Volunteering Makes the Library a True Community Space

The Milton Public Library is a busy place. This is understandable with four floors, a lengthy events calendar and wall-to-wall information in the form of everything from books to DVDs. The library is also home to the Milton Historical Society's records and the Friends of the Milton Library Book Shop.

The improved building, which opened its doors just over a year ago, has become a true community meeting place in Milton. With so much activity it has also become a volunteering gold mine. To run so many events, operate the Book Shop and keep the collection on full display, the library has more work than the staff can handle.

As part of the celebration of Patch's 100^th site launch on Tuesday, August 17, the company gave employees part of the day to volunteer in the communities we cover. This was the first of five such days that Patch calls Give 5.

For the first Give 5 day, Ads Manager Washawn Jones, Regional Publisher Michelle Benfer and I volunteered for a few hours at the library.  We contacted Friends of the Library Vice President and Book Shop Co-Chair Connie Spiros.

Upon arriving, it became clear, volunteerism is at the heart of what makes the library a great place. Spiros introduced us to a group of volunteers who were quickly stocking shelves in the Book Shop before putting us to work.

Washawn and I loaded up box after box of donations to the shop and brought them down to be shelved.

Spiros said the friends have been holding book sales for nearly two decades, but more consistent sales didn't start until about eight years ago. She said donations have always been plentiful, but when the new library afforded the Friends a dedicated location for the Book Shop, donations increased slightly.

"They see (the space) and they realize we can benefit from more books," Spiros said.

The Friends of the Library Book Shop, which is located in the basement of the library, takes all kinds of gently used books, CDs and DVDs. The only exception is encyclopedias and textbooks because of their time sensitive content.

All donations to the Book Shop are utilized in one way or the other. Materials that are slightly damaged, sit on the shelves for an extended period of time or have several duplicates are donated to other non-profit organizations. The library gives donations to Got Books? and Reading Tree.

"If we can't sell a book, we do donate it ourselves," said Spiros.

Spiros said the Book Shop has earned in about $8,000 this year, a feat made more impressive by the ultra-low sale prices. All of the money made at the shop goes back into the library, either through programs or to increase the library's collection.

In the Book Shop, volunteers handle everything including taking donations, shelving books and selling material. 

"We look for volunteers who love books and want to meet other people who love books," Spiros said, pointing out volunteers come from all age groups. Spiros said volunteers typically work two or three two-hour shifts each month. Those thinking about volunteering aren't obligated to join the rotation.

After toting the new donations down to the Book Shop, Spiros sent us to Library Director Phil McNulty. McNulty would later tell me that volunteers are utilized to weed out over or under used materials and help with collection management projects. He said volunteers also take on special projects like a recent community newspaper index.

If so many volunteers didn't help the library, McNulty said the consequences would be straightforward. "There'd be a lot of things that don't get done," he said.

McNulty put the Patch volunteers to work on a collection management project. The library's extensive CD and DVD collections needed to be swapped. We loaded up carts with jazz, orchestra and popular music just to name a few, and rolled them down the isle to replace DVDs that range from comedy movies to TV series.

Our short stint of volunteering showed me the benefits that the library gives to the community wouldn't be possible without the hard work of its members.

To volunteer at the library call 617-698-5757. Anyone interested in volunteering at the Book Shop can email Connie Spiros at cdspiros@comcast.net.

The Book Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Saturday hours will be added after the summer.