Helen Arnoldi
At the end of the International Year of the
Volunteer, Helen Arnoldi reports on the successful implementation
of a comprehensive Volunteer Program at the Ian Potter Museum
of Art.
At the beginning of this year, I was appointed
to the role of Volunteer Program Officer at the Ian Potter Museum
of Art, the University of Melbourne. The Museum is responsible
for a significant art collection consisting of approximately 25,000
items, and provides an overview of the development of Australian
art from the colonial period to the present day. The Volunteer
Program aims to equip volunteers with the skills necessary to
work specifically on Collection Management projects. It is anticipated
that through the valued resource of volunteers, the Potter will
be able to extend and support Collection Management programs in
areas such as documentation and cataloguing of the Collection,
research into the general Collection and basic conservation requirements.
In return, the volunteers will gain valuable work experience and
professional development. While the Museum has hosted volunteers
in the past (myself included), there has never been a formal Program
or person appointed expressly to oversee its administration.
At present, it is more common for a Volunteer
Program to fall under the direction of a museum staff member than
for a Coordinator to be employed for this express purpose —
and herein lies the strength of the Potter’s program. During
recent evaluation, volunteers identified the presence of a Coordinator
whose main responsibility was to train, orient, supervise and
support them as the primary source of satisfaction with their
placements.
My role within the Potter Museum materialised
due to the foresight and support of Lady Potter AO. It was a bold
move, as a Volunteer Coordinator does not necessarily produce
the immediate, tangible results of other paid positions within
a museum. While there are parts of the Program that are readily
quantifiable — for example the Collection Management projects
completed — the benefits are more often intangible and slow-yielding.
These benefits include volunteer professional development and
the fostering of enthusiastic ambassadors of the Museum in the
general community — outcomes that require a broader definition
of what constitutes success.
Implementation of the Program was in several
stages, the first of which involved research into the principles
and practices of Volunteer Management and its administration.
Next priority for the Program was the creation of a Volunteer
Policy that would demonstrate how the Program would be integrated
into the main objectives of the Potter. This policy was an integral
part of ensuring that the volunteer role within the Museum was
regarded as a professional placement. Further, it provided the
cornerstone on which all other documentation aimed at ‘professionalising’
the volunteer role within the Potter was based.
Six weeks into the position of Volunteer Program
Officer I was ready to begin the recruitment process. As a University
Art Museum, our primary target group were the students enrolled
in the Art Curatorship courses. Students completing similar courses
at different campuses and Members of the Potter were also identified
as potential recruits. Selection criteria were devised to assist
in the shortlisting of applicants, and those shortlisted were
formally interviewed. Subsequently, several candidates were offered
placements in the Volunteer Program.
Before commencing their projects, the volunteers
were required to attend a half day Orientation Session which covered
procedural information. At the start of their placement each volunteer
participated in intensive training specific to their individual
Collection Management task. My position as Volunteer Program Officer
permitted me the time to create comprehensive training sessions
that were individually tailored to each volunteer’s experience
level.
It is now eight months since our first volunteers
began their placement; Collection Management projects are being
completed and the volunteers are learning and applying new skills.
The Program is in its infancy, but its in-built flexibility will
allow adjustments to be made to ensure our original objectives
continue to be met. The newly created Volunteer Program Officer
position at the Potter has facilitated the establishment of a
sound Volunteer Program, and provision of ongoing maintenance
and support for the Program will ensure it continues to be a valuable
component in the Potter’s future growth.
Helen Arnoldi
Volunteer Program Officer, Ian
Potter Museum of Art, The University
of Melbourne