Amy,I have had two very different experiences with this subject within my museum. Under our previous director, she insisted that all staff and volunteers purchase memberships to the museum at the individual level $25 annually to be "qualified" to be a volunteer. This resulted in a much lower rate of volunteers to staff the museum and also produced discomfort among some members. Our current director believes that our volunteers and staff pay for their membership with all the work they voluntarily donate to the museum. Most of our staff goes above and beyond to perform the tasks requested of them. Staff and volunteers know they have the option of joining the museum, but it is not a requirement. The museum bylaws requires board members to pay membership dues at the "museum patron" level. This is currently $150 annually. Having been on both sides of this experience, I can say that it has been better for us as a museum not requiring our staff and volunteers to be members. We have received more enthusiastic volunteers in this manner. It also I personally believe toes an ethical line when you require staff to join as a member, this should be a voluntary decision, not a mandatory one. Mary Ellen GwynesAssociate CuratorJacksonville Maritime Heritage Center Date: Sat, 30 May 2015 09:54:01 -0600 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Staff asked to become Members? To: [log in to unmask] At my current institution staff is given a membership to our foundation as a thank you and as a means of keeping staff informed of their activities. I've never been 'asked' to become a member. That seems very unethical. Along the same lines as the boss requiring staff to give him/her an expensive gift for the holidays. -Michelle Head of Registration & CollectionsNew Mexico Museum of Art Sent from my iPhone On May 30, 2015, at 7:11 AM, Amy Kelch <[log in to unmask]> wrote: I work at a small museum that asks its employees to purchase museum memberships. It is not required, but almost all staff and the board are paying members of the museum. This practice seems to barely toe the ethical line, especially since several staff have expressed discomfort about being asked. Has anyone else encountered this issue or know of any readings or museum ethical codes that speak to this issue? I am looking for something to reference since this is something new to me. Thanks! To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 ========================================================= 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).