Volunteering is limited to Mason or Deerfield Township young adults in grades 7 - 12 with Mason Public Library cards.

  • 24/25 Schoolyear Team- Teen Advisory Board (TAB) Application –currently accepting applications. Paper registration is open. Registered volunteers must also accept the invite to join our app/email group via Remind.com, and buy a library shirt to wear while volunteering to be considered active volunteers.Teens are active only from mid-August through May. Teens may be offered limited opportunities during the summer. Shifts are offered first come, first served via Remind and SignUpGenius and are generally scheduled first come, first served on selected weekdays 3:30-5:30 p.m. We do not guarantee that the available shifts will fit your schedule. See the TAB Auxiliary web page for more detail.
  • 24/25 Schoolyear - Reading Buddies (previously Study Team) – This is no longer an application based program. See the Reading Buddies (previously Study Team) web page for more detail. 
  • 2025 Summer Volunteers:  Registration opens online 5p.m. 4/1/25.  Online registration 2025 (link to be added): Registration opens 4/1/25 @ 5 p.m. It closes when we reach 115 volunteers, usually within an hour. We do NOT keep a waiting list but encourage those interested in volunteering to join our Schoolyear Teen Advisory Board (TAB). We do not guarantee that the available shifts will fit your schedule. Registered volunteers must also accept the invite to join our app/email group via Remind.com, attend 2025 training on either Saturday, May 10th afternoon or on May 12th evening, buy a library shirt to wear while volunteering, and must submit release forms. Please review the information on our Summer Volunteer page before registering. See the Summer Volunteer web page for more details.
  • Printable Teen Volunteer Releases & 2025 Summer Team Calendar (links will be updated.).
  • Volunteer opportunities will be offered to TAB during the school year (September - May) and to Summer Volunteers during May-Aug. All communication is by email and Remind.com (email/Remind app). 
Teen Advisory Board (TAB) Requirements
  • Volunteers must either have 1) completed 6th grade, 2) be in grades 7-12, or 3) be in the summer after their graduation.
  • Volunteers must reside in the city of Mason or in Deerfield Township.
  • Volunteers (or a parent) must have a Mason Public Library card.
  • Volunteers are required to join our Remind class in order to receive announcements and to use SignUp Genius to commit to volunteer slots. These are free communication and scheduling tools that connect teachers, students, and parents via email and/or a free app.
  • All Teen Volunteers are expected to be courteous to their fellow volunteers by giving at least 24 hour notice when canceling a volunteer commitment. This allows time for someone else to arrange transportation and fill the spot. Not showing up for a volunteer slot you committed to,  canceling with less than 24 hour notice, not following dress code, arriving late or leaving a shift early, or using your phone in front of library customers are all tracked as Problems. Three or more Problems lead to at least a 3 month suspension from shift eligibility. Repeated issues lead to dismissal from the volunteer program and impact eligibity in future years.
  • Volunteers must purchase a TAB shirt to wear during public-facing shifts. Our dress code for volunteering at events or where the public can see us is Business Casual - i.e., TAB shirt & khakis/jeans/pants). Leggings, sweats, and shorts (among other things) are considered too casual. If you can wear it to work out in, it's definitely too casual!

Note to parents: This program is designed to develop job, communication, and customer service skills in teens as they provide volunteer service to the library. Parents already have those skills. Please support your teens in scheduling themselves and in communicating with the library. Please do NOT do it for them. Instead, please teach them how to remember when to be ready for each month's scheduling race, how to make sure there are no conflicts on your family calendar with their shifts, how to make sure you are available for transportation, how to use signupgenius, and how to communicate professionally via email or Remind, especially if they are canceling a shift. We understand that middle school volunteers typically require more family support than high school volunteers. Thank you for supporting your teen and for letting them take the lead.

How to buy your Volunteer (TAB) Shirt (required)

All teen Volunteers are required to follow our Employee Dress code (the casual side of "business casual" i.e.medium to longer skirts or pants/jeans without tears, but no leggings, sweats, or shorts) and to wear TAB shirts when volunteering in public events. You can order your shirt online for about $14 here. We wear these shirts when we lead programs or work away from the library. The design doesn’t change year to year, so this is usually a one-time purchase (unless you grow…). In general, if you can wear it to work out, then it's too casual for volunteering at the library. If you are volunteering outdoors in temperatures over 75F, then you can wear longer shorts instead of pants.

Order your TAB shirt (long or short-sleeved, your choice) as soon as you receive your welcome email. It takes about a week to be made and you can't volunteer in a public-facing shift without it. You'll pick it up from Cincinnati Team Apparel, not the library. It takes a week to make your shirt. There are none waiting on a rack in the store. Since the shirts are custom made, there are no returns.  Click or tap here

TAB Auxiliary

Teen Advisory Board (TAB) s open to young adults in grades 7 through 12 who live in Mason or Deerfield Township and who have Mason Public Library cards. TAB is our schoolyear volunteer team. TAB provides opportunities to volunteer at special programs and events for children and teens, including early notice for Reading Buddies and Summer Reading.

