Library Family and Local History Support Volunteer

No current Vacancies

.What is the role about?

An exciting opportunity to support people in finding out about their family history. You can become an important part of helping customers to discover their family stories. You will be supporting people who need help in using IT to access and use online Family history resources

What will it involve?

· Assisting customers to navigate the Ancestry and Find My Past sites on library computers

· Providing software and basic technical support to use Ancestry and Find My Past.

· Signposting people to other sources of help or advice This help may be through one-to-one appointments, or in drop-in sessions offering quick help, or a mixture of the two.

What will you get from volunteering?

· The pleasure of using your IT skills to help others

· Experience and skills to enhance your CV

· Feeling of pride, helping people build their family Tree.

How much time would you be asked to contribute?

A regular morning or afternoon, frequency to be discussed, but at least 2 hours monthly.

How do you apply?

All volunteering activities are subject to completing a registration form, an informal interview with library staff and two satisfactory references.

What training and support will you receive?

You will receive induction, a welcome pack and specific training for your volunteering role. This may be shadowing or an occasional training session or just talking through what’s involved. There will be ongoing support from local library staff who will ensure you are kept up to date with all that is happening in Essex Libraries.

All volunteers are engaged for an introductory period (usually 1 to 3 months depending on the frequency of volunteering). This is to ensure the volunteer and activity are properly matched and either side may decide to end the agreement at this stage.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share

Skills

What skills and experience do you need?

· Information technology skills, particularly using the internet

· A good understanding of ancestry, find my past and other family history related sites

· Good communication and people skills

· Awareness of keeping safe online