Volunteers are the life blood of what we do; none of us could do this without them.

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In 2025 we put this short video together to showcase what volunteering is like at a Library of Things. Volunteering at Library of Things Video

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Part of our ethos is to create resilient communities and a volunteer-led approach supports this by connecting people from different backgrounds and providing creative opportunities which support mental and physical well-being on an individual and community level.

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‍Where to find volunteers:

Think about the type of volunteers you are likely to recruit e.g. retired, students, etc. and then work out how you can reach them.

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We suggest you begin looking for volunteers as soon as you are able via the following channels:

-An advert on Volunteering Wales

-Posters in local schools, colleges, libraries, public buildings, dental and doctor surgeries, shop windows, job centres and community centres

- Posts on social media across your personal pages, other local like-minded pages (e.g. focused on community, skill or environmental issues) and Benthyg Cymru’s

    Facebook group for Volunteers here

- Face-to-face: Invite yourself to community groups where you are likely to find volunteers e.g. library coffee mornings, WI meetings etc.

- Add a ‘Would you like to volunteer with us?’ section to any survey you issue.

- Contact the regional volunteering organization who will have lots of helpful resources on recruiting and managing volunteers

- Contact other organisations that have volunteer networks you are able to tap into e.g. Universities, colleges, Keep Wales Tidy and your local council.

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Use your venue’s / organisation’s social media pages for your Benthyg branch to build momentum and source volunteers. It’s a good way to speak to volunteers and give them news about your Benthyg branch or for volunteers to ask each other technical questions about items for borrowing within the Benthyg Cymru network.

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How to attract volunteers:

Volunteers are more likely to come forward if they know what they will be doing.

It may therefore be a good idea to think about the specific tasks you need doing e.g. social media, driving, uploading items to Lend Engine, taking photos of items, PAT testing, repairing / cleaning items, hosting events, helping set up events, community engagement.

One volunteer may suit just one role. Therefore, instead of finding one volunteer to do many things, could you recruit several volunteers and split the roles?

We have examples of volunteer role descriptions in the download section below.

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Time Credits:

Time credits are a great way to reward volunteers and potentially recruit new ones. Find out if there is an organisation in your area such as Tempo that you can utilise to provide your volunteers with time credits in exchange for them giving up their time.

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Initial contact with volunteers:

Consider holding a short event or webinar for people who want to find out more, this will give you an opportunity to set out the core processes and outline the volunteer roles you need to fill. After this event, you can circulate the volunteer sign-up form for attendees to formally register their interest. The volunteer sign-up form includes space for them to identify existing skills and skills they’d like to develop.

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Recruitment and Induction Process:

We have a template Recruitment and safeduarding guide that lays out the stages of recruitment, induction and beyond.

Its important that you keep all records relating to recruitment and induction and store securely as per GDPR requirements and your own policy.

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