Hello David:

I sense in your message the same fear I have that volunteerism is verging on
exploitation.

As far as I am aware, there is no law that states what volunteers may or may
not be required to do - it's a purely ethical issue and differs from
institution to institution (and manager to manager at the same institution).
Here in Ontario for example, Premier Harris' governement has pushed forward
a Workfare Bill, which requires that welfare recipients work for their
cheque - regardless of the fact that this type of practice failed dismally
the last time it was tried in the 30s.

As volunteer coordinator at my previous place of employment (turned over to
a management company which is in the process of taking volunteerism to
incredible new heights of exploitation, but that's a different story!) I
used a Volunteer Bill of Rights, which I had obtained from some course on
volunteer management.  Each volunteer was given a copy when they were
recruited and I psoted it in several prominent locations in the workplace.

That did not prevent me from being pressured by subsequent manager and
politicians to pressure volunteers to provide their professional services
for free.  And unfortunately, some of the volunteers are their own worst
enemies - "I need the experience," (read abuse me, abuse me!).

I'm pleased with the way the discussion on Museum-L has gone, because it
seems to me that the controls have to come from the industry - experience
yes, but let's call it an internship or an apprenticeship and PAY FOR IT -
even at minimum wage.  By the same token, let's get some of these
acreditation institutions or government training programs off their
collective butts to ensure matching funding for these internships.  Because
of high student unemployement in Canada, the federal government has made
seed funding available for just such a program, administered by the Canadian
Museums Association.

If you'd like a copy of the Bill of Rights, send me an e-mail and a fax
number and I'd be happy to send you a copy.  Or, you might try the phone
book to see if you have a Central Volunteer Registry close by - they're
usually great for all kinds of reading material.

Cheers,

Ann Gonneau