Our volunteers are the lifeblood of the library

As published in the Red Rock News

Good day Red Rock News readers! When I introduce myself to patrons I am told almost immediately how much they love the Library. I humbly take the compliment, like a proud parent, but I have to agree that I love the Library as well.
 
After two months in the position of Program and Marketing Coordinator, what I love most of all about the Library is the volunteers. The Library staff, both full and part-time, number only 18 persons. Our volunteers, over 110 them, are the unsung heroes of Sedona Public Library. They help us focus on our duties to deliver the best services for you, our patrons. They’re the ones that greet you when you enter the library, and can be seen amongst the stacks helping to maintain the Library’s collection at both our main library in West Sedona and our newly expanded library in the Village.
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a volunteer, please visit the Library website, sedonalibrary.org, where you can learn more and apply. And of course, you can always call or visit.
Whether you’re interested in helping with children’s programming in Youth Services or helping with checking in returns at Circulation, there are many volunteer opportunities at the Library waiting for the right person to come in and give back to the community. Other tasks you might consider include shelving, shelf reading, or pulling holds. Please reach out to learn more.
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Volunteering can help you gain confidence by giving you the chance to try something new and build a real sense of achievement. You will have the opportunity to meet new people, build friendships, use skills that you may never have known you had, and find a sense of purpose. It only takes a few hours a week to volunteer at the Library, and our opportunities are based on your availability and schedule.
 
Though my time here has been short, I have gotten to know some of the Library’s volunteers and marveled at how long some of them have dedicated their time to volunteering, many of them for decades. Before I start my workday, volunteers have already arrived at the Library. They are expediently taking care of the numerous books and audio visual items that were returned late the previous day or after hours, including DVDs, audiobooks, music CDs, and audiobook Playaways.
 
They are also busily pulling holds for both our patrons and for patrons across the 50+ libraries that make up the Yavapai Library Network. Some of our volunteers even help out with the free AARP tax preparation service that is currently available by appointment at our West Sedona and Village branch. Where they find the energy escapes me, but I am all the more thankful for what they do and give of themselves. It’s truly a wonderful and noble deed to volunteer one’s time.
 
We are in a rebuilding process with our youth volunteer group. My newest goal is to increase youth volunteer participation. I know they are out there. Currently, we only have one teen volunteer. We would love to have more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to have him as a teen volunteer. He’s my son! Once a week, whether he’s running the afterschool Dungeons and Dragons program or helping re-label books in the Teen Area, he serves as an example of the great impact that libraries can have on a teen’s life. I hope his time volunteering will instill in him a work ethic and the life skills he can carry into any future career. Putting on my “parent hat” and looking back to when I was a teenager, I wish I had spent more time in my school and town library and that I had volunteered more.
 
In April, we will celebrate our volunteers. We are planning a volunteer appreciation event to get together, celebrate, honor, laugh, share stories and show our volunteers just how much we appreciate them and all they do at the Library. Don’t you want to join us?
 
Sedona Public Library is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your gifts supplement the funding and support we receive from the City of Sedona, Coconino and Yavapai County property taxes, and Friends of the Sedona Library. Visit sedonalibrary.org/donate to make an online gift. Thank you! 
 
Sedona Public Library 
Column for February 18, 2022 
Written by Jan Marc Quisumbing, Program & Marketing Coordinator