In a message dated 01-01-30 16:15:24 EST, Shirley Albright wrote:

<< Working with collections in limited ways is very different than fielding
the kinds of questions one gets behind-the-scenes which can actually address
philosophical issues of museum administration and law
 which most volunteers are either not privy to or do not have the subject
backgound to address.   Also, if these areas are so secure that we do not let
researchers into them unescorted by professional staff, what message are we
sending by having a group escorted by non-staff?
 Because our storage areas are so densely packed and heavily used, the
curators have an overall view of the use of the area....so we can keep people
away from areas that are being overused on any particular day (or minute!).
Because most volunteers do not work 8 hours a day, 5 days
 a week, they are not always up to date on what is going on NOR are they
really accountable for their actions in the same way that staff are. >>

I'd like to weigh in on this from the security standpoint.  If a staff member
is in attendance somewhere nearby or supervising generally during a
volunteer-led tour, that's one thing, but I wouldn't allow volunteers to
perform this function on their own.  Behind-the-scenes tours require someone
to be responsible for security and collections safety (and visitor safety,
for that matter), and it just isn't fair to expect unpaid volunteers to
assume this level of responsibility.

David Haberstich

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