Volunteer

Behind the Scenes Volunteers

• These volunteers must be able to work independently to assist with behind-the-scenes tasks to prepare for programs.
• This may include but is not limited to: cutting items for Take and Make Kits, filling glue pots, folding documents, preparing Welcome Kits, and more.

Community Ambassador: 

• Attending at community events with staff, to publicize the library.
• Assist with community and in-house programming.

Cricut Machine Volunteers (not at this time): 

• Assisting with the Cricut machine in helping us create merchandise and advertisement materials where necessary. 

Home Services Delivery (not at this time): 

• Connect with one of our Home Services patrons!  Choose materials that interest them (with the help of Library staff), and delivery to them once a month.

Shelf Reading & Organizing (not at this time): 

• Attending at the Library to organize books in accordance with the Dewey decimal and alphabetical systems we have in place.

Teen Knitters

Location: Cobourg Public Library

Summary: This is a volunteer opportunity you can do from home. Youth Knitters create hats, mittens, scarves and slippers for the most vulnerable in our community to be provided to the Cobourg Public Library and distributed through our Mitten Tree (or a variation thereof) and to local non-profit organizations that help homeless folks.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

Submit one or more (there is no limit) of the following items within 12 months and receive the following amount of volunteer hours per item, once submitted:

• Hat (for 2 volunteer hours)
• Mittens (2 volunteer hours)
• Scarf (3 volunteer hours)
• Slippers (2 volunteer hours)

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• An interest and ability in knitting
• Must attend a local high school
• Be able to knit and drop off items upon completion

Screening Requirement: You must be able to knit and have access to your own knitting materials.

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant by Zoom or phone to confirm their goals and go over how to submit items.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Teen Fundraisers

Teen Fundraisers

Summary: Interested in representing the Library in an effort to raise funds on our behalf? This is a volunteer opportunity you can do on your own time to help fundraise on behalf of the Cobourg Public Library. Fundraise to help us erase fines from teen materials for good!

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Provide a plan as to how you will fundraise to Rachel Spence (rspence@cobourg.library.on.ca) including: date, time, location, plan, assistance required from Library volunteers or staff (if any), goals for funds and awareness.
• Hold at least one fundraising event within a twelve (12) month period
• Be professional and courteous throughout the event as you are acting as a representative of the Cobourg Public Library.
• Each event you hold equates to two (2) volunteer hours. If you hold an ongoing or full-day event, please communicate with Rachel Spence (rspence@cobourg.library.on.ca) to determine whether you can achieve further volunteer service hours.

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• An interest in fundraising and social activism
• An interest in the Cobourg Public Library and services we provide
• Must attend a local high school

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant by Zoom or phone to confirm their goals and go over how to submit ideas.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Teen Gardeners

Teen Gardeners

Summary: Have a green thumb and love to be outdoors? We’d love your help with watering, weeding and planting our Library’s garden between April and September of each year. Each hour you spend counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Commit to attending at the Cobourg Public Library within a specific schedule to assist with garden tasks.
• Each hour spent in the garden counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service hours.

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• An interest in gardening / ecology
• An interest in the Cobourg Public Library and services we provide
• Must attend a local high school

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant by phone, Zoom or in person to ensure that they are capable of committing to this program.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Teen Gaming Leaders

Summary: Lead a tabletop gaming session on strategy games like chess, Settlers of Catan Junior, Ticket to Ride and more. Each hour you spend counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Commit to leading a weekly or bi-weekly tabletop gaming session (dates/times can be arranged)
• Each hour spent hosting a session counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service hours.

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• An interest in tabletop games
• Knowledge of tabletop games and the ability to teach others
• Socializing with other teens and youth in the area
• Must attend a local high school

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant by Zoom or in person to ensure that they are capable of committing to this program.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Teen Adopt a Shelf Program

Teen Adopt a Shelf Program

Summary: Love being surrounded by books and organizing shelves? This could be the perfect volunteer project for you. Earn volunteer hours by organizing and tidying specific shelves that you “adopt”. Each hour you spend counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Commit to visiting the Library weekly or bi-weekly to tidy your adopted shelf
• Each hour spent tidying shelves counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service hours

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• Organization
• An understanding of the Dewey Decimal system
• Ability to organize books in alphabetical order
• Must attend a local high school

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant in person for a tour of the Library and to review how we shelf-read.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Teen Community Ambassadors

Teen Community Ambassadors

Summary: Enjoy socializing and attending at events? Know a fair amount about your Cobourg Public Library? Come with us to events in the community and help us spread the word about programs, sell books and more. Each hour you spend counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Be able to lift up to 20lbs for set-up and take down at events
• Be reliable and attend at programs on time
• Be knowledgeable about the Library and the services we offer
• Be interested in socializing and meeting new people
• In some cases, you may have to be fully vaccinated and willing to wear a mask indoors or outdoors.
• Each hour spent hosting a session counts towards to one (1) hour of volunteer service hours.

