Dear Volunteer,

We hope this newsletter finds you well and that you had an enjoyable Easter weekend.

We also hope that you've had an opportunity to catch up with all our news in the latest customer newsletter.

You may have seen that:

• overdue, reservation and hire charges have returned
• we're promoting our Remote Digital Support service which I know some of you are involved with.  If you know anyone who would benefit from this service do ask them to get in touch; the contact details are within the article.
• do watch the Wellbeing video if you have not already had an opportunity to do so.

The West Sussex Volunteer Survey 2022 is now Live!

As a volunteer for West Sussex County Council, we really appreciate your continued support and commitment and therefore we would like to take this opportunity, once again, to seek your views and feedback to understand what we do well, what we could do better and what you would like to see going forward. We would like your feedback to help us shape volunteering in West Sussex in the future.

We would be very grateful if you could take the time to complete this online volunteer survey.  The results will remain anonymous but will be shared with individual services to help us continue to improve our volunteer programme across West Sussex. 

Please use one of the browsers below when completing the survey to ensure it looks and works as it should. These are:

• Microsoft Edge version 86 and above
• Chrome version 86 and above
• Firefox version 78 and above
• Safari version 14 and above

Please click here to complete the survey, which closes on Friday 29 April 2022.

Thank you.

There are two new additions to the Helpsheets page:

• Help with using the Library Wi-fi
• Help with Managing Passwords

Do take a look using the link above to see the full range of helpsheets available.

We hope that you find them useful!

This is a reading for pleasure campaign that will launch in mid-April. On the list will be 70 titles, 10 for each decade of the Queen’s reign.

Here is the press release. Publicity material has been ordered and further information will follow in the coming weeks.

Don’t miss the latest Staying Safe Online newsletter, produced by the Community Safety and Wellbeing team. As always, it’s full of advice and tips on how to navigate the online world. Highlights this month include:

• Online gaming – understanding the risks of meeting strangers online, bullying and age-appropriate games
• Oversharing personal information – how much personal information have you shared online?
• Radicalisation and the internet – how to protect our loved ones online
• Digital Ambassadors – the Community Safety and Wellbeing Team are looking for volunteers to help educate and support residents to become safer online

As a volunteer for West Sussex Library Service, you are likely to come across confidential information about the council and personal data about its staff, clients, customers, partner agencies and third parties. This information may be in many different forms including paper files, or via electronic and digital devices.

You should at all times respect any form of personal information and must neither use the information for your own benefit nor disclose the information, except where required or instructed by your line manager, or permitted to do so by law.

Before starting with West Sussex County Council, you will sign a volunteer agreement which includes a statement to:

“ensure confidential information about the organisation and its customers is not shared with any other volunteer, staff member or other person who does not require the information”

In addition, as a library volunteer you should:

• Not reveal or use any personal or sensitive data stored or accessed by West Sussex County Council for personal gain
• Not reveal or use confidential information regarding systems and programme design, and data for personal gain
• Use computer equipment and access the internet only when authorised to do so and only for official employer business, as unauthorised usage could result in damage to the equipment and loss of stored data
• Undertake to familiarise yourself with the data protection procedures set down by the West Sussex County Council as a result of the General Data Protection Regulations. Any breach could result in the council’s sensitive and confidential personal data being disclosed to unauthorised users and recipients and as a consequence West Sussex could be in breach of Data Protection Act or the General Data Protection Regulations. The Council will view any failure to adhere to confidentiality as extremely serious and this could result in the cessation of your volunteer role with immediate effect.