ABSTRACT
Many people argue that the key to getting the best out of volunteer help lies in treating volunteers as formally as you treat paid members of staff. Expect the same level of commitment from them, and accord them the same degree of respect. Others, though, suggest that many volunteers work for museums precisely because they can come and go as they like, and are not treated formally, as if they were staff. They do it just because they enjoy it. Every museum must decide its own policy, but it is worth noting how many other organisations, in for example childcare, treat their volunteers very formally.
