Much of the work of the Library would not be possible without the efforts of our vast band of volunteers. Our volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and range from teens to octogenarians. They include enthusiasts, activists and academics. We recognise that all our volunteers have many other commitments and we therefore provide opportunities for those with a few hours a month to spare as well as those with a day a week.
Work currently carried out by volunteers includes:
* Helping welcome visitors
* Fundraising activities
* Assisting with research for exhibitions
* Adding records to our online catalogue
* Writing for the Web site
...and much else besides.
If you can spare some time to help out please contact the Library. Winter 2016: At present we have had so many kind offers of help that we are operating a waiting list of potential volunteers for library tasks such as cataloguing and indexing. However we are interested in hearing from you if you have skills in fundraising, organising events or education - or if you're enthusiastic to learn about, and participate in, any of those three spheres of our activity! Let us know via the 'contact us' button at the top right of this page.
To find out how our volunteers value their work, click here.
The Library signed up in 2014 to Keep Volunteering Voluntary. The Keep Volunteering Voluntary agreement states: 'As charities and voluntary organisations we know the value of volunteering. Volunteering means people independently choosing to give their time freely to help others and make the world a better place. Workfare schemes force unemployed people to carry out unpaid work or face benefit sanctions that can cause hardship and destitution. We believe in keeping volunteering voluntary and will not participate in government workfare schemes'. More information here.
