Hear hear!!!! On Tue, 25 Jul 1995, Nancy J. Gill wrote: > In <[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask] (Jim of oz) writes: > > > >What gets kinda annoying is when you're trying to be a volunteer and then > >just get blown off. While I don't have any specific "museum" skills, I am > >very computer literate, can write, handy with tools and stuff, etc. The > >local museum here has just kept saying call next week (for a month now) > >and today as the final straw, I got disconnected while on hold. For a > >place that needs as much work as they do, I would think they they'd be > >happy to get some help. > > > >Thanks for listening, just blowing off some frustrated steam.......... > > I had the same experience. I worked on a project at our local museum, and the n > called and called trying to get somebody to "let" me be a volunteer! Finally, > I > got through, about a year ago, and now I'm the volunteer coordinator. And the > first thing I found was that there were about three people shouldering all the > burdens of the musuem, and they didn't have time to stop and plan jobs for any > number of eager volunteers--they were too busy trying to keep things running. > I > suggest you go hang out at the museum, see what needs to be done, and propose a > plan of action which you will do yourself (or find your own help to do). > For instance, if you're computer literate, how about making up some > signs for the museum and its gift shop, etc. Or draw up a plan for > computerizing the musuem collection. Does the curator need some forms > designed? If you can get the gist of an idea, and then do the > development on your own, when you bring the finished product in, be > prepared to have your feet kissed! > You can write? Super--have you ever written a grant application? Can > you do research? How about taking oral histories from 'old-timers' in > your town? Your curator knows who they are, and can give you an > introduction, but has never had the time to actually conduct the > interviews. > They need volunteers, but they don't need people who need to be coddled > and babied along. They need self-starters who will sieze the > initiative to do what needs to be done. If they need people to move > stuff, you show up. If they need people on committees, you volunteer. > And you don't do these things because you expect to be thanked--you do > them because they'll help your museum. > > -- > Nancy J. Gill ([log in to unmask]) > Alameda, CA > > The people I'm furious with are the women's > liberationists. They keep getting up on > soapboxes and proclaiming women are brighter > than men. That's true, but it should be kept > quiet or it ruins the whole racket. > Anita Loos (1893-1981) > American screenwriter >