Training Materials

Learn more about best practices in volunteer recruitment and engagement, and how to get the results you need.

NOTE: These are examples from public libraries and should be reviewed and modified to ensure fit with local policies and culture.

Title Keyword Tags Year
Are You in a Volunteer Management Silo?
A classic piece by Susan Ellis describing why we need to get out of our comfort zone and expand our thinking once in a while.
Staff Training Professional Development 2017
Are Young People Replacing Older People as the Key Volunteering Group?
A brief look at volunteering trends and key takeaways during COVID-19.
Baby BoomersCapacity BuildingMillennialsStaff Training COVID-19, generations, Millennials 2020
Arizona's Buckeye Library Shares it's Experience with Get Involved
In this 6 minute video, Krista Cornish, Buckeye Library's (AZ) Volunteer Engagement Coordinator shares her library's experience and best… more
Capacity BuildingEngaging Staff and Unions 2019
Best Practices for Recruiting and Engaging Volunteers from Zoomers to Boomers
This April 2023 webinar led by Jennifer Bennett, Director of Education and Training for VolunteerMatch also featured staff leaders from AARP and… more
Baby BoomersMillennials boomers, Millenials 2023
Beware of These 6 Trends Lurking in Your Volunteer Program
This brief article from November 2019 delineates troubling trends about volunteer engagement programs gleaned from the most recent Volunteer… more
Capacity Building 2019
Beyond Younger Volunteers: White Paper on What Rural Friends Groups Need to Thrive
2022 White paper from the Friends of Libraries Section of the New York Library Association.
Capacity Building Friends, rural 2022
Bibliography on Volunteer Engagement
Bibliography and Web Resources on Volunteer Engagement developed by Carla Lehn
Capacity BuildingStaff Training bibliography, Lehn 2023
Book Drop Helper and Sorter Training - Boulder CO
This powerpoint training was created for Book Drop Helper and Sorter Volunteers returning to service during COVID-19. In addition to this powerpoint… more
Job Specific Volunteer TrainingCapacity Building COVID-19, Book Drop 2020
Book Drop Helper and Sorter Training Video #1 - Boulder CO
This video was created as a portion of the training for Book Drop Helper and Sorter Volunteers returning to service during COVID-19. The training… more
Job Specific Volunteer Training COVID-19, Book Drop 2020
Book Drop Helper and Sorter Training Video #2 - Boulder CO
This video was created as a portion of the training for Book Drop Helper and Sorter Volunteers returning to service during COVID-19. The training… more
Job Specific Volunteer TrainingCapacity Building COVID-19, Book Drop 2020
Book to Action Project- Santa Barbara Public Library
Book-to-Action Programs 2012: Bringing programs about the environment to Santa Barbara Public Library libraries (Green @ Your Library), in… more
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact VolunteersStaff Training Book to action, community service, teen volunteers, environment 2012
Brave New World of Engaging Skilled Volunteers
Have you thought about how volunteers with specific skills could help ? This 50 minute webinar by VolunteerMatch and LinkedIn For Good to learn why… more
Volunteer RecruitmentCapacity BuildingMillennialsOn-line Volunteer RecruitmentVolunteerMatch Tools and Resources VolunteerMatch, Volunteer Recruitment, LinkedIn 2015
Bringing Volunteers Back: “Re-Booting” as We Come Out of the Pandemic
This one-hour live online meeting was held on July 13, 2022 and features California library volunteer engagement leaders sharing their experiences… more
Capacity Building COVID-19 2022
Build a Better Volunteer Engagement Program
Brush off the cobwebs, clean out the closets, and check for cracks. Have you ever wondered if your volunteer engagement program is using all of the… more
Volunteer HandbooksEngaging High Impact VolunteersOn-line Volunteer RecruitmentVolunteerMatch Tools and Resources Recruitment, management 2010
Building Better COVID-Related Volunteer Roles
VolunteerPro's approach to re-tooling our volunteer engagement during COVID-19. Includes a template for a Quick-n-Dirty Needs Assessment.
Staff TrainingCapacity Building job descriptions, COVID-19, needs assessment 2020
Building Better Library Volunteer Programs - Australia
This paper was written by Dr. Susie Prestney, then Manager, Castlemaine Library, Goldfields Library Corporation, Australia following her 2014 grant-… more
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact Volunteers Prestney, Lehn, Get Involved, Australia 2014
Building Capacity: Strategic Volunteer Engagement
In this Points of Light blog post, the point is made that organizations that build a culture of volunteerism, and purposefully embed volunteerism… more
Capacity BuildingStaff Training Strategic 2018
Can We Reject a Volunteer?
What do you do when someone applies to volunteer and you realize they will not work out? How can we justify rejecting anyone who steps forward and… more
Interviewing VolunteersStaff Training Fire, reject, complaints 2018
Changing the Frame: Civic Engagement Through A Racial Equity Lens
Since Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital came out in 2000, policymakers, nonprofit funders, and pundits have sent… more
Capacity BuildingStaff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2022
Checking Criminal Histories: Considerations Before You Begin
Thinks to take into consideration as you determine your use of criminal history background checks, including relevant offenses and applicants' rights.
Staff Training background checks, criminal background check