All,I am prayerfully considering making a proposal to our church leadership that my volunteer position become a part-time paid position.Countless church members are always surprised when I tell them that I am a volunteer.I'm sure the bulk of us are volunteers but I'd like to gauge the precedence of paid church librarians.If you are willing to share, I'd like to know if you are paid (and if so how many hours per week), or volunteer (and if so how many hours per week).I want to be considerate if anyone is uncomfortable sharing publicly, you can send me a private message.I also want to be clear that I do not want to know how much anyone is paid, (unless of course you feel so inclined).Thank you so much. This is such a valuable resource and I am very thankful for you all.Sharln ChapmanHayes Barton Baptist Church
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Our church is medium-sized, I guess - 500-600 members. My friend and I run the library on a volunteer basis and we have a committee of 7 or 8 other people. How much time we spends varies rather wildly from week to week, depending on what is going on, if there are books to process, what new projects we're setting for ourselves...so some weeks it might only be a few hours and other weeks I might spend quite a bit more. I personally don't ever spend enough that I would consider it a "part-time position" but that is in part because we share the responsibility with so many other people (who, for the most part, help with covering shifts in the library on Sunday mornings, evenings and Wednesday evenings). If I did it all, it would probably qualify! I'm curious, though, those who are paid for this position, how big are your churches?
Dear Sharin,
I volunteer in the church library and have for almost 40 years. The library is 75 years young. At one time we were the biggest church library in the Southeast United States.
I have thought about your question, but I love doing what I do, and I'm afraid getting paid would make it seem more like a job.
The library is open on Sunday, Tuesday (workday) and Wednesday.
The Lord has blessed me with a full time job since 1989 as church library director. I have the luxury of being in a very large church that makes this possible. There is also one other full time staff member and a part-time staff member along with about 30 volunteers. Most people don't realize the amount of time and work that goes into maintaining a church library. The church library is or can be a vital part of the church ministry. I would encourage you to pursue the possibility of a part-time paid position.
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Our church is medium-sized, I guess - 500-600 members. My friend and I run the library on a volunteer basis and we have a committee of 7 or 8 other people. How much time we spends varies rather wildly from week to week, depending on what is going on, if there are books to process, what new projects we're setting for ourselves...so some weeks it might only be a few hours and other weeks I might spend quite a bit more. I personally don't ever spend enough that I would consider it a "part-time position" but that is in part because we share the responsibility with so many other people (who, for the most part, help with covering shifts in the library on Sunday mornings, evenings and Wednesday evenings). If I did it all, it would probably qualify!
I'm curious, though, those who are paid for this position, how big are your churches?
I volunteer in the church library and have for almost 40 years. The library is 75 years young. At one time we were the biggest church library in the Southeast United States.
I have thought about your question, but I love doing what I do, and I'm afraid getting paid would make it seem more like a job.
The library is open on Sunday, Tuesday (workday) and Wednesday.
The Lord has blessed me with a full time job since 1989 as church library director. I have the luxury of being in a very large church that makes this possible. There is also one other full time staff member and a part-time staff member along with about 30 volunteers. Most people don't realize the amount of time and work that goes into maintaining a church library. The church library is or can be a vital part of the church ministry. I would encourage you to pursue the possibility of a part-time paid position.
I am up to my nose finalizing the last minute details of our summer reading program. Once that's behind me I will definitely pursue a paid position.
I'd still love opinions and thoughts from other members.