Volunteering
Johnson County Library has flexible hours to meet your schedule. Volunteers are needed at various times and places. Work a regular schedule each week or sign up for special projects. Positions may be available at any of the 13 library locations, at our Friends of the Library Sorting Facility or with Outreach Services. General volunteers must be at least 14 years old.
To learn more about volunteering at Johnson County Library contact Volunteer Services at (913) 826-4302, by email or visit the volunteer photo gallery.
Apply Today
Apply Online (Online form) or complete and print an Application form (PDF)
Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
These volunteer positions require a time commitment of six months or 50 hours.
Child Care Outreach – Present programs and story times in child care facilities in order to increase library awareness and promote early literacy activities. Education and/or experience in child development is required.
Clerical Volunteer – Various departments in the library system depend on volunteer support to provide a clerical support. Duties may include data entry, creating packets, processing memberships or special projects. Computer skills are preferred.
English Language Learner Volunteer – Lead a small group of adults in guided instruction to help improve English conversational skills. These classes take place at Oak Park Library on Saturday mornings. Interested volunteers must have a good command of the English language, have great customer service skills and enjoy working with individuals of all cultures.
Early Literacy Volunteer – Assist with story time duties and serve as an ambassador in our Early Literacy Space sharing the six skills every child needs by age six. Other duties include monitoring supplies, explaining the activities available, and modeling important literacy promoting activities.
Bookstore Cashier – Assist in day-to-day operations of the Friends of the Library used bookstore. Duties include: assisting patrons in finding items, operating cash register and credit card machine, stocking shelves and maintaining bookstore in a neat and orderly fashion. Individual must possess good customer service skills. Day, afternoon, and evening shifts available. Book store locations include:
Sorting Volunteer – Assist in the process of sorting books for quality, condition, and popularity by genre. All books are resold by the Friends of the Library in a book sale, the bookstore, or internet sales with proceeds going back to benefit the library. This is a dream job for book lovers!
Internet Sales Volunteer – Help list books and monitor sales of items for the Friends of the Library online store. Process and pack items that have been sold. Computer savvy volunteers only please.
Genealogy Volunteer – Provide assistance and guidance to patrons inquiring about genealogy research tools and databases. Excellent customer services skills are a must.
Regional Reference Volunteer – Preserve, organize and promote local history through content creation, indexing, digital preservation, materials conservation and research. Create records for our local history digital collection JoCoHistory, conserve and protect local maps and historical documents, research house histories and assist in efforts to increase access to Johnson County historical resources.
Senior Outreach Volunteer – Assist in providing library services to seniors that are either homebound or not able to physically come to the library. Volunteers may assist with our Home Connect service or help bring library services to various assisted living facilities. Opportunities also exist to present book talks to senior groups.
Interlibrary Loan Volunteer - The Johnson County Library does its best to find just the right book for our patrons, even when it is not in our collection. Volunteers assist with this by processing and packaging materials that are lent to or borrowed from other regional libraries.
Technical Services Volunteer - Work with buffing equipment to keep DVDs and Books on CD in good working order. Volunteers might also assist with the processing of new materials. .
Library Materials Volunteer - We have several positions that involve getting great books and library materials into the hands of the next patron as quickly and efficiently as possible. Volunteers help make this possible! If you enjoy books and organization, have we got the perfect job for you! Positions are available at all 13 library locations, time and days may vary.
Send Item List Volunteer - Pull books or library materials first thing in the morning to transfer to another library location at a patrons request.
Holds Shelf Volunteer - Help process and shelve library materials that have been specially requested by a patron for pick up at the front desk.
Shelving Volunteer - Assist the library by sorting carts by genre and eventually shelving the materials in the stacks. Volunteers might also shelf read to look for any books out of order.
One-time Volunteer Opportunities
These volunteer positions are low commitment, but high impact.
Book Sale Volunteer – Participate in one of our book sales in a variety of positions. Volunteers serve as merchandisers, cashiers, setup volunteers, office support and much more. All of this for a one week period with 4-hour shifts available.
Special Events – The Library has a need for volunteers to help support special events at various times of the year. It may be a Summer Reading Program for kids, Latino Festival, Asian Festival, or Community Engagement Event. Sometimes we need help weeding books (pulling books from the collection) over the course of a few days. You can join our e-newsletter list and be in the know as the need arises.
Summer Teen Program
Each summer, we bring on over 100 summer teen volunteers to help with the rush of kids out for school. Summer teen volunteers assist with shelving youth materials and assist with special summer reading programs. You must be 12 years old before June 1 and applications are accepted between April 1 each year until the program is full. You must turn in the application in person at the branch for which you want to volunteer. Feel free to call (913) 826-4302 or email with any questions.
Get the application packet »
