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 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . 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).