... as of January 2012

Volunteering at our library is not a major time commitment. It's a very valuable service to our community or readers....and an easy way to meet other members. Some of our volunteer slots require a weekly commitment of time and day; other volunteer opportunities are more flexible or involve some one-shot activity. In other words, we have slots in all shapes and sizes. We're currently looking to fill the following volunteer slots:

COFFEE SHOP ATTENDANT. This position requires three hours of time per week, from 10 AM to 1 PM; will try to accommodate preferences for day. This is a good slot for a schmoozer, as the coffee bar is located next to our community tables. Duties are not overwhelming: make coffee, prepare bagels (or our homemade english muffins), scoop out ice cream, surrender various packets of carbohydrates and cans of beverage, help us keep track of supplies etc. Can't volunteer during the week? Like to be around cheerful Spanish and English voices??  We're also looking for someone to serve as coffee shop attendant between 10 AM and 2 PM on SATURDAYS.  Training provided.

GREETER. Also requires three hours per week. This is a good volunteer slot for someone who knows Oaxaca more or less well. When we're 'in season' (roughly, the fall through the spring), we like to station a Greeter near our entrance. The Greeters' function is mainly informational. The Greeter serves as a sort of public relations officer for the day. Tasks are to secure eye contact, verbally greet patrons, provide a quick orientation and tour of the library's organization, holdings, and programs, and, especially, recruit new members to the library. The Greeter also often serves as an informal Traveler's Aid Society, fielding questions of all sorts from newly arrived expats or snowbirds. Spanish skills helpful. Training provided.

INFO DIRECTORIES COP. Similar qualifications. Task is to maintain three loose leaf binders that get a lot of traffic: (1) Rental Directory, (2) Restaurant/Hotel/Tours Directory, and (3) a General Services Directory. The task here is to cruise, edit, and generally update these directories. Make your own hours.

BOOKCASE CRUISER. This is a new program we'll be implementing at the Library in November, aimed at establishing an effective way to keep our books in good physical repair and shelved correctly. Volunteers will be assigned (or could choose) one or more bookcases to tend. We're very fortunate to have some professional librarians among our membership, and they will be mounting training sessions for Cruisers sometime in early October. Training will cover a current orientation to the library; an overview of the Dewey Decimal system; instruction on handling and examining books; instruction in the use of a specialized book vacuuming system. Learn something new and provide some very valuable care-taking for our babies... This is a good volunteer opportunity for folks who are occupied in the day, but could put in a little time during our late afternoon hours (4-7 PM).

PRESENTERS: LECTURERS/ADVENTURERS/WRITERS/CREATIVE FLANEURS/AUDIENCE DAZZLERS. Our Education Events Committee is soliciting proposals for educational programs that might be of interest to our memberships...so, if you have anything in the way of a Talk, or Workshop, or Presentation, or Excursion, or series of same, they'd like to hear from you.

Contact person for this is Susan Koenig: oaxacasusan [at] yahoo.com

SIGN MAKER. Got yourself a hot Mac or PC, a printer, and desktop publishing software?? We have an almost constant need for small scale signage around the library. Will provide font and logo info and reimburse for consumables.

If you have interest in any of these positions, please email us at: volunteeroaxaca [at] gmail.com or drop by the library and fill-in a Volunteer card. Please note that the hours for many of these volunteer positions are flexible...and some would easily lend themselves to 'job sharing' if you want to work only every other week.