In a message dated 11/5/99 11:30:39 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< If there were not such a large pool of volunteers,
 the institution would have to pay someone to do the work. "
Yeah, my point exactly.
" That paid person  then gets money and still the other benefits, but the
institution loses out  because it now pays for all it gets and at best only
breaks even.  We go
 from both benefitting, to one benefiting a lot and the other not at all.
 Refusing to volunteer may raise the salaries of paid employees (or induce
 more paid positions) but it does so solely at the expense of the
 institution. >>

Why shouldn't an institution have to "pay for all it gets"? Don't most
employers? If a business ran the way a museum does--getting by with free
labor--it would be called exploitation. I believe that a museum always has to
"break even"--or risk losing its status as a nonprofit.
Other nonprofits benefit from volunteer labor--but it's a supplement to, not
a replacement for, paid staff.
And it's not true that the institution doesn't benefit at all from paying
people. You could argue that by engagng a sufficient number of professionals,
and by paying them what they're worth, museums will find their departments
more efficiently run, more productive, more forward thinking, and more
creative--which will result in better exhibits, and a better
reputation--which all helps in getting more funding.
I think everybody loses--because museums won't invest in personnel or
resources, but stagger along in a makeshift, make-do manner. We don't have
"both sides benefitting" now, we have the institutions benefitting--at the
expense of the workers, both current and those of the future, who can't find
employment.

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).