  • NO meetings.
  • No minimum service requirements.
  • TAB members are expected to join our Remind class in order to receive announcements and to use SignUp Genius to commit to volunteer slots. Remind is a free communication tool that connects teachers/librarians instantly with students and parents.
  • Teens, not parents, are expected to manage their own communications and scheduling with Ms. Cheryl as soon as possible and definitely from 9th grade on. This is part of developing job and communication skills.
  • TAB members are expected to be courteous to their fellow volunteers by giving at least 24-hour notice when canceling a volunteer commitment. This allows time for someone else to arrange transportation and fill the spot.
  • TAB Auxiliary members must purchase a TAB shirt to wear while volunteering where our library patrons can see them. There is a dress code for volunteers: Business Casual. Leggings and shorts (among other things) are considered too casual for volunteering.
  • Most shifts occur on weekday afternoons 3:30-5:30 p.m. September - May. Very occasionally, shifts are available Tuesday evenings or other times.

TAB members help with craft and kit preparation, book processing, decorating the library, creating props for programs, and may also be asked to volunteer at children's programs. 

TAB helps students develop important early job skills such as reliability, scheduling, timeliness, communication, customer service, and adherence to a dress code.

Registration opens online at 5p.m. 4/1/25. It closes when we reach 110 candidates, usually within an hour. There is no waiting list.

Mason Public Library invites reliable teens who want to assist with our Summer Reading Program during June, July, and early August who:

Note to parents: This program is designed to develop job, communication, and customer service skills in teens as they provide volunteer service to the library. Parents already have those skills. Please support your teens in scheduling themselves and in communicating with the library. Please do NOT do it for them. Instead, please teach them how to remember when to be ready for each month's scheduling race, how to make sure there are no conflicts on your family calendar with their shifts, how to make sure you are available for transportation, how to use signupgenius, and how to communicate professionally via email or Remind, especially if they are canceling a shift. We understand that middle school volunteers typically require more family support than high school volunteers. Thank you for supporting your teen and for letting them take the lead.

Registration and Training

Get ready to register: Gather your information and check your calendar. Pick your training meeting. Set up your SignUpGenius.com account at https://signupgenius.com. Note your username.
 

  • Name
  • Name you want on your nametag
  • Mailing address
  • Mason Public Library card number (can be a parent's card #)
  • SignUpGenius username
  • Teen mobile number for receiving scheduling texts via Remind
  • 7th /8th grade parent contact information
  • Which training meeting you will attend (5/10/25 2p.m., 5/10/25 3:30p.m., or 5/12/25 6p.m.)
  • Grade you are about to complete
  • School in the Fall
  1. Registration is completely online and opens April 1, 2025 at 5:00p.m. It remains open until 110 teens sign up then it closes. Sometimes the program fills in minutes. Sometimes it fills in a few days.  Registration is currently closed. There is no waiting list.

    IMPORTANT: If you just finished 6th grade, DON’T give us your Mason school email or use it with SignUpGenius or Remind. The school still blocks these until you start 7th grade in August. Use a different email or you won’t receive your reminders. This only applies to graduating Mason Intermediate 6th graders.
     
  2. SignupGenius.com: IMPORTANT: Each volunteer needs their own SignUpGenius account. Your name must show so that scheduling works and prints correctly. Please set up a free account before your training meeting using an email that you will actually check during the summer. 
  3. Volunteer shirt: Please order your volunteer shirt at https://www.cincinnatiteamapparel.com/shop/product/mason-public-library-...
  4. Accept the invitation to join our volunteer Remind group. (You participate via app or email. Parents of teens 13 or younger must also accept an invite. Cell phone app, website remind.com, or email access is required to participate.)
  5. Attend a Training Meeting: You must attend one meeting: 5/10/25 at either 2 or 3:30 p.m. or 5/12/25 6 p.m. Bring a phone or other device,  your parent-signed release form, and a blank service hour form if you are tracking hours for a particular organization. You will practice using our Summer Remind group at that time, practice Online Scheduling with SignUpGenius, discuss Volunteer Expectations and Customer Service, and learn our Shelving rules.
  6. Release Form: Print, sign, then turn in your parent-signed release form at the training meeting: Teen Volunteer Release  https://tinyurl.com/mpl-release

 

What Summer Volunteers do:

  • Library Volunteers divide their 2-hour shifts between shelving children’s books and movies, craft prep, helping children with summer reading prizes, and doing other light tasks to free our staff to keep up with the summer crowds. Library volunteer shifts are always located at the Mason Public Library.
  • Program Volunteers help us with setup and cleanup, with activities, crafts, playing games with the children, and crowd management. Some shifts may be located not at the library, but at local parks or at the Mason Community Center. Watch the location carefully, because library staff can't provide transportation. Some shifts are shorter or longer than 2 hours.
  • Shelving Volunteers help after Summer Reading is over by shelving children’s books and movies and doing other light tasks to free our staff to keep up with the summer crowds.  You won’t be awarding prizes. You might also do a bit of craft prep to help us get ready for fall story times. Shelving Volunteer shifts are always located at the Mason Public Library.

