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Friends’ eBay sales and volunteer conduct spur trustees to draft formal volunteer parameters
Summary
Trustees and library staff agreed the Friends’ online sales are permissible and beneficial, but raised concerns about volunteer conduct, background checks, scheduling and incident reporting; the director was asked to draft volunteer parameters and a single waiver for trustee approval.
Trustees heard detailed accounts of Friends-run fundraising and volunteer practices and agreed to formalize volunteer procedures, background checks and incident reporting.
A Friends representative described an eBay storefront operated by volunteers as ‘‘Friends of the [Library] bookstore’’ that lists higher-value donated books and returns proceeds to the library after postage and small platform fees. The volunteers reported the eBay operation yields roughly $150–$200 per month and that three people are listed as account managers.
Trustees and staff discussed the legality of giving discarded library books to a nonprofit. Library staff said they had consulted the state Inspector General’s office, which indicated it is common and permissible to transfer discarded books to nonprofit groups for resale provided city property rules are followed and proceeds return to the library.
Board members and staff also addressed several volunteer-related operational concerns: unclear schedules that made it difficult to investigate incidents, a recent parking-lot exchange between a volunteer and a patron, and security questions about volunteers accessing staff-only areas and bathrooms via a key that opens other secure doors. Trustees asked that volunteers check in with staff when they arrive and recommended identification (lanyards or visitor badges) to reduce confusion.
On background checks, staff and Friends leadership said the Friends will pay the per-volunteer CORI/background-check fee and that the organization is setting up the required vendor account. Trustees asked the director to prepare written volunteer parameters and a single waiver/policy for volunteers to sign; the trustees requested that the policy be presented for a vote once drafted.
Trustees emphasized that incident reports should be documented and tracked; staff said an incident log exists and will be used to work with volunteers if repeated problems occur.
