I think it depends on what you mean by an intern. If you are talking about what I (in the UK) would call "work experience" school age (15-18 year olds) then this may well be their first experience behind the scenes at a museum or indeed in any professional or office environment. An undergraduate (19-21) or post graduate (21 - 23) intern might be expected to have a bit more knowledge of what is expected in a "professional" or "office" environment although don't expect too much if it is their first internship. The argument about upbringing implies a very non-inclusive attitude towards the backgrounds of those who want to work in our institutions. There is no reason why your intern should not be the first person in their family to work in any form of professional environment. If an institution believes that all its interns should come from families with a professional background then it will be perpetuating "institutional discrimination". The cost of "professional dress" is something to consider. However undergraduates and post-grads. will need to have at least one set of professional dress for job interviews. They might need to buy a couple more shirts or blouses. Trevor Reynolds Collections Registrar, English Heritage, Room 530, 23 Savile Row, London W1S 2ET, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 7973 3482 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7973 3209 -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of unlisted Sent: 29 November 2005 13:54 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: intern dress question maybe i am missing something here. if an intern is looking to a long term career in a museum environment? wouldn't they or better shouldn't they know - if not from upbringing - at minimum from professional association - how to dress appropriately? ----- Original Message ----- From: Christa Weinberger <mailto:[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 9:11 PM Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] intern dress question Melissa, Where I work we do require that the interns dress professionally because we have such a small staff, interns are often in contact with visitors, board members and prominent members of the community. Of course we allow them to dress more casual on days where we are going to moving around in the storage areas and taking down exhibits. I find that having interns dress professionally makes them understand that this is a job and they must take it seriously. That's just my two cents. Christa Weinberger Registrar Marietta Museum of History Marietta, GA www.mariettahistory.org -----Original Message----- From: Marietta, Melissa <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 15:57:11 -0500 Subject: [MUSEUM-L] intern dress question For those of you with interns, do you require a uniform or business professional dress? We currently have all of our interns wear a uniform that consists of a polo and khakis but are considering changing to professional attire. I'd like to know what issues have arisen for those of you who require professional dress. The uniform is certainly an easy way to go for everyone, but does it teach students about dressing for the professional world? And is the lesson worth it for the staff who have to monitor the interns' clothing? Thanks. Melissa Marietta Melissa Marietta Manager, Educational Leadership Programs National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum 25 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY, 13326 [log in to unmask] 607.547.0313 (p) 607.547.4094 (f) Experience http://www.baseballhalloffame.org <http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/> today , your online home for everything Cooperstown: * Participate in our Hall of Fame Fantasy Camp; * Shop in our Online Museum Store 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; * Receive Inside Pitch, our free E-Newsletter; * and much more ========================================================= 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). 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