 

Scheduling Volunteer Shifts:

You will need text or email and online access to schedule your shifts. You will schedule yourself online for June, July, and August at 6:00 p.m. monthly 5/20/25, 6/17/25, and 7/15/25. We will send the links via Remind at 6:00 p.m. EDT.

Scheduling will be online via SignUpGenius and first come, first served. Your link will be sent via Remind. (Remind is a free app that simplifies text and email communication between families and teachers/coaches while providing accountability and keeping cell numbers private.)

  • The June signup link will be sent on 5/20/25 at 6 p.m.
  • The July signup link will be sent on 6/17/25 at 6 p.m.
  • The August signup link will be sent on 7/15/25 at 6 p.m.

Single Shift Scheduling: During the first 24 hours of scheduling each month, a volunteer can schedule themselves only for one single shift during a week. That is to give all the volunteers a chance to reserve a shift. There is no guarantee that the available shifts will fit your personal schedule and transportation. Scheduling is first come, first served. Anyone who reserves more than one shift in a week during that first 24 hours will have the extra shifts deleted. Volunteers are not required to schedule a shift each week.

Mulitishift Scheduling: After 24 hours, multishift scheduling opens. At that point, volunteers are welcome to schedule themselves for any number of additional shifts, first come, first served.

2025 Planning Calendar: Print this and use it to plan your wish list. Cross out shifts where you aren’t available (vacations, no ride to the library, band camp or sports, etc.) Have this with you when registration starts because it moves quickly! [Note: calendar link will be added in Spring 2025

We cannot guarantee that the available shifts will fit your schedule. We cannot guarantee a specific number of hours. We track problems with dress code, public phone use, lateness, no shows, and canceling shifts with <24 hour notice. If you have three problems you will forfeit all remaining summer volunteer shifts and be ineligible to volunteer for at least three months. Repeated problems can lead to dismissal from the volunteer program and impact future eligibility.

 

Please contact Ms. Cheryl at Cheryl.Vasan @ masonpl.org with any questions.

Study Team

Starting this year our Study Team volunteers are called Reading Buddies.

You must be reliable, timely, patient, positive, and a Teen Advisory Board member.

 You will be working directly with children in Grades K-2 under the supervision of Ms. Cheryl and Jess

*No application will be required this year. Instead we have invited a core group of past homework helpers to help us steer our updated program. All other slots will be open sign up much like our other volunteer opportunities. You are welcome to sign up for multiple weeks at a time as long as your schedule allows.

You must first attend a training meeting, which is scheduled at 4:45pm each Tuesday, immediately before the reading buddies’ session. Training is mandatory for everyone before volunteering as a reading buddy and there will be a training session available each week for volunteers new to the program. You only need to attend 1 training a semester but you cannot volunteer as a reading buddy before attending training. After that, you’ll typically assist each week with set up then help at a 1 hour session by either overseeing literacy games or listening to children grades K-2 reading aloud then chatting about the story to assist with reading comprehension. Then you will also assist with cleaning up the Story Time room and Children’s area. You do need to arrive by 5:15 latest and stay until 6:40 each session. If enough kids do not show up, we can usually offer alternate service projects during that session. 

We will also be foregoing seasonal sessions this year and will instead meet most Tuesdays Oct-April. We don't meet during Mason school breaks, holidays, or some weeks before school breaks. Sessions end before AP tests start.

Dress code: Business Casual + a Teen Advisory Board shirt. For example, a TAB shirt with un-ripped jeans or khakis is preferred. Leggings, sweats, and shorts (among other things) are considered too casual.

We ask our Buddies to make regular attendance and timeliness as high a priority as their patient support of the younger kids. That means really planning ahead in order to balance teen homework versus volunteering commitments. Absences due to studying, school-sponsored events, family travel, and illness still count as absences. If you're in Band, Choir, or Orchestra or on a team, check your performance and competition schedule for conflicts.

All Teen Volunteers are expected to be courteous to their fellow volunteers by giving at least 24 hour notice when canceling a volunteer commitment. This allows time for someone else to arrange transportation and fill the spot. Not showing up for a volunteer slot you committed to, canceling with less than 24 hour notice, not following dress code, arriving late or leaving a shift early, or using your phone in front of library customers are all tracked as Problems. Three or more Problems lead to at least a 3 month suspension from shift eligibility. Repeated issues lead to dismissal from the volunteer program and impact eligibility in future years.