About the Clearinghouse

Get Involved: Powered By Your Library began as a California statewide initiative designed to expand the visibility and contributions of skilled volunteers through public libraries. The initiative’s success led to a 3-year grant to a collaborative of 4 state library agencies – Arizona, California, Idaho and Texas – from the Institute for Museum and Library Services’ Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

We are optimistic that this initiative will result in tapping into the experience and passion of a talented pool of volunteers wanting to make a difference in your library and community. In addition to various training opportunities to be held in each state, and a special partnership with VolunteerMatch, we are gathering resources and storing them here to help make implementation easier for you. New materials will be added on an on-going basis, as more libraries get on board and share what they’ve learned.

Learn from your public library colleagues who are creating effective volunteer engagement strategies, tools and practices that will keep you from re-inventing the wheel! Search the database of Get Involved resources and enhance your success in volunteer engagement. Resources include:

You can suggest a resource or reach the Get Involved administrative team using our Suggestion Box.