Laura Quackenbush wrote: > > We talk about life-long learning, we talk about involving more people > in process as key to understanding, we talk about making our > institutions vital elements of our communities. Well folks, this is > how these practices become part of our operations--through volunteers. > Maybe your institution won't be the one you have with an all paid > professional staff, but it still can do good work. Best of all, the > community will perceive it as THEIR museum. Dear Laura, As I read this, I was thrilled to have my own feelings about volunteers expressed so well. Volunteering to contribute to the museum/community service and volunteering as pre-professional experience are distinct motivations. I know that there are individuals that might start in one category and move into the other--we have both a dedicated group of volunteer docents and a strong intern program. Our interns have gone on to a variety of careers, including curating, teaching in museums and/or the classroom and being a stockbrocker! We promise our docents that every time they come to our museum, they will learn something and be personally thanked. Our docents are part of the museum "family" and the museum's success is their success. Thanks again for your response. Kathleen Hutton, coordinator of education Reynolda House Museum of American Art ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).