you may be dropped from the volunteer corps.
The beginning responsibility of most volunteers will be as Shelf Managers in an assigned area, this includes: shelving books, straightening & edging books on shelves, shelf reading for correct placement, and cleaning shelves. In addition there may be special projects, depending on interest, such as: creating content for the Informed Teens blog; creating displays and shelf talkers; book processing; assisting with library events; meeting with the Y.A. Librarian to brainstorm and plan teen programs and events, etc. We will try to accommodate individual interests when assigning shelving areas and special projects, however, specific project requests cannot be guaranteed. Volunteers are expected to complete all assigned projects to the best of their abilities.
Volunteers are expected to commit to a set schedule. Your schedule will be arranged with the Young Adult Librarian. You will be expected to adhere to your schedule; however, we understand that sometimes you cannot make your scheduled shift. If you are unable to come in when you are scheduled, please let the Y.A. Librarian know as soon as possible. If you do not call and do not show up for your scheduled shift you may be dropped from the volunteer corps.
The beginning responsibility of most volunteers will be as Shelf Managers in an assigned area, this includes: shelving books, straightening & edging books on shelves, shelf reading for correct placement, and cleaning shelves. In addition there may be special projects, depending on interest, such as: creating content for the Informed Teens blog; creating displays and shelf talkers; book processing; assisting with library events; meeting with the Y.A. Librarian to brainstorm and plan teen programs and events, etc. We will try to accommodate individual interests when assigning shelving areas and special projects, however, specific project requests cannot be guaranteed. Volunteers are expected to complete all assigned projects to the best of their abilities.
To prepare for shelf management work please try this basic Shelver quiz. There are two portions: Fiction and Dewey (Nonfiction).
