April is National Volunteer Month, and the Free Library of Philadelphia is especially grateful to the thousands of volunteers who have donated their time to help make our library system shine. Over the past year, more than 2,000 volunteers have donated more than 100,000 hours of their time at  all 77 departments and neighborhood libraries across the system. Their generosity has provided nearly $2.9 million of labor and support in meeting our mission to advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity.

Volunteers at the Free Library wear many hats: They assist with our award-winning Author Events Series; they give tours of the historic Parkway Central Library; they help with administrative tasks and physical efforts like planting trees; they lead informal conversation groups for individuals looking to practice speaking English; and they help bridge the digital divide for older adults looking to master technology -- just to name a few things! In short, we don't know what we'd do without our wonderful volunteers: Thank you!

The Free Library is always looking for volunteers who have a passion for service and a love of literacy and learning. Visit our volunteer page to learn more about the many opportunities available and find how how to apply to volunteer your time at the Free Library of Philadelphia. If you'd like to read more about the volunteer services program, you can also check out the feature story in our Off the Shelf magazine archive.