Staff & Volunteers

The BDS Team

A manager and small team of part-time staff oversee the day-to-day operations of BDS, which has its office in Sydenham, Christchurch.

Volunteers help to cover new books, repair books, and review potential titles. We have seven office-based volunteers at the moment - from an ex-staff member to an octogenarian! 

Another 50+ people throughout the country are part of our (volunteer) Readers Network, which assesses books for inclusion into the scheme.

As most of our staff work part-time, we don't have many opportunities to all be together. These photos are from a 'meal and movie' evening in August 2018 (absent are Shelagh & Annie (staff) and Ginny (volunteer)):

INTRODUCING BDS STAFF  Barbara - BDS Manager Barbara manages the staff and oversees development and the efficient running of the scheme.   Kirsty - Accounts Administrator (part-time)    Our accounts role deals with membership and monetary matters, and provides customer service. Shelagh - Booknotes Coordinator (part-time) Shelagh oversees the production of discussion notes for titles to the scheme. Renee - Promotions (part-time) Renee manages communications and marketing for BDS, including updates to the website, the creation and distribution of e-newsletters, organising events, and the managing of the BDS Instagram and Facebook accounts. Cherie - Administration (part-time) Cherie helps with the BDS database, book repairs, and administration. Book dispatch team Part-time dispatch staff work Monday to Saturday and are responsible for packaging book parcels and tracking inward and outward books through our computerised inventory system.