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
A Savior No One Needs: Unpacking and Overcoming the White Savior Complex
White savior complex is a term that’s used to describe white people who consider themselves wonderful helpers to Black, Indigenous and People of… more
Staff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2021
Book to Action - Palo Alto City Library (CA)
Palo Alto's Book to Action page
Staff Training Book to action 2021
How to Write Volunteer Recruitment Messaging that Converts
Strategies to enhance your volunteer recruitment.
Capacity Building Recruitment, Volunteer Recruitment 2021
Book to Action - Whittier Public Library CA
Whittier Public Library's 2021 Book to Action project
Staff Training Book to action 2021
Co-Creating Racial Equity in Volunteer Engagement - MAVA
The Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement has been conducting research and education on race equity in volunteerism for 5 years. This is the… more
Staff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2021
3 Tips for Finding New Board Members
Great advice for how to think about and plan for board member recruitment.
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact Volunteers boards, Trustees, Recruitment 2021
Engaging Volunteers: A Comprehensive Literature Review
Literature Review completed for AmeriCorps by ICF International in 2021.
Capacity BuildingStaff Training literature 2021
22 Simple Tips for Managing Virtual Volunteers
Help with planning for, implementing and managing volunteers who work remotely.
Engaging High Impact VolunteersStaff Training virtual, virtual volunteer, remote 2021
Getting it Right! Nine Areas Managers of Volunteers Sometimes Get Wrong
A terrific brief article by Martin Cowling to help us find our way.
Capacity Building 2021
Safety While Volunteering - COVID 19 Policies/Procedures - San Jose CA
Powerpoint presentation used by San Jose Public Library to share COVID-19 policies and procedures with volunteers.
Volunteer Orientation COVID-19 2021
Closed Captioning Volunteer Job List - Cedar Rapids IA
During the global pandemic the Library shifted to sharing more programs online and wanted to ensure the programs were accessible to those who utilize… more
Job Specific Volunteer TrainingCapacity Building virtual, virtual volunteer, remote, closed captioning, COVID-19 2021
Insights & Impact 2020: Measuring the Social Impact of Volunteerism
This report describes new ways to calculate the value of volunteer time. These approaches rely on data from Independent Sector and from the U.S.… more
Capacity Building ROI, Reporting, annual report 2021
Strategies for Attracting Today's Volunteers - DOVIA Sacramento Webinar
This archived webinar was presented by Carla Lehn for DOVIA Sacramento in February 2021. Learning Objectives for the session:
Participants in this… more
Staff TrainingOn-line Volunteer RecruitmentEngaging High Impact Volunteers Recruitment, online recruitment, Volunteer Job Description, Webinar 2021
Volunteer COVID-19 Protocol Training - Huntington Beach CA
Protocol training for volunteers returning to the library during/after COVID-19 pandemic
Volunteer Orientation COVID-19 2021
Addressing Issues of Equity in Volunteerism
A brief article on this important subject with some ideas about where to look and what to do.
Capacity Building diversity, equity, inclusion 2021
Fighting Racism Through Diverse and Inclusive Volunteer Engagement Programming (Part 1 of 2)
Thoughts on how to audit your own diversity, equity and inclusion strategy (DEI) in how you engage volunteers from Jerome Tennille, CVA, social good… more
Capacity BuildingStaff Training racism, diversity, Recruitment, inclusive 2020
How to Recruit New Members for Your Association on Social Media
Some good guidelines for making social media work for you from Nonprofit Tech for Good.
Capacity BuildingOn-line Volunteer Recruitment social media, Recruitment, Friends, Friends of the Library 2020
Equity Diversity Inclusion & Antiracism Toolkit - Oregon Library Association
Toolkit developed by the Oregon Library Association in 2020.
Staff Training equity, diversity, inclusion 2020
Volunteer COVID-19 Safety Guidelines - Cedar Rapids IA
General guidelines for volunteers returning to the library during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Capacity BuildingJob Specific Volunteer Training COVID-19 2020
What Should I Do? (COVID Exposure Flow Chart)
This great flow chart from the Gail Borden Public Library District (Elgin IL) describes steps to take if you, an employee or volunteers has been… more
Staff Training COVID-19 2020