I greatly appreciate Hervo Gagnon's down-to-earth, reasonable response
to Peter Rebernik's statement, which I found patronizing as well as
beside the point. I think a volunteer arrangement needs to be a two-way
street. Obviously a volunteer needs to get some satisfaction or
enjoyment out of working for a museum or similar institution, or there's
no point in doing it--regardless of the volunteer's age. But a
volunteer--regardless of age--who is not really contributing anything to
the institution is likely to be a liability. The public has a right to
visit and enjoy its cultural institutions, but no individual has some
innate right to work there, either as a paid or unpaid staff member. To
achieve excellence in institutions, try to field excellence in staff.
--David Haberstich