1. You are the director of a medium-size public library that has a volunteer coordinator who is supposed to oversee approximately 75 volunteers who have offered to help in the library. Since the demand for the library’s services has increased and the funding for the library has not, you are depending on these volunteers.

Before being put on the volunteer list, each volunteer had been interviewed and his or her skills noted. Each volunteer has also signed up for at least two activities he or she would be interested in assisting with and has provided the times he or she would be available to work. The volunteer coordinator (also a volunteer)

was to make out the schedule and assign each volunteer to a suitable task.

Unfortunately, things do not seem to be working out well. Volunteers show up at the library and there are no projects ready for them to do during their scheduled slots. This problem has been going on for several months and understandably the volunteers are becoming frustrated. Their enthusiasm has dropped off and many are failing to show up at their assigned times.

You have scheduled a time to meet with the volunteer coordinator. How will you structure this interview? What questions will you ask to get to the cause of the problem?

What possible solutions can you think of to try to improve the volunteer component of your library? What are some major differences in communicating with employees and with volunteers?