The use of volunteers in public services is traditional. Social services health, and welfare activities are well known for their extensive utilization of voluntary manpower. Volunteer programs in libraries are less well developed, and have been somewhat limited in size and scope. Volunteer workers are unpaid staff, they give of their time and energy to assist an organization or institution to conduct certain kinds of programs or specific services.
Volunteers are generally part-time workers, giving time over periods of short or long duration.
Volunteers often bring to an activity and an organization a new outlook, a different perspective, added talents, a fresh approach, and a stimulating concept. They also bring a different motivation. In considering the direct services gained by an institution from its volunteers, a library also needs to give cognizance to two other benefits often derived from volunteer assistance. First, community support, community utilization, and public relations are immeasurably enhanced by the direct and personal involvement of large numbers of persons in the activity. Second, work experience is a major source of potential recruitment into occupations and professions.