Community Library volunteer

Working with staff and volunteers to play a key role in delivering library services to our customers

About the role

Some Oxfordshire Libraries are Community Supported, this means our staff need the support of volunteers to support our customers and deliver our services.  Community Library Volunteers assist customers in accessing our services, display and shelve books and provide friendly customer service.  The role is a great way to meet people locally and get involved in supporting your local community.  The role is flexible and can involve supporting library events, promoting our service, or showing people how to join the library.  You will get to meet other volunteers via the Library Friends group who will help arrange your volunteering hours with you.

What we need from you

We will need you to commit to a certain number of hours which will be mutually arranged via a rota by the local Library Friends group.  As you will be supporting a front-line service, we will ask to help us maintain our policies and procedures in the library.  In some libraries you may, on certain days, be working without staff present, however you will always have another volunteer with you and further support from the library service. 

We will ask for a reference when you apply for the role, and you will need to be at least 18 years old.

What you can expect from us

We value all our volunteers and our commitment to you is spelled out in our Library Volunteer Charter (pdf format, 92Kb).  We will provide you with training both in the library and some general induction training which may be at another site.  You will be supported in your volunteering by the Library Service and our local Library Friends Groups.

How to apply

We appreciate the support volunteers provide. If you are interested in applying, please fill in the online application form.

Select the library you would like to apply to: