Chantale Boileau

Chantale Boileau is an Adult Services Librarian at the Barrie Public Library. She has been a librarian for five years, and a volunteer with OLA for the past two. She was a past Kickstart Member on the OPLA Committee and is now an OPLA Council member for Mid-Central region and a member of the Human Library Committee. She has also been involved with the Forest of Reading Committees as a past White Pine Steering Committee member and a current Evergreen Award Steering Committee member.

“I started my volunteering as a way to develop my work with teens and in teen RA and to decide if Public Libraries were where I wanted to work (it is!). I was also trying to increase my appeal when applying for jobs, most of which required more years work experience than I had. Volunteering was a great opportunity to build skills and a network of peers and managers. I love recognizing so many faces at conferences.

If you are looking to volunteer with OLA, remember to get your manager's support so you can get time off work if you need to. Try to fill the gaps in your experience with volunteer work. Volunteering with OLA also gives you the chance to understand how the organization works and be a part of what they do for us as members.”