This Spring, the Richard Elías-Mission Library was lucky to host a small group of student volunteers from Pueblo High School’s Exceptional Education program. In a crash course that covered everything from the library code of conduct and talking about our favorite sports teams, we had a great time together learning about the library and creating great resources for all of our patrons to share.
This blog post is brought to you by Sarah Tarver-Wahlquist, Library Associate, Richard Elías-Mission Library, who says, "I want to thank the volunteers from Pueblo High School for their time, work, and trust. We welcome volunteers of all stripes at the library—if you’re interested in lending a hand, check out our resources at the bottom of this post."
We had a great time exploring library resources and creating resources of our own.
Library Code of Conduct
Think discussing the library’s code of conduct would be boring? Think again! An in-depth exploration of our code of conduct was a fantastic way to get our volunteers talking about the values of the library, including how we make it a safe space for patrons, staff, and volunteers like themselves! We talked about how to de-escalate conflicts, the various reasons people might come into the library, and how to interact with patrons with empathy.
Exploring the library catalogue
My favorite thing about our catalogue is the filters users can employ to find just the right book, and our teen volunteers became absolute pros at using the filters to get the perfect book for the scavenger hunts I sent them on to help us fill out our display shelves. Need a cookbook designed for athletes? Tony’s got you covered. How about a children’s picture book about spring with ducklings on the cover? Neveah will find it lickety split. As a final project, each volunteer used our library catalogue to pick out books on a topic of their choosing for a booklist to benefit all of our patrons.
Prepping arts and crafts
These volunteers were amazing and diligent with their craft preparation! They sorted alphabet beads for use in a teen grab-n-go craft and made dozens of colorful paper flowers for a community Día del niñe celebration. It was fantastic to have this extra help!
Displays
It was great to get our volunteers’ help with displays in our Teen section. They helped me find just the right green-covered books for our Spring Into Reading display in March, but it was working together on a Banned Book display in April that was really special. We had a conversation about book challenges and the library’s stance on intellectual freedom. Plus we had a great time putting up caution tape.
I want to thank the volunteers from Pueblo High School for their time, work, and trust. We welcome volunteers of all stripes at the library—if you’re interested in lending a hand, check out our resources below!
What did the volunteers have to say?
What was your favorite part about volunteering at the library?
Neveah: Working on arts and crafts projects.
Antonio: Working on the library computers to look for books.
What surprised you most about the library?
Neveah: The computers have touch screens!
Antonio: The touch-screens on the computers!
What are you up to next?
Neveah: Summer vacation in Georgia, then another year at Pueblo High School.
Antonio: A transitional work program through Project Search.
Here are some books recommended by the teens
This list was curated by a teen volunteer from Pueblo High School who really likes Harry Potter!
This list all about sports was curated by a teen volunteer from Pueblo High School.
Are you or someone you know interested in volunteering at the library?
Check out these resources!
