volunteer spotlight 2026

Beckie and Stormy have been volunteering as the Reading with a Therapy Dog team at Willow Branch Library since September 2024. Stormy is a 7-year-old English black Labrador and was adopted by Beckie in 2022. Countless children have practiced their literacy skills while reading to this dynamic duo. As a special treat, they are given a coloring sheet of Stormy.

Lara has been volunteering at Bill Brinton Murray Hill Library since April 2025 and has contributed over 47 hours in that time. She has helped with all our big events, from Summer Reading to Murray Hill-O-Ween, and pitches in with our weekly craft prep. Lara is a consistent friend in the library that we see often, and we can always rely on her to come in when we need help the most.

Lisa has been volunteering at Mandarin Library for nearly 5 years. In that time, she has contributed over 740 hours, helping with shelving items, locating books for customers, and the radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging project. She enjoyed the RFID project so much, she happily traveled to Main Library to tag books in our non-fiction department when Mandarin completed its collection. Lisa has also been active with the Friends of the Mandarin Library, assisting with their book sales and events.

Maggie has been volunteering with her therapy dog, Kiwi, at Westbrook Library since June 2023. Kiwi is a 4-year-old Labradoodle, who loves to have kids read to her. Read with Kiwi sessions encourage our young readers to find books and topics they enjoy reading and to share their joy for reading with others.

Rashamar started volunteering at Argyle Library in February 2026 and steadily comes in every Monday and Tuesday. He has contributed 70 hours to date. Like many of the teen volunteers, Rashamar spends most of his time shelving materials, straightening the shelves, and helping to prep one of the Children’s Department upcoming craft projects, which usually involves finding a nice quiet out of the way spot and cutting out lots of shapes and other things.

Keith has been volunteering at the Maxville Library since May 2025 and has one of the most unique volunteer positions throughout the Jacksonville Public Library: teaching origami. Several times a month, customers get to relax and learn how to fold small pieces of paper into simple and more intricate designs.

Jessica is a teen volunteer at Southeast Regional Library. She has been volunteering since the summer of 2024 and has contributed over 50 hours. She has helped out with a variety of tasks including packing donations of books and other items to send to the Friends bookstore, shelving, and pulling items to fulfill customer holds. She has also been an active participant on the Teen Advisory Board and assisted with crafts during our summer kick-off and Halloween parties. In addition, Jessica ensures the materials are in the correct place on the shelves and was one of the many volunteers who helped with adding radio frequency identification tags to the branch's collection.

Wendy became a member of the Friends of the Beaches Branch Library (FOBBL) in 1999 and a library volunteer in 2007. She began as a sorter of our book sale donations, but soon donned many hats. Wendy co-runs three annual FOBBL book sales, keeps the FOBBL honor cart filled, assists at two book clubs, and participates in our programs and special events, such as Comic Fest. She also decorates the library and herself with themed materials, whether it be for a holiday or a youth program. Staff can always count on her weekly snacks and surprise treats for various events as well. Wendy’s tireless efforts are rewarded by the smiles and thanks she receives from staff and patrons.