White gloves

Concerning persuading volunteers to wear white gloves while handling
a collection of model railroad pieces, and other training for
volunteers in historic houses:

Your choice of persuasive techniques depends partly on what level of
mutual respect you have already established with your volunteers.  I
assume you have already demonstrated that you respect their
knowledge and services.  They see that you are learning from them
and appreciate them.  They might even be benefiting from you by
receiving occasional training and fun activities on other topics.

In that case, you might be able to persuade them to sit down and
watch a video on handling.  Of all the ones I have seen, oddly the
best one is a ca. 1985 low-budget production from the Province of
Alberta, Canada, very much intended for historic house-type museums.
Alas, it was never put into production for marketing.  There is one
copy available for loan at:

    Manitoba Heritage Conservation Service
    190 Rupert Avenue
    Winnipeg, Manitoba
    R3B 0N2
    204-988-0612
    Fax: 204-942-3679
    e-mail care of camera<-a t->mts< . >net

Other regional conservation services like that in Manitoba should
have more suggestions for you.  Another try would be the video
"Handling Museum Objects", produced by CCI and others, and available
from:

    Universite du Quebec at Montreal
    Audiovisual Department
    Box 8888, Station Centre-Ville
    Montreal Quebec, H3C 3P8, Canada
    514-987-6105
    Fax: 514-987-4820

Cost $75 US for US customers, allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

In my experience you might need to try quite a lot of videos to find
a small number that work for you--they tend to be quite specific in
their suitability for target groups.

Of course, there are many many pamphlets and short articles as
guides for handling.  If you want some xeroxed copies, send me a
message. They vary from lengthy and slightly academic to short and
humorous, with cartoons--you can make them yourself too, together
with the volunteers as an editorial/writing group, if you like.

Seeing as how we have the privilege to work with real objects, in
museums, we have the good fortune to be able to include them in
teaching methods.  Your methods could include:

    *   demonstrations of correct and incorrect handling

    *   samples of artifacts damaged by incorrect handling (this can
        be remarkably powerful for volunteers on the museum board of
        trustees)

    *   humorous demonstrations of stumble-bum handling, mixed in
        with otherwise serious demonstrations, complete with
        smashing "artifacts"

    *   experiments to intentionally damage artifacts.

The Alberta video I mentioned included an experiment, as I am
suggesting.  They took a polished silver teapot, handled it without
gloves, and then subjected it accelerated aging, then showed before
and after photographs.  I believe it may have been the Canadian
Conservation Institute that actually did the experiment.  It was
quite impressive.  Maybe that would work with polished train brass
too? Good luck,

Neal Putt
ICCROM
13 Via di San Michele
00153 Rome, Italy
396-5855-3360
Fax: 396-5855-3349

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:90
                  Distributed: Tuesday, April 22, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-90-011
                                  ***