Print

INTRODUCTION Presumably, if you are reading this book it is ­ because you would like to start a volunteer program at your library or improve on an existing pro- gram. (Or you ­were forced to read it by a man­ag­er—if that’s the case, I promise to make this as painless as pos­si­ble.) My objective in writing this book is to create a foundation (or at least a blueprint) for a teen volunteer- ing program. I hope that whomever you are and no ­matter what type of library you are in or what time of resources you have, you ­ will be able to implement at least some of the ideas in this book. ­ There is not a “good” or “bad” or even “best” type of volunteering structure—­just the right one for your library. I am approaching this book with the same eyes as I approach any pre­sen­ta­tion that I do. I want any librarian from any library with any bud­get in any location to be able to walk away with something tangible that they can implement in their insti- tution. Maybe it is tomorrow or maybe it is in a year—­but to have an idea that you can use as a foundation for what your vision for your individual library can reasonably achieve. I have experienced so many pre­sen­ta­tions and so much writing that are only accessible to large libraries with large bud­gets and seemingly endless staff support. That it is disheartening espe- cially in an era of libraries where it feels like we have to be all ­ things to all teens. That simply ­ isn’t pos­si­ble. I do not want any reader of this book to