Library Volunteer Introduction Course

Challenge

The library has a volunteer page that contains an eLearning course to walk potential volunteers through the volunteer process. However, they have not received much of an increase in volunteer applications. They also have volunteer positions that remain open for several months before they are filled. They would like an interactive course to show different types of volunteer opportunities to bring in more volunteers. Too many details that would be covered on the first day of work. Get to the point.

Solution

The original course was very lengthy so I began by removing unnecessary information. This course breaks learning into 2 parts: learning about volunteer opportunities and starting the volunteer process. The participants learn about the different ways they can volunteer for their local branch using their talents. Then, the course guides the participant work through submitting an application and background check. I included the completion of the volunteer application in the course so the participant could begin the process and decrease the likelihood of forgetting to complete the application later. To address the problem of having positions open for long amounts of time, the participant can select multiple types of volunteer opportunities in the volunteer application. When a matching volunteer opportunity opens up, the staff can contact the patrons that choose that type of volunteer work directly instead of waiting for someone to apply for the open position.

Result

To measure success, I would compare the amount of volunteer applications received and the length of time it takes to fill an open volunteer position.