Museum Volunteers

Good Practice in the Management of Volunteers

Sinclair Goodlad, Stephanie McIvor

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2005
• Print ISBN: 9780415182096
• eBook ISBN: 9781134674558
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Museum Administration
• Index: Business

Museum Volunteers is a practical handbook on the use of volunteers as interpreters within museums. Drawing on key examples of outstanding practice from the UK and North America, this book forms a unique resource on volunteerism.
This book:
* reviews research on the changing priorities of museums
* examines a form of volunteering that has provided benefits to all participants in an activity similar to museum interpretation - student tutoring
* describes and analyses the strengths of five exceptional volunteer programmes in Canada and the USA
* reports the finding of five volunteer programmes set up and managed by the authors in the Science Museum, London
* examines the development process of the pilot studies and the consequent establishment of a permanent volunteer programme in the Science Museum, London
* discusses the mutual benefits that volunteer programmes can bring to museums and volunteers
* offers suggestions on the practical day-to-day management and administration of volunteers.
This book is essential reading for anyone involved with the management and administration of a museum, or, is thinking of offering their services to a museum as a volunteer.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1 Making knowledge accessible
• 2 The functions of museums and the role of volunteers
• 3 The development of student tutoring as a form of volunteering
• 4 Case studies of five exemplary programmes in Canada and the USA
• 5 Pilot volunteer programmes in the Science Museum (London)
• 6 Some principles of good practice in, and working documents for, the management of museum interpretation by volunteers
• Appendices
• References and further reading
• Index