The award-winning San José Public Library (SJPL) consists of more than 600 employees, a 23% bilingual workforce, and has 24 branch libraries across San José, in addition to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, which is the city's main library jointly operated through a unique partnership with San José State University. SJPL serves a diverse community of roughly one-million residents and currently has nearly 700,000 library members. It annually attracts over 6 million visitors (pre-pandemic) and circulates more than 8 million items per year.
Over the past few years, SJPL has cultivated a 21st century library experience dedicated to public service and committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion at the core. In addition to providing library services to the community, SJPL proudly leads two citywide initiatives - the Education and Digital Literacy Strategy and the SJ Access digital equity initiative, which has become the number one provider of free public access to Wi-Fi connectivity, tech device lending, and multi-lingual digital literacy programs and support. SJPL is led by Jill Bourne, City Librarian, who was nationally recognized in 2017 as Library Journal's "Librarian of the Year."
SJPL enriches lives by fostering lifelong learning and ensuring that every member of the community has access to a vast array of ideas and information. The library department is a place where people do great work and make a difference in our community. To see examples of SJPL's work and learn more about its impact, visit www.sjpl.org. Join us to make a difference! SJPL is recruiting a Volunteer Coordinator to administer the library's volunteer programs, organize volunteer activities, and provide support and resources to staff who work directly with volunteers on-site and virtually. The role focuses on drawing upon volunteers' knowledge and motivations to strengthen library events and services. The position will coordinate volunteer assignments and use various tools to develop, evaluate, and promote Library volunteer opportunities.
The Volunteer Coordinator is also responsible for coordinating and leading the library's volunteer recruitment and recognition efforts throughout the year, as well as overseeing the volunteer screening process, including scheduling, and conducting LiveScan background checks.
In addition, the Volunteer Coordinator will serve as a liaison for the San Jose Public Library Foundation , who frequently works with corporate donors to develop group volunteering opportunities at SJPL.
This position will:
- Identify, create, and update training materials and procedural guides for both volunteers and staff.
- Plan, coordinate, and lead volunteer events and community outreach opportunities.
- Develop promotional recruitment and storytelling campaigns to increase the number of volunteers.
- Develop recognition activities for the volunteer program.
- Interview, screen, place, and onboard volunteers.
- Utilize Better Impact, the City's online volunteer management software, to collect and analyze statistics on volunteers, and train and support staff in using these tools.
- Collect and analyze statistics on volunteer programs and trainings
- Assist with developing system-wide volunteer programs.
- Collaborate with partner organizations and stakeholders, such as the San José Public Library Foundation, to facilitate volunteer requests and placements.
Please note: The Library continues to allow hybrid or virtual work as appropriate
