Creating a Greater Connection: Volunteer Training in Seattle-area Museums

Abstract

<bold>Abstract<bold> Creating a Greater Connection: Volunteer Training in Seattle-area Museums Nicole Lillian Ohlandt Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Wilson O'Donnell Museology Graduate Program →This thesis will seek to determine why museums and similar institutions in the Seattle, Washington area train volunteers. Many, if not most museums utilize volunteers in some way and in order to function effectively in their positions, these volunteers require some sort of training. Formalized volunteer training programs are a sign of the growing professionalization of the museum field. The rationale of this research is to determine the purpose given by volunteer managers for training museum volunteers. →Due to the lack of similar studies, this research undertook to sample as many of the Seattle area museum volunteer managers as possible. A facilitated discussion was held with 15 staff members from Seattle area museums and similar institutions. These staff members are responsible for volunteer training at their institutions. The responses generated from this discussion were then analyzed for the overarching themes that emerged. →By exploring why museums are training volunteers, and what training practices are being used and how those practices affect achievement of desired training outcomes, this research attempts to give a baseline understanding of practice in the field of museum volunteer management. This research shows that Seattle area museums use a variety of training practices to achieve several positive outcomes. Most notably, this study demonstrates that Seattle area museum volunteer managers use training to increase volunteer engagement in their institutions' missions.