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• Ability to lift 20lbs
• Ability to socialize with ease
• Must attend a local high school

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant in person or by Zoom to ensure that they are capable of committing to assisting us at outreach events.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Teen Program Helpers

Teen Program Helpers

Summary: Enjoy socializing and helping with programs? This opportunity allows you to meet new people while assisting with programs led by library staff. This may include preparation help for upcoming programs or by attending to help at the program itself.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Be interested in organizing and creating materials for programs
• Assisting at programs lead by staff
• Must be fully vaccinated and willing to wear a mask indoors or outdoors.
• Each hour spent assisting at a program counts towards one (1) hour of volunteer service hours.

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• Ability to socialize with ease
• Must attend a local high school

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant in person or by Zoom to ensure that they are capable of committing to assisting us at programs.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Teen Reviewers

Teen Reviewers

Summary: Have you read a book, played a video game or seen a DVD that you couldn’t stop thinking about? What about one that you would recommend to all your friends? Write about it in a review and we’ll feature it on our library website and/or social media accounts. Receive one volunteer hour for every review written. Make sure to follow the guidelines so that your review is eligible.

Skills and Qualifications:

• 14 - 19 years old
• Ability to write and access to Wi-Fi

Rules and Guidelines for Books:

• The resource being reviewed must be available through the Cobourg Public Library and be included in our collection. Search our online collection here.
• If you’re not sure if a book is in our collection or if it’s a YA title, feel free to ask!
• Keep your review short - 150 – 300 words (2 sentences)
• No spoilers!
• Your review must be in your own words
• Include a rating out of 5 stars at the end of your review
• A book review is NOT a summary. It may include a few lines of summary to give context to your review, but it should mostly be your opinions.
• Your book review should include your opinions about the book. This could be thoughts about the plot, the pacing of the story, the writing style, the characters, the word building, etc.
• What did you like? What didn’t you like?
• Why should other teens read this book?
• Please submit your completed review to rspence@cobourg.library.on.ca in the body of the email with your full name and high school name.
• If your review follows the guidelines listed above, it will be published to our website and/or social media with your first initial.

Reference Check? No

Screening Process: Yes.

Each Applicant will have to meet with the Community Engagement Assistant in person, by phone or zoom to ensure that you understand the procedures and guidelines.

Interested?  Then send in your application today!

Home Service Delivery

The Cobourg Public Library offers a free Home Bound Delivery service for Cobourg, Bewdley and Gores Landing residents who cannot make it into the Library. Once every four weeks, we will deliver a new bag of Library materials to you and pick up the Library materials that are ready to be returned.

Who is eligible for Home Services Delivery?

Our Home Bound Delivery Service is for Cobourg, Bewdley and Gores Landing residents who cannot make it into the Library due to:

• Long-term illness
• Mobility issues
• Physical disability
• Visual disability

Where do we deliver?

We can only deliver to addresses within the Cobourg, Bewdley and Gores Landing area, including:

• Long-term care facilities
• Nursing homes
• Private homes
• Retirement homes
• Seniors' apartments

What can be borrowed?

Library materials from our fiction and non-fiction collections that can be borrowed include:

• Books on CD
• DVDs
• Music CDs
• Paperbacks
• Regular print and large print books

Library materials that cannot be borrowed through our Home Services Delivery include:

• Quick Reads
• Fast Flicks
• Binge Bundles
• Interlibrary loans

How does it work?

Deliveries

Once every four weeks, we will deliver a bag of Library materials to your residence. At the same time, we will pick up any Library materials that are ready to be returned.

Selection of Library materials

For both our Home Services Delivery and Library Pickup services, Library materials are selected either by:

• Library staff, based on your reading interests with the help of your volunteer.

Register for Home Services Delivery

To register for either our Home Services Delivery or Library Pickup services, or for more information, contact the Home Delivery office by:

• Filling out an application form for service for yourself or someone else online
• Sending an email to rspence@cobourg.library.on.ca
• Calling Rachel Spence, Community Engagement Assistant, at 905.372.9271 x6240