Volunteer at Symposia
Looking for a stimulating place to give your time? Symposia has room for a wide range of interests. Whether you enjoy talking with people, prefer quietly organizing shelves, or want to help run events, there's a place for you here.
Our volunteers set their own pace and plan their own schedules, so you can serve the community without upending your life. Tell us what you enjoy doing most. If we don't already have it, we'll try to find a way to make it happen.
Opening and closing the store
Be the one who turns the lights on or locks up at night. A simple routine that keeps Symposia running, and a quiet, satisfying way to bookend a day.
Shelving books by section
The steady, grounding work of putting books where they belong. Good for a quiet afternoon and anyone who finds order satisfying.
Helping customers find their way around
Point someone toward the right shelf, recommend a book, or just chat. If you like talking with people, this is the heart of a shift.
Receiving and processing book donations
Every day people bring us the books they've loved. Welcome them, sort what comes in, and help decide what finds a home on our shelves.
Arranging displays and organizing shelves
Give a corner of the store your own touch. Build a display, tidy a section, and make the place a little more inviting than you found it.
Helping set up events and workshops
Readings, talks, conversation circles, book clubs. Help bring people together, set up the space, and be part of the events that make Symposia more than a store.
Checking book values online
Some donations are worth more than they look. Do a little detective work to spot the finds, the rare, the collectible, the quietly valuable.
Marketing and Social Media
Have a knack for social media, design, or spreading the word? Help more people discover that a bookstore like this exists.
Our community is at the heart of everything we do.
Here is what our volunteers are saying:
I've lived in Hoboken for 9 years and it's very rewarding to give back to the community. I recommend everyone do it if they have the time! I'm a voracious reader, too- mostly horror/science fiction (I helped sort out Symposia's new horror/sci-fi vertical!) and biographies of my favorite bands.
It's fun helping people find their next read and seeing books I donated fly off the shelf. See you around the stacks!
My favorite aspect of working at Symposia is dealing with the people who enter the store looking for their next favorite book. It’s such a pleasure to work with them as they are truly kindred spirits.
I am so grateful to have found my second home at Symposia!
What started as welcoming, creative space for us grew into a meaningful volunteer role many years later. I especially love now helping with the puppet shows by welcoming the children and their caregivers, and watching the magic of "Puppetonia" continue with new generations in Hoboken.
It's so refreshing to experience a slice of Hoboken life that includes people of so many age ranges and backgrounds, regular visitors alongside out-of-towners, and fans of every genre out there coming to browse the shelves!
It's also very gratifying to see the circularity of the store in action as donations come in and exciting reads find new homes.
The impact Symposia has on the community as a third space has also taught me to see volunteering in a new way.
Through events and book clubs, I’ve met some of my closest friends, and the bookstore’s community has given so much back to my life.
