Volunteering
Volunteers are often vital to a library, particularly in our current economic times. It is hard to find time to volunteer -- especially if you have a full time job and family demands. But volunteering can be rewarding. It is a great way to gain experience, as the original post pointed out. I sometime wonder what would have happened if I had volunteered at the OPL when we first moved to Omaha? Would I have gotten a job here faster, would I be in my current position, who knows? I never did volunteer as I was convinced they would not want someone who had a library degree.
I volunteered for a time at our local zoo, helping to re-establish their library. But after the birth of my second child it became more and more difficult to find the time I needed to devote to the project and I quit. And I volunteer at my children's school -- I work at the biannual book fairs and work with the school librarian (although I wish I could do more there). I find it interesting to see how other libraries work and try to bring what expertise I do have to help, if needed or perhaps educate someone on the the resources available at OPL.
Which brings me to a point that Jamie LaRue made many years ago -- that librarians need to volunteer with various organizations in their community. In order for our community to know about us and what we have to offer we need to get out there. And one really good way to do that is to volunteer. So what you volunteer for does not necessarily have to have a library component but when do volunteer you should ALWAYS look for opportunities to promote the library. In other words, volunteering is another form of advocacy.
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