[Publib] volunteers checking in

[Mary Beth Conlee]

Hello, collective wisdom,

I've inherited an eight-month-old volunteer program of fifteen lovely
and dedicated volunteers. Their favorite activity is checking items in,
and we don't have the staff to do this without volunteer help. Our
failure rate, as evidenced by the number of books found on the shelves
that have not been checked in, is disturbing and problematic. Patrons
are starting to routinely go to the shelves and find the books we tell
them are overdue.

They volunteers have all been trained at least twice. They are all aware
of the problems, and, at meetings, list preventative practices and
remind each other of vigilance.

Surely we are not the only small library using volunteers in this
capacity and running into this problem (or the only library running into
this problem with paid staff either!). I'd appreciate suggestions on how
to improve accuracy, or even evaluate individual performance, in terms
of checking items in. How do you ask for accountability from volunteers?
How do you evaluate what is a reasonable failure rate to be expected,
and what is unacceptable and requires action?

All feedback appreciated.

Thanks,

Mary Beth Conlee

Burlington Public Library