Well Linda,

To quote Donald Trump,

"You're FIRED!"

Seriously, it all depends on what they were told when they started
volunteering and the guidelines and the training that they were given,
along with the specific instructions of the task.

Innocent ignorace is one thing, a mistake is one thing, but not
following either guidelines and standards in working with collections
is unacceptable.

The first tenet in any of this work of preservation is to do no harm
to the material past.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California




On 7/14/06, Linda McAllister <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> David:  Re Conservation, what would you say to a volunteer couple who,
> without consulting anyone, cut up 75-year-old newspapers and took out
> the "relevant stories?"
>
>
>
> Linda McAllister, CFRE
> Curator of Advancement
> Office:  863-644-2431 ext. 142
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of David Harvey
> Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 1:29 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Conservation/Restoration Policy and Philosophy.
>
> Mark,
>
> The most important thing in working on conservation projects with
> voluneers or interns is consistent supervision and oversite. A team
> appraoch should be taken in which everyone is briefed as to what the
> treatment protocols are for the project, a review of materials and
> methods, and also a review of any safety issues (very important). Team
> up the more experienced and responsible members with the less
> experienced. And if you have to only allow they to do small, individual
> steps, to be reviewed before they are allowed to go further. Never let
> an untrained and inexperienced volunteer work alone with either
> chemicals or powertools - as in any activity that carried risk and
> liability the "buddy system" rule should be in place.
>
> One problem that I have encountered wuite a bit is the syndrome of the
> "know everything" home restorer. They tend to think that they know it
> all and will take shortcuts or use the methods most familiar to they in
> lieu of what is specified for the project. You either have to really
> watch these types or just not use them at all. The best success that
> I've had is really with the lesser experienced volunteers who are more
> careful and willing to listen and learn, and in conservation, with the
> postgraduate interns who have made the choice to dedicate themselves to
> the profession.
>
> Other commonsense rules that we use is that if people are not focussed
> or tired or sick that they either take frequent breaks or just not work
> on an artifact - have them do something else that needs doing.
> Because of alot of repetitive motion in this work it is important to
> watch how people do tasks to to facilitate the most comofratable way of
> going about it - the same way you would check on how folks lift and
> carry objects or parts. Frequent breaks, also encouraging them to switch
> hands (that also builds ambidexteritry) can be helpful also.
>
> Its good that the team hear about the larger aspects of the project -
> tell them about the hsitory and importance of what they are working on.
> This gets them to treat the project with more respect and care than
> refinishing a lawn chair in the backyard sort of mindset.
>
> Cheers!
> Dave
>
> David Harvey
> Conservator
> Los Angeles, California
>
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