What's New Part 1 - Becoming involved

The year 2011 has brought some new opportunities to the Petawawa Public Library: 

• opportunities to become more involved
• opportunities to try out eBooks
• opportunities to explore some great new online resources
• opportunities to participate in more awesome children’s programming
• and of course, opportunities to read new and exciting books

A new Petawawa Public Library Board has been formed and will soon have its first meeting. Currently, there are 5 members. The Council Representatives are Theresa Sabourin and James Carmody and the trustees are Betty Almon-Felhaber, Ed Chow, and Cathy Higgins. As it stands, this is the minimum number of members required and there is still a call out for more volunteers. If you have an interest your library, one free Wednesday evening per month and a desire to serve your community, pick up an application at the Municipal Offices at 1111 Victoria Street. Library CEO Carol Goldsmith will be happy to answer questions as well. Contact her at 613-687-2227 ext. 21 or cgoldsmith@bellnet.ca.

Adult Volunteer Coordinator, Maggie Jacques is now looking for help with book repair to extend the life of our book collection, and document scanning for our Digital Heritage Collection Community Digitization Project. Contact her at 613-687-2227 ext.25 or mjacques@bellnet.ca.

Children’s Librarian, Janet Coulas would like to start up a new TAB program (a Teen Advisory Board) to find out what activities and services teens would like to see at the library. There are also lots of new children who need high school students to help them with their reading in the ever popular Reading Buddies program. Added bonus: Teens can earn Community Service Hours for school for both of these opportunities! Contact Janet at 613-687-2227 ext. 22 or jcoulas@bellnet.ca.

So, if you are looking for new and interesting ways to become more involved in your community, check out your library!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series to find out the latest news on our access to downloadable eBooks!

(The Emerald Necklace in the above image was created by Hans Collmorgen and honours long-term volunteers at the Petawawa Public Library).

Volunteer Opportunities for Teens at the Petawawa Public Library

Don’t wait until the last minute to start work on your community service credit for high school graduation. 40 hours of volunteering might not seem like a lot now, but trying to squeeze them all in during the last weeks of Grade 12 will really make it seem like a chore. Why not get a head start and consider the Petawawa Public Library as one of your community service options?

Who can volunteer?
As long as you’re attending high school this September, you’re eligible to apply as a student volunteer.

What would I be asked to do?
There are lots of areas where we need help. Whether you enjoy working with others, or independently, there’s a job for you at the library. Some examples:

Reading Buddies is a program where you will be paired up with a younger child to help him or her practice reading skills. This requires a commitment of 1 hour per week on a night that works for both you and the child’s family.

General Library Volunteers sort and return books to their rightful places on the shelves. Keeping things organized makes it easier for others to find what they’re looking for. We really rely on volunteers who can come in on a regular basis to help with this.

Library Programs, which take place from time to time, use volunteers for setting up, supervising activities (especially for children’s programs) and other duties according to the requirements of the event.

Internet/Computer Workshops use the expertise of tech savvy teens to help teach basic computer skills to small groups at the library using our training computers. Spend 1.5 hours per week helping others become connected by showing them how to safely use email, surf the Internet, get onto Facebook and more!

Teen Advisory Board members get to give their input on library issues to help us build programs and collections that speak to teens. By committing to two hours once a month, you can help improve the library and get community service credit. It’s a win-win situation!

Where do I sign up?
You will need to pick up a Student Volunteer Application at the library, or print out the PDF version, and just fill it out. If you’re under 18, you will also need a parent’s or legal guardian’s signature as well as a witness’ signature. Then just drop it off at the front desk. The Children’s Librarian will contact you to set up a brief interview so she can get to know you and discuss your volunteer duties.

Who do I contact for more information?
Janet Coulas, the Children’s Librarian will be happy to answer your questions about volunteering at the library. Reach her at 613-687-2227 ext. 22 (leave a message if she doesn’t answer and she’ll get back to you), or dash off an email to her at jcoulas@bellnet.ca.

Ready to start working on those volunteer hours now? Want to find out more about what the library has to offer teens? It’s your library. Check it out!