For many students, the Johnson County libraries were — and still are — a beloved place to discover new books and to learn new things. Juniors Audrey Fullerton and Trisha Rastogi gave back to their community by volunteering at the library over the summer. 

While searching for opportunities Fullerton discovered the open position for teens at the Johnson County libraries.  

“[BVHS] has volunteer resources listed on Canvas,” she said. “So I looked there and found out about this.”

The process to become a volunteer at the library is not complex, with students only needing to attend a 30-minute orientation beforehand.

“I went to our local Blue Valley Library branch and asked if I could volunteer because I knew they have volunteering — they told me on the library website where I could find volunteer opportunities,” Rastogi said. “It’s really easy. You can sign up and they send you an email detailing the opportunities you can pursue.”

There were multiple volunteer opportunities students could undertake, including passing out the free summer reading books to children or working the circulation desk. 

“I [wanted] to be a circulation volunteer which basically just helps with filling holds and shelving and things like that,” Rastogi said. “[I was most excited about] shelving just because.”

One reason Fullerton chose to be a summer-reading volunteer was because of the interactive nature. 

“I like seeing happy children and their free books,” she said. “It makes me happy.”

The circulation desk offered two-hour long shifts, and summer reading volunteers worked three-hour shifts, making volunteering at the library a good way for students to collect service hours as well. For Fullerton, the choice to volunteer with a Johnson county library was obvious.

“I like to read, I like libraries, and it’s close to my house,” she said. 

The reason Rastogi wanted to work for the library was more sentimental. 

“The library always played a pretty significant role in my life when I was little,” she said. “I really wanted to help.”