Recent efforts to better understand how rural communities are coping with population ageing have highlighted ageing rural volunteers as key issues for ageing in place of rural residents and the sustainability of ageing rural communities. Drawing on a case study of a volunteer-based rural public library in Ontario, Canada, this paper explores this issue from the perspectives of volunteers, library staff and community stakeholders to better understand the experiences of older volunteers and dynamics of older voluntarism, and how they connect to rural community development. Findings from interviews and focus groups reveal how the opportunities and challenges associated with older voluntarism (such as participation and wellbeing vs. burden of care and conflict) can inform our understanding of rural ageing in general and the ‘contested spaces of rural ageing’ in particular. The conceptual and applied implications of researching older voluntarism in ageing rural communities, via social institutions such as libraries, are discussed. •Findings about the challenges and opportunities facing older volunteers (or 'older voluntarism') inform our understanding of rural ageing.•Older voluntarism is conceptualized and observed to be a particular form of 'contested spaces of rural ageing'.•Activities and experiences of older volunteers impacts the sustainability of rural public services (e.g., libraries).•Burden of care, territorial conflict and loyaly motivate older volunteers to overcome barriers of participation.•Rural public libraries are sources of insight into ageing, voluntarism and community development.