Residents looking for a meaningful way to give back can find volunteer opportunities throughout the St. Johns County Public Library System, where community members help support everything from daily branch operations to children’s programs, book sales, outreach efforts, and special events. Library volunteers do more than work behind the scenes — they help strengthen one of the county’s most important resources for learning, connection, and community engagement.
“Libraries are hubs,” says Hastings Friends of the Library member Nancy Cuatrono, offering people access to information, gathering spaces, and opportunities that promote lifelong learning. Volunteering is an opportunity to advocate for literacy and make a lasting impact on others. History has shown time and again that, as Nancy says, “literacy makes such a difference in every aspect of one’s quality of life,” allowing us to interact with stories that encourage creativity, spark inspiration, and allow us to interact with worlds we never thought of before.
Through this engaging volunteer experience, community members have the opportunity to build meaningful connections while expanding their practical and professional skills. But for many volunteers, the greatest reward is knowing they are helping strengthen one of the community’s most valuable resources.
From community members to librarians, staff members, and other volunteers, volunteering offers you the opportunity to meet and form lasting connections that extend far beyond the library’s walls. Gordon Tarbat, president of the Friends of the Main Library in St. Augustine, says the experience has introduced him to “a lot of amazing people from all walks of life.” The library, he says, gives people “a sense of belonging to your community.”
Over at the Ponte Vedra Beach branch, Friends of the Library president Leslie Kleiman expands on this sentiment, explaining that volunteering is “a way for you to get to know the people of your community,” noting that many volunteers who began helping with book sales eventually became close friends and even members of the organization’s board.
Whether sorting books, assisting with children’s programs, supporting outreach efforts, or helping behind the scenes at events and book sales, volunteers play an important role in making library programs possible. As Nancy points out, libraries without volunteers often have only “one or two very exhausted people,” trying to provide services to the entire community. Through their time and talents, volunteers help ensure the St. Johns County Public Libraries aren’t just rooms full of books and information but continue to be vibrant spaces where people can learn and connect.
To volunteer with the St. Johns County Public Library System, visit the library’s volunteer page and fill out the Volunteer application. For additional information, reach out to the individual branches volunteer contact listed below.
- Main Library: Carrie – cmorgan@sjcfl.us
- Ponte Vedra Library – libpv@sjcfl.us
- Bartram Trail Library: Nicholas S. – nskunda@sjcfl.us
- Southeast Library: Minnie – mcribbs@sjcfl.us
- Hastings Library: Rita – mfoust@sjcfl.us
- Anastasia Island Library: Debbie – dbraden@sjcfl.us
