Milestones, Hampshire's Living History Museum: the equivalent of 26 full-time posts will be deleted across Hampshire's museum service

Volunteers could replace staff at four sites in Hampshire

Patrick Steel, Issue 111/01, p5, 04.01.2011
Negotiations with councils over alternative management models

Hampshire County Council  is looking to use volunteers to keep four of its sites open. The council is in negotiations with local district and borough councils over an alternative management model for the Curtis Museum and Allen Gallery in Alton, the Bursledon Windmill, and the Rockbourne Roman Villa.


This could lead to the development of volunteer teams to support interpretation and maintenance at Bursledon Windmill and activities at Rockbourne Roman Villa and the Allen Gallery.


The changes will take  place in April, as part of a restructure to address the likely loss of more than £1m of Renaissance funding, coupled with the government-imposed funding cuts.


Across the museum service, the equivalent of 26 full-time posts will be deleted, of which nine collections-management positions will be made redundant.


A source close to the museum service said: “The service is dumbing down and will lose lots of experienced, professional staff. It is worrying that there is a perceived inability to cope with the demands of the museum service in the future.”


Tony Hammond, a negotiator for the union Prospect, who has been involved in negotiations with National Museums Liverpool over its plans to extend its work-experience volunteering scheme, said: “There are lots of national and local authority museums that operate with volunteers.


“We are not against the use of volunteers, but we are opposed to full-time roles being replaced by volunteers.


“The concern is that real jobs are replaced by people being forced off benefits, and maybe people who don’t have relevant expertise are forced into those positions. That is where the Big Society may lead. My concern is that this skill base will not recover.”

Click here to read Museum Practice on volunteers

Correction


The headline to this story was changed (from Volunteers could keep four sites in Hampshire open) on 6 January.



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Anonymous
06.01.2011, 10:47
Incredieble that last year they spent a fortune on the rather poor display over the August BH at Basing House and now they are having to make professionals redundant. Yet another example of poor management and bad budgeting. No doubt those who made the decisions will have nothing to worry about.
Although volunteers will help a bad situation is it unlikely they will be able to fill the void left by the hands on paid staff they will be replacing.
IMO what's needed is some to examine the problems the industry is having and come up with real solutions rather than having management teams who think sticking a band aid over a fracture is a cure.
Anonymous (MA Member)
05.01.2011, 17:30
Would just like to say agree with Tony Hammond, having worked both as a volunteer and now as a museum Professional. There are lots of terrific volunteers out there, but up until now they've been self selecting. Now we're getting people from the Job Centre who don't want to be there and it shows in thier attitude towards work and the work its self. Volunteers are excellent idea, but they've only good as the people themselves.
Anonymous (MA Member)
05.01.2011, 16:55
appreciate your slight change of headline on this article to reflect the double edged nature of this change...horrah for MA supporting and valuing people in both paid and unpaid museum roles !