Become a librarian!

Proposed project September 2017 – June/July 2018

How it is work in the library? It is not only about lending and returning books and other documents. It is also about activities for public, cooperation with schools and local community.

During the project you will get general knowledge how work in the library looks like. You will have a possibility to take part in librarian activities (lending and returning documents in different departments, working with databases, putting books back to shelves, be in contact with readers etc.), to present your home country for a public and take part in our Open English Club (non formal meeting of people of different age and different nationalities who meet once a week in a library and discuss different topics in English).

Apart from this you can cooperate with Children’s Library on their activities for children and families or make a series of presentations connected with your home country. We will give you a possibility to make an exhibition on some cultural topic, writing articles for our blog and get to know how editing blog is working and visiting some secondary schools to speak about EVS and your home country. If there will be interest you can also try to teach your mother tongue to a group of librarians.

Our project is very variable, so usually we firstly choose a volunteer and together with him/her and his/her sending organisation we discuss concrete activities. Compulsory in our project is to take part in Open English Club, help with librarian activities and one presentation about home country. And of course the Czech language course. Other you can choose from what we offer, or if you have some own ideas what you would like to try during the project in the library, we can discuss it together.

Who we look for?

One volunteer who is at least 18 years old and is not afraid of communication and want to learn new things. Our project is connected primarily with creativity and communication and you will have a possibility to try a lot, if you would like to.

If you have some experience from working in a library (volunteering/practice) it is an advantage, but it is not compulsory. It is welcome if you visit a library in your city/town or during your studies, but of course also not compulsory.

If you are interested in our project, please, send us your CV or some information about you (studies, spoken languages, work experience or experience with volunteering, your hobbies, what you can do (skills/abilities). Also we will need to know your motivation – why you want to take part in our project – and which activities you would like to try during the project (compulsory activities are compulsory but you can choose some other) and if you prefer 9 or 10 months long project (start is in September, but ending can be at the beginning of June or July).

Information and motivation we need to 5th January to have enough time to make decision and discuss details with chosen volunteer and his/her sending organisation. We will apply for a grant in February 2017 deadline. Project is open to EU countries and also to countries that are not in European Union.

What about project background?

About the library
As we mentioned in our description in EVS database we are a regional library, it means we are a quite big library – about 100 employees. The whole library is not placed in one building. We have two main buildings in the centre of Usti nad Labem and six branch libraries in the area of Usti nad Labem. Volunteers will mostly be working in two main buildings that are not so far from each other (about 10 minutes of walking). At the beginning there will be someone who will guide you and you will get a map too.

The library is divided in a number of departments. You can work in more than one during your EVS. Our EVS volunteers usually cooperate with Scientific Lending Room, English Literature Department and Children’s Library. But there are more possibilities. It depends on the project you will participate in and on your own decision.

If you attend a library in your home town you may imagine what it is about. As you may know, library is about lending books, but not only about it. We also prepare some presentations and exhibitions for public, we build up digital database, organize PC and internet courses for seniors, etc. In the future we would like to run courses for students on working with the internet databases, on browsing the internet to get needed information, or on making quotations properly. So you can take part in it if you will be interested. Or you can work in Children’s Library and cooperate on activities for children users. And so on and so on. The other possibilities are written in our description in EVS database and it is up to you and deals between you and us what you would like to do in our library during your EVS.

About Usti nad Labem
Usti nad Labem is situated on both banks of the river Elbe (Labe). It is an industrial city so sometimes especially in autumn, there may occur thick smog.
In Usti you can travel by buses or trolleybuses or on foot as you like. For bus and trolleybus you need to buy a ticket or have a prepaid card on transport. Ordinary transfer ticket costs 18 Czech crowns (Kc), monthly prepaid card costs 535 Kc or 265 Kc if you are a student under 26 years. So if you have an ISIC it is good to take it with you. You will not have a discount only on fare but also for example on tickets to the cinema. To travel to another city you can use train or bus. There are two train stations and some bus stops.

In the centre there are loads of various restaurants, bars and clubs. If you like cocktails you can visit a bar Saturnin which is not far from Mirove namesti (Peace Square). If you would like to taste good Czech beer you can visit a restaurant „Na Rychte“. There is also lot of cafés on Lidove namesti. You can sit on the small terraces during spring and summer. Also in the other parts of the city there are various restaurants, bars and clubs and it is not problem to find some favourite.

In the centre of Usti is a large shopping centre Forum where a cinema is situated too. Across the road of library building in W. Churchill Street is an open air cinema. Usti has also two theatres. The North Bohemian Theatre of Opera and Ballet is situated in the centre on Lidicke namesti (Square named after village Lidice). The second one is Cinoherak Usti (Drama Society) and it is situated in a building of old cinema in Prokopa Divise Street (not far from the big Masarykova Street in the centre of Usti).

In Usti there are many beautiful view points on the city. One of them is Vetruse and you can go there by cableway from shopping centre. Another one is for example the Strekov Castle.

If you like fitness, zumba, jumping and so on, you can visit fitness centre Amazonky which is placed not far from the library. If you like cycling you can try the cycling path which runs through Usti.

In spite of the fact that Usti is industrial city, it is situated in a beautiful landscape as we have mentioned in our description in EVS database. So you can make a lot of trips to the surroundings of the city - Central Bohemian Uplands, Ore Mountains or Elbe Sandstone Mountains. Most visited hills are Radobyl, Lovos and Milesovka which is the highest peak of the Central Bohemian Uplands. If you like history, you can visit castle Strekov and Velke Brezno or towns Terezin and Litomerice which are about 20-25 km far from Usti nad Labem and you can go there by train, by bus or by bike.

Accommodation
You will be accommodated in hall of residence run by the local university that is accessible by city public transport.
There are rooms for one, two or three people with internet access. Usually volunteer gets a room for himself/herself with small bathroom, toilet, fridge and small cooker.
Bigger kitchen is shared and it is in the corridor on each floor. Utensils and an electric kettle aren't a part of the equipment, but we are ready to borrow.

Food
We will give you food allowances (6 euro per day) that will be paid out at the beginning of each month. So you can be independent and buy what you want to eat. For a lunch you can choose from daily offers of companies that supply the library or there are a good number of restaurants near the library. Breakfast and dinner will be in your direction.

Pocket money
The amount is given for each country in Programme guide. We will give it to you monthly together with food allowances. The amount for the Czech Republic is usually 90 euro/months.

Local transportation
You will be provided by a card for local transport. In the centre it is possible to walk, but for going to other parts of the city you will need to use local transport. You can also use a bike if you take it from home or borrow in Usti nad Labem, but in some parts of the city the traffic is busy so it can be dangerous to use a bike there.

Youthpass
We will give you the Youthpass at the end of your stay in the library. It will include all skills you obtained or improved during the project, project and library description. Project coordinator will help with filling in.

Mentor
Mentor will be your friend and help you at the beginning with the orientation in the city. We recruit mentor from Czech volunteers who cooperate with the library or in cooperation with Voluntary Centre in Usti nad Labem.
We try to find mentor that is in similar age as volunteer, so at present we can't say who will be the mentor.
Czech language
We cooperate with young teacher who comes to a library once or twice a week.

More information about our library, Usti nad Labem, the Czech Republic and our previous projects you can find on our web site: http://www.svkul.cz/o-knihovne/projekty/european-voluntary-service-evs/ or you can contact us to e-mail evs@svkul.cz and ask for what you want to know.