National Volunteer Week

The most interesting people I know volunteer at the library. I’m not just saying that because National Volunteer Week is on the horizon and I coordinate volunteers at the library. Seriously. These folks are curious, kind, authentic, and caring. They have interesting hobbies, travel to interesting places, and know interesting things. Maybe it’s all that reading they do? Or maybe it’s because…

Volunteers build community

Volunteers just have that swagger that comes from freely giving to something bigger than themselves. They join together across ages and backgrounds to support this little beacon of community. LPL Volunteers quite literally move mountains of books, one book at a time, and have a blast doing it.  

In a world of constant division, there are no turf wars in this library volunteer community. We don’t have a crew of non-fiction readers snobbing out the fiction readers. Upstairs volunteers (the ones who restock the shelves and fill hold requests) don’t shun the downstairs volunteers (the ones who get books ready for book sales) for working in the windowless basement. When library volunteers get together, the conversation is free-flowing, jovial, and covers an impressive range of topics.  

Volunteers are doers

At our most recent book sale, I overheard, “There’s always a small, little something that makes this sale better”. Well, that’s just what happens when you get a bunch of library volunteers together! Volunteers want to solve problems. They want to get things done, and do them right. For example:

Library volunteers will manufacture a temporary shade to keep outdoor shoppers comfortable during the warm summer sales.  

 Library volunteers will spend hours categorizing and alphabetizing so it’s easier to find a new book for you to love.

Library volunteers will gladly stock “pay what you can” shelves at Lawrence Transit’s Central Station.

Library volunteers will answer a call to help with a donation of 150 boxes!

 Library volunteers will set up a book sale in summer heat, winter snow, or any season's high winds.

Volunteers pay themselves

Ok, that sounds bad. Hear me out. There are thousands of resources out there for volunteer coordinators to get ideas for showing volunteer appreciation. Yet, I often feel unsatisfied by my attempts to show volunteers how appreciated they are. In the 10 years I’ve worked with volunteers, I’ve thrown parties, bought appreciation gifts, and worn out the thesaurus pages for “gratitude,” “thankful,” and “appreciate.” I’m eternally on a quest to craft the perfect email sentence to convey that our volunteers' donations of time, energy, and passion are seen and valued. 

Nothing hits just right because I can’t even get close to reciprocating their gift. Volunteer gifts of experience, passion, time, and effort aren’t easily summarized in dollars raised ($209,000 in 2024) or hours logged (10,900 in 2024). The impact of these gifts are bigger than the numbers, and volunteers know it! On top of that, library volunteers give these gifts without the expectation of receiving something tangible in return. Volunteers pay themselves in the satisfaction of building community and doing a task that benefits others.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop appreciating these interesting people. I will show my appreciation by keeping the candy bowl full of chocolate, making sure they have all the tools they need to be awesome, sharing the thankful feedback I receive from patrons and customers, and continuing the search for new synonyms for gratitude.

Help us say thank you!  

Since you’ve gotten this far, can you help me appreciate our volunteers this year? If you’ve ever had a great time at a book sale, marveled at well-organized shelves, or picked up a much-anticipated hold, please take a moment to write a quick thank-you to a library volunteer, and send it to marketing@lplks.org. 

If you’d like to become an interesting library volunteer, visit our volunteer page.

And for more volunteer opportunities in Lawrence, visit the United Way of Kaw Valley's volunteer site, opens a new window.

-Angela Hyde is the LPLFF Program Coordinator at Lawrence Public Library.