A popular and important volunteering role that seeks to support OU students studying in a secure environment, such as prison. Students in prison do not have access to the internet, and online research materials, so Library Study Volunteers do research and find references on their behalf.
Without this assistance it would be virtually impossible for students in prison to be able to study at Level 2 and above.
Benefits to others
Volunteers receive requests and inquiries from students in various languages, and our dedicated Library Study Volunteer team is equipped to address them. Whether the student in a secure environment prefers English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Urdu or any other language, we aim to fulfil that request. We encourage students with additional languages to apply.
Language diversity is an important aspect of our community, and we aim to complete requests from students in a secure environment in their preferred language- we are particularly interested in applications from bilingual students.
Since 2019, 629 requests have been fulfilled, and 4002 individual resources sent out to students in prisons. And the feedback we receive from students in prison highlights the crucial role that Library Study Volunteers play.
Hours per week
Typically 2 to 4 hours per week. There are quieter and more busy periods so it depends on the number of requests coming in and how many you respond to. At minimum, completing 1 request per week could take around an hour.
Applications are due to open in Summer 2025