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
New Volunteer Manager's ToolKit
This one hour webinar recording was presented for the Get Involved initiative by Jennifer Bennett, Director of Education and Training at… more
Staff Training, Capacity Building toolkit 2023
Get Z and Millennials: How They Use Public Libraries and Identify Through Media Use
This 2023 report is organized into five parts:

1. Gen Z library use and non-use.
2. How Gen Z and millennials use media and discover books.
3. Gen Z… more
Capacity Building Gen Z, Millennials 2023
The Four Appreciation Languages
A nice article from Karen Knight Consulting discussing the various forms of volunteer recognition.
Staff Training recognition 2023
Sensory Story Time Volunteers - Redwood City CA
This one hour webinar was presented for the Get Involved: Powered by Your Library initiative on December 6 2023 by Pam Evans, Youth Services… more
Staff Training Storytime, story time, sensory, disabilities 2023
Asking Inclusive Questions About Gender
Things to consider when listing gender questions on your application or survey
Staff Training inclusive, equity, diversity, Gender 2023
Shelve-it!
This shelving game could be used as a portion of your training for volunteers who do shelving. -- See also:
https://getinvolvedclearinghouse.org… more
Job Specific Volunteer Training Shelving, shelver 2023
Library Shelving Quiz
This quiz could be used as part of your training for volunteers who do shelving. See also:
https://getinvolvedclearinghouse.org/training-materials… more
Job Specific Volunteer Training Shelving, shelver 2023
How to Build a Truly Inclusive Nonprofit Volunteer Program
In 2023, the Assessing Diversity and Equity in Volunteer Involvement (ADEVI) project started with a survey of 564 individuals with a Certification in… more
Staff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2023
How to Recruit and Retain Gen Z Volunteers
Interesting facts and trends about Gen Z presented by Gen Z members themselves.
Slides available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d… more
Capacity Building Gen Z, Recruitment 2023
Mirror, Mirror on the wall - The role of self-awareness in equity work
Take a moment to read this very brief article about how to be more self aware while doing equity work.
Staff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2023
5 Myths About Volunteer Engagement
Beth Steinhorn, President of VQ Volunteer Strategies prepared a 4 - 5 minute YouTube video on each of her top 5 Volunteer Engagement Myths. They can… more
Staff Training myths 2023
Book To Action - Solano County CA
Solano County Library's 2023 Book to Action project
Staff Training 2023
Volunteer Recognition Ideas
Sixty volunteer appreciation ideas from Keela.com
Staff Training recognition 2023
Gamifying Volunteer Training
Do volunteers cringe when you bring up the subject of training? The author argues that gamifying volunteer training can be an effective way to build… more
Volunteer Orientation, Job Specific Volunteer Training, Staff Training Gamifying, Gamification 2023
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Resources - California State Library
This website of applicable materials was developed and is maintained by the California State Library.
Staff Training diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging 2022
Consequences of Good v. Bad Volunteer Experiences
A brief article detailing a couple of ways to make your volunteers have a good experience, or to respond to situations where someone's had a bad… more
Staff Training 2022
Professional Ethics in Volunteer Administration
These handouts and powerpoint are from a webinar titled: "Sticky Situations: Applying Ethics to Your Work with Volunteers" presented by Katie… more
Staff Training Ethics, CVA 2022
Volunteer Orientation and Training: The Ultimate Guide
A 2022 article from Wild Apricot on what to consider when planning volunteer orientation and Training.
Capacity Building volunteer training, orientation 2022
Fun Volunteer Teambuilding Activities That Will Keep Your Remote Team Engaged
This article from Tobi Johnson about Volunteer Team Building activities includes instructions for both in-person and virtual activities.
Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers team building 2022
Survey Design: The Top 10 Best Practices to Maximize Your Results
Survey design is extremely important as it can make or break your survey's completion rate. This article reviews some survey design fundamentals, and… more
Capacity Building, Staff Training surveys 2022