Library Streamlines Volunteer Tracking with Check-In Kiosk
Easy Check-In
Milestones Tracking
Volunteer Texting
East Lake Community Library Tracks Hours and Events
East Lake Community Library is a unique library located in the unincorporated community of Palm Harbor, Florida. They offer a variety of programming and have a dedicated network of volunteers who love being involved in the community. The volunteer program is run by coordinator Mirant Vyas.
“I primarily manage, schedule, coordinate, recruit, and onboard volunteers,” Mirant explains. “Anything and everything to do with volunteers runs through me.” This is his first year as volunteer coordinator, and during this time he’s worked to expand the volunteer opportunities offered at the library. The volunteer program used to be focused solely on library operations, but has since expanded to include work in the children’s room, on the teen tech team, and fundraising.
Volunteers and community members alike especially enjoy the fundraising activities. “Fundraisers are really big,” Mirant says. “We have a homemade soup day where our staff and volunteers will make a homemade soup in little jars, and we sell out every time. The community loves it.”
Advanced Tracking Features
In an effort to streamline tracking and go paperless, the East Lake Community Library searched for a digital solution and signed up for Track it Forward in 2020. However, they weren’t using the software to its full capacity until Mirant became the volunteer coordinator. “At that time we had the basic plan; no bells and whistles,” he explains. As part of his job interview for the coordinator position, he looked into Track it Forward to see how they could use it better, and decided to upgrade to the advanced plan. “That’s probably the best investment I’ve made [as coordinator],” Mirant says. “We’ve gone completely paperless in terms of volunteer hours, so it’s very helpful.”
“We've gone completely paperless in terms of volunteer hours.”
- Mirant Vyas
Mirant decided to upgrade to the advanced plan for two main features: the check-in kiosk and the ability to send text messages. “The biggest benefit I saw was the kiosk,” Mirant says. “It allows volunteers to come in, check in, and automatically puts [hours] into the system - I don't have to touch it.” Mirant was able to easily incorporate the check-in kiosk alongside their existing employee check-in process. Volunteers and employees use the same laptop to check in. “It just seamlessly integrated,” Mirant says.
Mirant also uses the communication features to send updates and reminders to volunteers. “The new feature for SMS texting is a really big hit,” he says. “I have a lot of teen volunteers who aren’t great with checking their emails, so being able to send SMS updates is a big help.”
Milestones and Reports
In addition to these advanced plan features, Mirant utilizes the milestones feature and reports on a regular basis. The milestones feature is designed to help administrators and volunteers track progress toward hours goals or requirements. However, at East Lake Community Library, they use the feature a little differently. “I use it in kind of an unorthodox way…I use it as a limitation,” Mirant says. He explains that Florida has a requirement that government volunteers who volunteer more than 10 hours per month must undergo a background check.
“A lot of times, it’s not worth it for us to spend $70-$80 to get someone background-checked and fingerprinted if they’re only going to be here for three months,” Mirant says. “I have the milestones set to 10 hours so I can see who is within that 10 hour range and who is above it each month.” He can then notify volunteers who might be approaching their limit that they need to slow down, or if they’ve already completed a background check they can continue above the limit. “We also use [milestones] for updates during quarterly volunteer meetings…and we give out awards for most hours accumulated,” Mirant says.
As volunteer coordinator, Mirant not only onboards and manages volunteers, but he also reports on volunteer activity. “I am a very big statistics guy, so I enjoy pulling reports and seeing which activities have the most volunteer hours, or where we’re lacking in some volunteer hours,” Mirant explains. “I like when I log in that I can see the overview line graph, because I can see where I started–it’s pretty much just an upward graph from there.”
Under Mirant’s leadership and with the help of Track it Forward, the East Lake Community Library has been able to grow its volunteer programs and engagement. Features like the check-in kiosk, text messages, and milestones have helped streamline the volunteer time tracking and management process. “We really enjoy using Track it Forward,” Mirant says. “It’s a simple, straightforward system that has everything we need.”