I, too, have been in a situation where I've had volunteers who don't
respond to wearing gloves when working with collection items.  I've spent
several YEARS training them in the importance of good collections care.
This has included showing them articles on the topic, showing examples of
damage by fingerprint marks, asking them to actually clean & repair their
own damage, etc.

I finally managed to get them to wear gloves, but not for the reason you'd
expect.  They simply got tired of having me nag at them!  If I wasn't
around, I would ask other staff to check up on them and make sure they were
wearing their gloves.  After constantly being watched, they now reach for
the gloves themselves.  OK, yes, I wish they would do it for the right
reasons, but at least they're more careful now than in the past.

Good luck to you!

Kate Desulis                            (312) 322-0821 phone
Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum    (312) 322-2257 fax
1300 S. Lake Shore Drive                [log in to unmask]
Chicago, IL 60605                       URL http://astro.uchicago.edu/adler/