Well said. According to John Martinson: > > At 05:27 PM 5/8/96 EDT, you wrote: > > I too have been following this thread (an appropriate metaphor for a > >glove discussion) with interest and some dismay. Pardon me for being > >hardnosed and unequivocal, but I think this is a no-brainer. A museum > >professional simply cannot--must not--should not--dare not--knowingly > >permit anyone to mishandle collection material. To do so is > >unprofessional and is poor stewardship. A volunteer who refuses to > >cooperate and follow instructions and professional, approved procedures > >is indeed a "goriller" and in my opinion could be "fired" for > >insubordination. Who needs such a volunteer? Now if you can't bear to > >get rid of the uncooperative volunteer because he/she is otherwise nice, > >fun, rich, or influential, just take the material away that they > >mishandle and let them do something safe like filing office > >correspondence or answering phones. > > Seriously, it's often possible to wean people away from the material > >that they are not handling properly, give them something else, and do it > >tactfully. I've had the problem of volunteers and interns who mean well > >but just don't have the manual dexterity to handle certain kinds of > >objects safely. If you don't have the tact and human qualities to > >interact with people, plus the will power to protect your collection > >from mishandling--whether by marauders or bunglers--you don't have any > >business supervising volunteers in a museum environment. > > Now that I've addressed the gloveless volunteer problem, perhaps > >someone can help with the problem of STAFF who won't wear gloves at the > >appropriate times. > > I once pulled rank on a new employee who was uncooperative and refused > >to wear gloves while working with glass photographic negatives; > >admittedly, he was conscientiously trying to hold them only by the > >edges, but in so doing he was risking dropping and breaking them. I > >wrote a strong "or else" memo, he apologized, and complied. But then > >there was the CONSERVATOR whose full handprint is still visible on one > >of my color photographs because this person pressed an ungloved hand on > >the surface to emphasize a point. It's my understanding that this person > >still doesn't wear gloves with photographs. Any reactions? --David > >Haberstich > > > > > _____________________________________________________________________________ > John Martinson [log in to unmask] > Work: Fort Walla Walla Museum School: Norwich University (VT) > 755 Myra Rd > Walla Walla, WA 99364 (509) 525-7703 (Work) > > ************** Let's not forget our past ********************************* >