This thread has somewhat played itself out by now, but I've been unable
to get to my email because of opening deadlines and visiting family.  I
appreciate Herve's response, as I'm preparing to write a very carefully
drafted letter to my board describing precisely this problem--they are
the most active volunteers and committee chairs, insist on having final
decision-making power in ALL matters--curatorial, financial, and
otherwise, and have utterly no idea that this is a difficulty.  Needless
to say, I am their first Director.  We are doing our best to stay open
and cooperate...I hope...

On a lighter note, shortly after beginning a position as the curator of
costume at a mid-size art museum, I was familiarizing myself with the
collection records.  One piece, an 1870s day dress, had undergone
significant "conservation".  Actually, a volunteer had taken it upon
herself to completely dismantle the dress, line the shattered silk, and
put it back together.  She carefully documented the process both in
photograph and text.  The last line of her text read something like
this: "...I was able to reconstruct the dress even better than it had
been originally, as I had fabric left over!"

Pat Roath
[log in to unmask]
or: Central School Museum, [log in to unmask]


Hervé Gagnon wrote:
>
> > The worst that can happen to a museum professional working in a small-town museum is when board members and
> > volunteers are one and the same. Take a board of about 10 directors who also make up most of the volunteer staff and
> > you have an explosive situation: most of the times, a board member will neither accept nor be remotely aware of the
> > fact that once he/she works as a volunteer on a specific project, he/she does so under the authority of the very
> > employees he/she's responsible for as a board member. The most immediate results of this are loss of control over
> > project budgets and board interference in staff-level activities - not to mention very unpleasant tension.
>
> Hervé Gagnon