There are lots of ways to volunteer at the Clevedon Community Bookshop. People are divided into different teams, the details of which are listed below. You may wish to volunteer with one, two, or even three! Any time you are able to spare will be put to good use.
To apply please download a Volunteer Application form, and either leave the completed form at the shop or send it to the bookshop at the above address.
The Bookselling Team: Booksellers help with the day-to-day running of our shop on Copse Road, and work either a morning or afternoon shift. They accept and sort donations, price books, operate the till, and generally keep the shelves stocked and tidy. This role is ideal for someone with great people skills, who likes nothing better than to spend their time surrounded by books!
The Window Dressing Team: Every month the bookshop hosts a new window display, created by our wonderful window dressing team. New volunteers should be willing to get stuck in with paper, paint, glue, papier-mâché, felt tip pens … pretty much anything! Artistic ability is not necessary but certainly appreciated. You must also be willing to work from home when creating your masterpieces, but beware: Your kitchen table may suffer!
The Marketing and Publicity Team: Are you passionate about traditional bookselling? Do you want as many people as possible to know about the bookshop and the things we do? Then join our marketing and publicity team! We are looking for people with good communication skills, who are proactive in reaching out to the wider community. Responsibilities include upkeep of the bookshop’s website, contact with other local organisations and the media, and finally close coordination with the bookshop’s own teams.
The Book Scanning Team: Book cataloguing is essential to the smooth running of the bookshop. It allows us to see exactly what we have in stock, so that requests from customers can be dealt with efficiently. Volunteers are trained to use software that scans barcodes and ISBN numbers and stores this information in a database, which can then be accessed by other hubs. This role would suit someone happy to work with a computer (though no particular know-how is necessary!)
The Internet Cataloguing Team: Books catalogued for Internet selling are often without ISBNs, having been published before the early 70s when ISBNs were introduced. Cataloguing requires that all bibliographic details of a book are entered but also that the condition of the book is described in detail. Training is provided for volunteers interested in joining this team and cataloguing may be undertaken in your own home or in the Unit.
The Internet Selling Team: As well as having a ‘real’ shop, the Co-operative also runs an internet shop uploading its books for selling via AbeBooks, Amazon, and Biblio. Internet shop sellers process, package and post online orders from our Internet Shop near to the Bookshop. You must be happy to work with computers, be fastidious in following correct procedures and yet flexible enough to deal with unexpected requests and queries from customers.
The Unit 15 Logistics Team: Our shop in Copse Road cannot hold all of our stock, so currently we have additional storage in Unit 15, Tweed Road. Volunteers in this team are responsible for organising the stores, sorting and price checking donations, liaising with shop volunteers and assisting Internet Sellers, Cataloguers and Scanners. It helps if you are able to lift boxes and have a basic knowledge of computers and the Internet.
The Bindery Team: Our bookbinders repair books in the bindery, undertaking commissions for customers and restoring books that are worth saving, ready for sale in the shop. Members of the team, who belong to the Society of Bookbinders, will help you to learn the art of bookbinding. You will acquire valuable practical skills and be involved in a fascinating craft. It requires good manual dexterity, close attention to detail and patience.
The Publishing Press Team: We are a small group of members responsible for Clevedon Community Press. That means, we process proposals we receive from authors from the initial enquiry through to approval of the final manuscript and the production of the book. In this, we follow the Publishing Guidelines that may be downloaded from this website. To date, we have been involved in the publication of two books and we aim to publish two books each year. We work as a team through email exchange and meet together when necessary.
The Bookcraft Team:
A small group of people meet regularly at Unit 15 to discuss ways to recycle books that the Bookshop is unable to sell. This may be by distributing them to schools and colleges for their Art and Design departments or by crafting them into greeting cards, decorative items and other gifts. New members always welcome