Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal October 2003 Volume 1 (5)

Volunteer scheme

"Friendly and helpful and not too complicated"

They range in age from 19 to 86, and North Ayrshire has 61 of them. Paul Cowan describes a remarkable scheme in which many people are willing to give of their time freely to help others onto the information superhighway.

Over the last 30 years public libraries have seen enormous changes. Most of us have computerised our operations and more recently put our catalogues on the Web. We began to stock paperbacks and then moved into what tended to be called Non-Book Material. Records gave way to cassettes and then compact discs, videos have been joined or replaced by DVDs, some libraries lend toys and even jigsaws and we charged for most of these items. Our stock is not all arranged in the same way. Learning from bookshops and supermarkets we have tried to get away from Dewey and A-Z and arrange at least some of our stock to catch the eye of the user. We have new books, themed books, dumpbins, and quick choice books on tables and stands just inside the door. All of this change was coupled, in many authorities, with cuts in both opening hours and budgets. The luckiest watched book prices rise whilst bookfunds stayed the same.

The People's Network

It was against this background that New Library: The People's Network was published in1997. The report stated that, "Individual access to information and communications networks will be impeded by cost" and, "...Public libraries are the ideal vehicle to provide this access and support, and to foster the spread of vital new technological skills among the population." Somebody wanted to put money into public libraries, we were central to somebody's plans at last. After all the form filling and cabling we had to make room for all these computers. Unless you were lucky enough to have an empty room available, severe weeding and rearrangement of stock was necessary to fit them in, all together or perhaps scattered in ones and twos across the room.

Who are the computers for?

Once the computers were unpacked and connected up we wondered who would benefit from them. Library users of course, but only those who knew what to do: surely this great initiative wasn't just for people with computers at home to reduce their telephone bills or to enable passing New Zealanders to send a letter home? In North Ayrshire Libraries we decide that we would try to help people with no knowledge of computers to make use of them. We have 17 small branches and no central library. Three of them have one member of staff, and even the biggest four branches have a maximum of three staff in the mornings and evenings. Confronted with people who have never switched on a computer, found their way around a keyboard, printed or saved, we simply do not have time to sit down with them and begin at the very beginning. Perhaps for this reason library staff were enthusiastic about our chosen solution.

Though we had no idea if we would get any volunteers or any students for them to teach, we decided, in April 2002, that we would try to recruit Computer Buddies.

Recruitment and selection of volunteers

Posters were put up in all the libraries, we sent details of the scheme to the local newspapers and to the North Ayrshire Volunteer Centre in Saltcoats. We decided that we would not offer tuition to children, because they should have learned the basics at school and we would have to run Disclosure Scotland checks on our tutors. We realised that the scheme would only be as good as the volunteers therefore recruitment and selection procedures would be vital and we would say no if we felt it necessary. We use a slightly modified North Ayrshire Council application form so we have the volunteer's employment history, previous voluntary work and the names of two referees. Everyone who applies is interviewed as soon as we have their references. Volunteers are asked about their knowledge of computers, do they know Windows 2000, our operating system, how would they start lesson one with a nervous student. What we are looking for is a certain amount of technical knowledge but also a person who is good at explaining things in simple terms: "click on that wee cross" is preferable to "select from the drop-down menu," or "scroll down the page". To date we have taken on 61 volunteers and rejected 17. Most of the 17 had more than enough knowledge of computer basics but seemed unable to explain them clearly. Volunteers who travel to the next town or village receive travelling expenses in cash immediately.

Who are the volunteers?

There is no such thing as a typical volunteer. We have 25 women and 36 men and they range in age from 19 to 86. Two of them teach computing by day and (bless them) volunteer for more of the same at night and on Saturdays. We have a few retired teachers but also a man who works in a Chinese takeaway, a plumber and a graphic artist. Some of our volunteers have qualifications in computing but most do not, indeed a few have recently completed "computers for the terrified" courses and therefore know exactly why their students fear they will break the computer if they press the wrong button.

Monitoring the scheme

Most of our students are retired, the oldest so far is a woman of 91 who has just sent her first email. We give students an evaluation form after their first session with a tutor. They are asked to rate the performance of the tutor on a scale which runs from "excellent" to "very poor". We do this mainly in case, despite the form, interview and references, we have taken somebody who is unsuitable. If we receive a number of bad evaluations from different students about the same tutor then we will politely tell the volunteer that it doesn't seem to be working and remove him or her from our lists: this has happened just once. More usually we get a lot of very positive comments on these forms. Here is a sample:

"tutor is quite funny and has plenty of patience..."; "not too complicated..."; "can't wait for the next session..."; "he gave me confidence..."; "made the very basics very clear to a complete beginner..."; "didn't realise that 60 minutes had passed..."; "took away my great fear of computers..."; "she listened, took her time to explain things, sometimes more than once and was really friendly..."; "better than reading a book on computers..."

Computer Buddies and other learning providers

One of our evaluation forms said "personal tuition much better than night school," and this is partly true. The Computer Buddies scheme offers 1:1 tuition for as long as it takes for the student to master the basics. Tutor and student build up a personal relationship, and the student does not have to worry that he or she is behind the rest of the class or wonder if he dares put his hand up and say "I couldn't follow any of that." We are not, however, in competition with our colleagues in Community Learning and Development or the local colleges and we do not offer any sort of certificate at the end of the tuition. Our aim has always been to enable people to make use of the computers in the libraries. If we are approached by people who already have a working knowledge of computers but want, for example, the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence), desktop publishing or web page design then we will refer them elsewhere.

When the golf course beckons...

We have found that you cannot have too many volunteers, so we are always recruiting. When we take on volunteers we cannot ask them to commit themselves to working fixed hours: there may not be any demand for tuition in their library/libraries. We ask that they should be able to teach for a minimum of one hour per week i.e. be able to teach at least one person. Tuition times are agreed between tutor and student, usually one hour every week. Some volunteers work full-time, some part-time, some are students, some are retired or unemployed and could theoretically work all the time. Volunteers, unlike the rest of us, can say no. We have now discovered that without formally resigning from the scheme, some volunteers find the golf course too tempting in the better weather, others having successfully taught a few students decide that they want a rest. Some organise their tuition around school holidays, others find a job, change shifts or move house.

Two thousand hours and counting

After nearly 18 months and more than 2000 hours of tuition the 165 students think their Computer Buddies are wonderful and so do we. Further development of the scheme is a key priority in our service plan and in the Council's E-Community Learning Action Plan. Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education took a close look at the Buddies scheme as part of their inspection of Community Learning in North Ayrshire. A powerful new online database has been developed to track all of this activity. We have never needed to advertise the scheme and we have waiting lists in four of our libraries. We have developed our own short courses to supplement the work of the Buddies and tackle long waiting lists. Almost all the students didn't think computers were for them until they saw them, free and in their local library.

Thanks to our Buddies, North Ayrshire Libraries provide a slip road to the Information Superhighway.

Paul Cowan is Area Officer (Library Operations), Educational Services, North Ayrshire.

Information Scotland Vol. 1 (5) October 2003

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