Volunteer Opportunities

FoOL needs help with helping in and around the Oban Community; please consider whether you could help with any of the following areas:

Adult Reader Development
Be part of a team which maximises the use of the stock the library holds and seeks to encourage library users to widen their reading tastes. This team would work closely with library staff on displays and promotions.

PRE –SCHOOL
Work with pre-school children and their parents and carers to give these children the best possible start in life – a love of books and the library. This would include; display work, storytimes, craftwork based around book themes, visiting playgroups. This team would work closely with library staff.

PRIMARY
Helping children to get the most out of their Library. For the younger ones this will be a development of the pre-school work, and for the older ones this will include an introduction of information management skills which will prepare them for High School. These activities could take place in both the library and within the primary schools. Full training will be given.

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL/ YOUNG ADULT
We would like to encourage more young adults to use the library. This will best be achieved by outreach and partnership working. Money raised by the FoOL could be used to provide materials attractive to teenagers that the council has never had the funding to provide; eg computer software, and DVDs.

READERS
To read out loud to groups or individuals within our community who are not able to read for themselves. This could include: dementia sufferers, stroke patients, adults with learning difficulties. It could also include establishing outreach reading groups in Residential Homes, Sheltered Housing Units and Day Centres.

 

 

HOUSEBOUND
Select and deliver books to housebound readers. These may be people who have previously used the library, are no longer able to get here.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) BUDDY
Assist library users with little or no IT experience. This could involve helping to set up email accounts, basic web searching, word processing. The idea would be to give the user enough confidence to progress on their own or to sign up for a course offered by a local education provider. It would be good if we could get someone to co-ordinate IT Buddies, so library staff would pass user details on to them.

GENEALOGY BUDDY
Assist library users, many of whom would be overseas visitors, to use the microfilm and other family history resources available in the library. It would be useful if you had a working knowledge of “Scotland’s People”.

NEWSLETTER / MAGAZINE
Be involved in producing a newsletter for FoOL members and prospective members (so that’s just
about everyone!). It will keep everyone up to date with what’s happening as well as Library news, book reviews, and articles from our interest groups, creative writing etc.

 

FUNDRAISING
Raising money for use by the library on areas not funded by the Council. This could include; software, DVDs, journal subscriptions, online subscriptions e.g. SCRAN, visiting speakers, etc. It would be achieved by a variety of methods including book sales, events such as cheese and wine, holding events for which admission could be charged, such as author visits or musical evenings, merchandising. We would particularly like to start online bookselling through ABE or similar straight away.

PROFILE
Organizing and running events and programmes that would raise the profile of the library and its activities. Both the library’s current users and to the wider community. This group would also strive to increase FoOL membership. We would hope to include any other needs and ideas that you may have; please get in touch and let us know what you would like to see happening in your library.

FoOL would also like to establish self-supporting interest groups (below). Please let us know if you would be interested in joining, and/or let us know of any other groups you would like to happen.

Reading Group;  Writing Group;  Genealogy Group;

Local History Group.