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
Shelving with Dewey - Illinois
This 1 hour self-paced course from LibraryU, a program of the Illinois State Library and the regional library systems is archived by WebJunction. It… more
Job Specific Volunteer Training shelve, book shelving, shelver 2019
Recruitment Success Story - Flagstaff Arizona
In this 4 minute video, Claudine from the Flagstaff library talks about her successes in finding a volunteer to serve as her assistant volunteer… more
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact Volunteers online booksales, Book sale 2019
How to Build a Successful Volunteer Program
This brief guidebook was created by the International City/County Management Association.
Capacity BuildingStaff Training toolkit 2019
Volunteer Appreciation Guide
is Volunteer Appreciation Guide is a free resource developed by Wild Apricot to offer tips and advice for volunteer programs just getting started… more
Capacity Building recognition 2019
Want to Write a Volunteer Program Annual Report? Here's How to Start
VolunteerMatch blog guest post by Elisa Kosarin. This post originally appeared on Twenty Hats.
Your volunteers tell a compelling story. It’s time to… more
Capacity Building 2019
Planning for Including People with Intellectual Disabilities in Volunteer Programs
A tip sheet created by The Arc to help you to include people with intellectual disabilities in your volunteer program.
Staff Training disabilities, diversity, equity, inclusion 2019
Playing by the Rules: Creating an Effective Volunteer Handbook.
This one hour archived webinar was presented by Jennifer Bennett of VolunteerMatch in conjunction with the 4 state Get Involved: Powered by Your… more
Volunteer Handbooks policies, handbook 2019
Could Volunteers Replace Paid Staff?? Have No Fear!
An organization’s decision to bring in volunteers may spark fears that volunteers could eventually replace staff. After all, volunteers can do many… more
Staff TrainingEngaging Staff and Unions Staff Resistance, staff buy-in 2019
Do's and Don'ts of Supervising Library Volunteers
This July 2019 article from Public Libraries Online provides an excellent overview of working with volunteers in large and small libraries.
Capacity BuildingStaff Training supervision 2019
How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Important
There's never enough time to do everything you want to do. It's a universal problem. And we all accept that fact and live with its reality until the… more
Staff Training prioritize, priorities, planning 2019
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
How to Write a Strong Reference Letter for a Volunteer
A reference letter showcases a volunteer’s achievements and the skills they’ve gained through volunteering. It can help a volunteer who is looking… more
Staff Training recognition, reference letter 2019
Three Things We Know About Engaging Millennials in Your Cause
A quick read on what Millennials are interested in to help you in your recruitment efforts.
Millennials Millennials 2018
Getting Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement
Video clip on this topic from a Get Involved Volunteer Engagement Institute in Oakland California in May 2015. (26.5 minutes)
Engaging Staff and Unions 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
You Can't Fire Me, I'm a Volunteer!
This quick read from Blue Avocado focuses on addressing volunteer dissatisfaction points to the right way to handle disgruntled volunteers.
Staff Training Fire, disgruntled 2018
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
Grow Staff Volunteer Harmony
Tips from Energize Inc. on helping staff to work more productively with volunteers.
Engaging Staff and Unions staff buy-in 2018
GenerationOn Projects, Ideas and Resources
Looking for possible library volunteer projects for kids, teens and/or families? Check out GenerationOn's projects and resources to get some… more
Millennials Teens, family volunteering 2018
VolunteerMatch Re-Posting Tutorial
Reposting is THE MOST IMPORTANT step you can take to get your opportunities noticed on VolunteerMatch. Why? Because VolunteerMatch searches are… more
VolunteerMatch Tools and Resources VolunteerMatch 2018