I too have been following this thread (an appropriate metaphor for a
glove discussion) with interest and some dismay. Pardon me for being
hardnosed and unequivocal, but I think this is a no-brainer. A museum
professional simply cannot--must not--should not--dare not--knowingly
permit anyone to mishandle collection material. To do so is
unprofessional and is poor stewardship. A volunteer who refuses to
cooperate and follow instructions and professional, approved procedures
is indeed a "goriller" and in my opinion could be "fired" for
insubordination. Who needs such a volunteer? Now if you can't bear to
get rid of the uncooperative volunteer because he/she is otherwise nice,
fun, rich, or influential, just take the material away that they
mishandle and let them do something safe like filing office
correspondence or answering phones.
  Seriously, it's often possible to wean people away from the material
that they are not handling properly, give them something else, and do it
tactfully. I've had the problem of volunteers and interns who mean well
but just don't have the manual dexterity to handle certain kinds of
objects safely. If you don't have the tact and human qualities to
interact with people, plus the will power to protect your collection
from mishandling--whether by marauders or bunglers--you don't have any
business supervising volunteers in a museum environment.
   Now that I've addressed the gloveless volunteer problem, perhaps
someone can help with the problem of STAFF who won't wear gloves at the
appropriate times.
  I once pulled rank on a new employee who was uncooperative and refused
to wear gloves while working with glass photographic negatives;
admittedly, he was conscientiously trying to hold them only by the
edges, but in so doing he was risking dropping and breaking them. I
wrote a strong "or else" memo, he apologized, and complied. But then
there was the CONSERVATOR whose full handprint is still visible on one
of my color photographs because this person pressed an ungloved hand on
the surface to emphasize a point. It's my understanding that this person
still doesn't wear gloves with photographs. Any reactions? --David
Haberstich