I have been following the discussion about volunteers with great interest. We are considering expanding the role played by volunteers at our institution. They are currently utilized only in connection with special events or activities; they are not involved with its day-to-day operation. All services provided to the public, including basic informational services, are provided by compensated staff members. We're thinking of having volunteers staff our information desks both as a means of offering them a more interesting opportunity and of freeing up our paid staff to do more challenging and meaningful work. The paid staff, however, feels threatened by this idea. They suspect that it is a first step toward phasing them out entirely and staffing our institution exclusively with volunteers. I wonder if there are other institutions at this site who were ever faced with a similar situation. If so, how did you deal with it and what advice can you offer me?

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