Use and management of volunteers in public libraries in the Manawatu-Wanganui region

Abstract

There is a history of use of volunteers in public libraries in New Zealand but little is known of the extent of their use, the tasks they perform or the way they are managed. This study used a personally administered questionnaire to examine the scope and extent of use of volunteers in public libraries in the Manawatu/Wanganui region and the problems and benefits arising from volunteer use. The human resource practices used with volunteers were also investigated to determine the effects these had on volunteer programme outcomes. The results of this study found wide use of volunteers, performing both core and additional library tasks. A range ofboth benefits and problems were reported from volunteer use. Problems mainly related to the cost and time of training and supervision,