Julie, One easy way to start this process is to do a Google search of the person's name. If anything turns up, you could then take it a step further and possibly pay a firm for a more extensive search.
This method is far from foolproof, but it is better than nothing.
Yes, it would be best to do this for volunteers as well as job applicants.
Frederick J. Kirby, Library Director
Benton Harbor Public Library
213 East Wall St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
269-926-6139 (voice)
269-926-1674 (fax)
libraryfjk@yahoo.com
From: Julie Grynwich <nblibrary@comcast.net>
To: michlib-l@mail.mcls.org
Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 1:35 PM
Subject: [Michlib-l] background checks