Archive: Around Town

The Lansing Library is open to the public for 27 hours per week. It has public hours every day of the week except Sunday and major holidays. These hours are possible thanks to 25 adult individuals committed to being a circulation volunteer. In the past two months Pat, Stephanie, Consuelo, Maureen, Michelle, Shelley, Maureen, Marilyn, Ann Marie, Alice, Diane, Harriet, Ben, Penny, Lisa, Linda, Sheila, Judy, Jane, Emily, Pat, Kathy, Debra, Christine and Lyle volunteered in circulation. Circulation volunteers complete an orientation session and work with a trained person 4-6 times before they are able to work a shift by themselves.
Volunteer at the Library!Can you see your picture behind the circulation desk? Since we call ourselves circulation volunteers some may think that the only job we do is hand out books to library patrons. We do that but there are many other tasks. We issue library cards to new patrons and we issue replacement cards to patrons who have lost their cards. We help patrons find the book they are looking for and if necessary we can order it from another library in the Finger Lakes Library System. We keep track of who has checked out books and contact them when the books become overdue. We process books that are returned to the library and shelve them in the correct location.

Each shift has a shelf checking assignment to make sure the books on the shelves are in the correct sequence. We help patrons make use of the public access computers and assist when they are having trouble. Being a circulation volunteer means being a detail person. Accuracy is very important. A book out of place or charged out to the wrong patron is a lost book.