Volunteer Information
Volunteer applications are available at the circulation desk or at the links listed below. Volunteers must be 13 years of age or going into the eighth grade. Several volunteers are involved in family volunteer projects — children involved in this type of project may be younger than 13 years of age if working with an adult.
Court-appointed volunteer hours are not applicable to this agency.
National Honor Society Volunteers
Many National Honor Society students choose to complete their required volunteer hours at the library. Volunteer opportunities exist at the Olathe Public Library, 201 E. Park, and the Indian Creek Branch, 12990 S. Black Bob Road. The library requires each volunteer to work a minimum of 15 hours. However, if you completed 15 hours last school year and received an acceptable evaluation, you may make special arrangements to work less hours. If you are interested in this type of commitment, or are a "veteran" library volunteer, please complete the NHS Volunteer Application.
Volunteer Applications
Interested volunteers can submit an online application at the links below, or for further information, contact Rita Patterson at (913) 971-6879 at the Olathe Public Library or Polly Budridge at (913) 971-5246 at Indian Creek Branch Library..
Regular Volunteer | Family Volunteer | NHS Volunteer | Summer Volunteer
2008 Nancy Quinlisk Chandler Volunteer Award
Dana Campbell and Carolyn Hardin winners of the 2008 Nancy Quinlisj Chandler Award
Two long-time library volunteers received the 2008 Nancy Quinlisk Chandler Award at the annual volunteer recognition event on November 1. Nearly ninety staff, volunteers and family members attended. Recipients of the award were Dana Campbell and Carolyn Hardin.
Dana began her volunteer journey in the summer of 2002 when she was appointed to the Olathe Public Library Board of Directors. By the following year, she was leading the effort to produce a DVD that told the library’s story. Through her connection to Premier Studios, she was a major part of a team that produced a professional DVD that was distributed to many residents of Olathe and media outlets. In 2005, Dana joined the Olathe Public Library Foundation Board and shared her talents in that venue as well. During her second term on the library board, she co-chaired the Facilities Task Force to help determine future library locations. Dana is quick to champion the library wherever she goes and is truly an asset to the Olathe Public Library volunteer program.
Carolyn has been a library volunteer for two years and worked 112 hours in 2007. So far this year, she has worked 207 hours. These would be a remarkable total for any volunteer, but what makes it even more impressive, Carolyn doesn’t work during the summer months. She leaves the area during the summer to spend time with her children and grandchildren in North Carolina. Indian Creek Branch Library staff members say they breathe a collective sigh of relief when Carolyn returns! Carolyn reports each week to ICB to help with endless shelving duties and also organizes and weeds piles of possible donations for the Friends of the Library book sales and selects and delivers materials to and from Homebound customers. In addition, she lends a hand at the book sales in the ICB meeting rooms and the Ella Mae Memorial Book Sale at the Center of Grace.
The library is blessed to have these two outstanding volunteers as well as the hundreds of other remarkable volunteers that help us each and every day.