As a student who's had some great and some trying
experiences in volutneer for credit classes (graduate
level), I have to chime in.

Make sure there is someone on YOUR staff willing to
devote time to the volunteers.  They need input,
training and supervision.  And in some areas, they
will need to check in with staff to confirm they are
doing the right thing from time to time.  This is an
ongoing responsibility, and don't place it on someone
who really doesn't want that responsiblilty.

The person you should correspond with is usually the
professor teaching the class.  Check up with them from
time to time to make sure the parameters of the
project the student is working on is something that
they can complete in one semester.  Always make sure
that you spell out to the student and the professor
what they will be doing and explain the rules and
regualtions of the museum to the student.

Getting students who are interested in the field to
work in your musuem who enjoy the work is the best pro
available.  Plus, you get great promotion within the
departments/ university.  We usually have museums work
with the history dept. since we are a MA in history
with concentration in museum studies.  You can also
find good seasonal workers through the volunteer
programs.

The biggest con (for you) is finding students who can
or will devote regular time to your museum.  Often,
survey level classes require students to put in time
in musuems, and you find non-majors who resent beign
forced to do extra work.  Others are stretched to the
max for time with job committments, extra-curricualr
events, and requiring them to set aside their scant
free hours is a real burden. You will occasionally get
lazy, apathetic, or inept student volunteers who do
more harm than good, but that is rare.

Good luck, and keep an open dialog with them!
Laura Finger
--- Jessica Trickett <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Hello All-
>
> Here at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society in
> Youngstown, Ohio, we are
> thinking about ways to collaborate with the local
> university in order to
> have students active in our museum.  Do any of you
> participate in any
> programs where students work a semester in your
> museum for class credit? If
> so, from what departments do they come (History,
> Education, Fine and
> Performing Arts)? In what areas of the museum do
> they work?  Who is/are the
> contact person/people at the university (Professor,
> Department Chair, Dean)?
> What kinds of pros/cons have you experienced? Any
> input would be greatly
> appreciated!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jessica D. Trickett
> Curator of Collections
> Mahoning Valley Historical Society
> 648 Wick Avenue
> Youngstown, Ohio 44502
> 330/743-2589
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
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