Eligibility Requirements
Volunteers must be in grades 6-12. Volunteers may earn service hours for religious organizations, school requirements, or just for fun. At this time, we are unable to accept court-ordered service hours. Volunteers must live or attend school in Tinley Park or Orland Hills.
Expectations
There are two ways to earn hours as a virtual volunteer:
Teen Book Reviews
- Teens can compose original book reviews that will be used by Youth Services to create various online and print resources promoted as “books recommended by local teens.”
- Your review may appear in whole or part in the library, on the library’s website or social media, or in a library print publication with your first name and age.
- The book you choose must be owned in a physical format by the library and be part of the teen collection. It must also be a book that you have read.
- A librarian will assess your submitted review before it is approved for publication. Because these reviews will be used in library print and online resources, quality---in terms of content, spelling, and grammar---will be taken into account. If necessary, a librarian will work with you via email to edit your review until it is approved for publication.
- Each review submitted will count as 1.5 service hours (including any edits that you may have to make)
Teen Book Lists
- Teens can compile themed book lists that will be used by the Youth Services librarians to make book displays.
- You will choose a theme among several options
- The books you choose must be owned in a physical format by the library and be part of the teen collection
- Each list submitted will count as one service hour
Please note that individual organizations may have rules regarding virtual volunteering. Some organizations may not accept virtual volunteering toward their requirement or may place limits on the number of hours allowed to be virtual. Please check with your organization as these rules may vary.
How to Sign Up for Opportunities
When you sign up to be a virtual volunteer, you will receive an email with the password to access a form to submit your reviews or your book lists. The password will change quarterly.