Policy on employment of volunteers
Statement of Intent
This policy endorses the Australian Library and Information Association policy
on volunteer workers in libraries and acknowledges that the work entailed in the
provision of library and information services requires trained and skilled
employees.
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Policy
The Australian Library and Information Association policy on Volunteer workers in libraries
states the following:
“The efficient collection, organisation and dissemination of information requires a trained paid library and information workforce which has increasingly sophisticated skills.
Libraries of all types need to be staffed by a balanced mixture of paid professional and clerical staff who have been trained to provide the services required by their users.
Volunteers should not be used to establish and maintain new library services which would normally be established and maintained by paid library staff.
The replacement of trained paid library staff by volunteers can only lead to a deterioration in the standard and effectiveness of services.”
The City of Rockingham Library Service, as a general rule, will not engage the services of volunteer library workers. Any dependence on volunteer workers would indicate that a greater number of paid, trained library staff is required.
A library is responsible to the community it serves and therefore, in the following circumstances, the Library Service will accept offers of voluntary assistance as a means of involving elements of the library’s community:
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