Volunteers and Community Service

Volunteers

The Mattoon Public Library takes volunteers for all types of activities, including:

  • Programming help in the summer
  • Delivering materials to homebound patrons (with Rotary of Mattoon)
  • Fundraising
  • General assistance with everyday tasks like shelf straightening, shelf reading, etc.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Library Director at 217-234-2621.

All volunteers are required to sign in and out for their shift. If you are an RSVP member, please mark it on your sign-in sheet, and the Library will turn in the hours each month.

Community Service

The Library is willing to take community service workers who are age 13 and older on an individual basis. Younger children can do community service as a group-wide project day.

The Library takes community service for the following reasons:

  • Housing
  • School
  • Organizational (churches, social groups, etc)
  • Court-ordered

Community service time spent at the Library for schooling, housing, and organizing are usually routine tasks that range from assisting with programs, cleaning DVDs, cutting materials, and helping organize events.

Court-ordered community service usually involves more difficult tasks such as dusting, sweeping outside, shoveling snow, etc. By policy, the Library does not take court-ordered community service workers with the following offense(s):

  • Sexual assault or predation
  • Violent crimes
  • Grand theft

The Library Director reserves the right to turn anyone away for court-ordered community service.

Community service hours

All community service workers are required to sign in and out of their shift. Since these hours normally need to be turned into another organization, a member of the Library staff must initial the time sheets or the time does not count.

The Library has their own version of time sheets to keep track of community service hours.  The Library will not sign sheets from other organizations. When the worker is ready to turn in their hours, the Library staff will make a copy of the sheet that the Library keeps and provides the worker with the original. All hours and notes are kept in a digital file as a backup for future use.

To set up community service hours you must call and speak to the Library Director at 217-234-2621.