I am writing on list because I have a particular rant on this topic.

The money is typically so short in museums and the number of services we are
expected to provide are increasing so exponentially, that we must rely on
volunteers to help us meet minimum service levels instead of hiring
additional staff.  The kind of thing we need done by people other than
ourselves is rarely exciting enough to hold the interest of skilled
volunteers (who are well aware of their worth anyway and are always looking
for paid opportunities), yet the volunteers who could be trained have
erratic schedules and are apt to up and leave anyway.  We find that to
continually invest our time in training volunteers takes away from our other
duties, and once trained their major motivation is hanging out and
socializing with us---hardly conducive to getting our own work done.

Typically a job or program starts out being done by a motivated, skilled
volunteer, then it becomes so invaluable that we allot $ to it to make it a
part-time position once the volunteer threatens to quit.  It then gets
integrated into our operations to the extent that it becomes a full-time
position.  The total elapsed time to get this accomplished is about 5 years.
We have a staff of 22 full-time people and 6-8 part-time people--the
institution was all-volunteer from 1934 to 1976, when it got a total of one
full-time paid person.   Today our volunteers are used as docents,
supplementary office help in all departments and installation assistants--we
tried to have a volunteer coordinate our volunteer efforts but...you got
it...it got turned into a paid job once it started to entail some real work.

End of rant.  But you see what I mean?

Julia Moore
Director of Exhibitions and Artist Services
Indianapolis Art Center
http://www.indplsartcenter.org


 -----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 8:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: volunteers at museums



Hello. I am writing an article for Museums Journal, the journal of the
Museums Association in London, on volunteers and their expectations of
working at museums. I am interested in what museums professionals around the
world do to encourage participation by volunteers, what has been
particularly
successful to lure and keep volunteers, and what kinds of things volunteers
expect to do or experience when the work in a museums. Excitement? Drama?
Doing the curator's job?
I would be happy to have responses off list, and would like to hear from
professionals or volunteers who may be on this list.
Thank you,
Lise Hull
Wales Correspondent
Museums Journal