Each summer, Jefferson County Public Library's volunteer team swells to include several hundred middle and high schoolers. These teen volunteers are the heart of the Summer Reading program. They might help you sign up for Summer Reading, hand out your prize, or wave to you from inside a dinosaur costume. Teens also assist with programs and camps throughout the summer, prepare crafts for upcoming events, and perform behind-the-scenes tasks.
"The library is an important place for me because everyone is welcome here," Lauren, a first-time volunteer, says. "I'm hoping to build up my skills in talking to people and making connections with all sorts of people."
Pilar adds, "I used to come here when I was younger, and it was fun to be around different stories. I thought it would be great to invite that to other kids."
Maya has been volunteering for several years, and this year she encouraged her younger sibling, Ivy, to start volunteering.
"I love reading, and I love all the staff here," Maya says. "I feel like we've built a really good community, and it feels really good here."
"I'm volunteering because of Maya," Ivy adds. "And everyone's just really nice here. My favorite part of Summer Reading is seeing all the kids with happy faces. I very much love to see people excited."
Most of the time, Summer Reading registration goes smoothly. But, occasionally, the stakes are higher.
"All the kids really love Tim, our mascot inflatable dinosaur," Maya says with a laugh. "On the second day of Summer Reading, Tim was sitting in his jar next to the volunteer table. At some point we were reading, and we didn't notice a kid picked Tim up and walked out the door with him. We didn't realize Tim was gone until the mom walked back in with him 10 minutes later. I made him a name tag that says, 'Please don't touch,' but I'm pretty sure it fell off in the parking lot when he was abducted."
Dressing up in an inflatable dinosaur costume to greet patrons as they arrive is one of the most popular volunteer shifts at the Golden Library. Some of the volunteers got to exercise their problem-solving skills when they noticed younger kids were afraid of the large inflatable T. rex. So the T. rex-suited teens moved farther outside, near the creek, and kids had space to choose whether they wanted to approach or wave from a distance.
Finding creative solutions to problems is one helpful skill teens learn while volunteering. Over the course of the summer, they also hone their communication skills and become more comfortable talking to people they don't know. Even adults can find it intimidating to approach a stranger to ask a question, but the teen volunteers are undeterred.
"I want to deepen my customer service skills so I can do better at my eventual job I will get — hopefully later this summer," Katie explains.
When things are slow at the table, teen volunteers are encouraged to read a book. This serves the dual purpose of encouraging their own reading over the summer and creates a positive model for the younger kids who look up to them. It also proves to adult patrons that teens do still read!
"I want to especially compliment the student who manned the program tables," one patron wrote on an anonymous comment card. "When I first approached him, he was reading a big thick book, NOT staring at his cell phone. What a nice impression that made!"
Teen volunteers serve as impressive ambassadors for their generation, all while supporting their community and learning new skills along the way.
Next time you visit the Library, stop by the Teen Volunteer Summer Reading desk and thank them for their hard work!