Volunteers Without the hard work and dedication of our volunteers we would grind to a halt.

The Highlanders’ Museum relies on the hard work and dedication of volunteer staff to supplement the work of our paid staff. Without our volunteers we would grind to a halt. No prior knowledge is required. All that we ask of volunteers is an empathy with our work, a willingness to learn and a commitment to the organisation.

The museum encourages all staff (both salaried and volunteer) to attend training courses which are beneficial to the individual and the organization and within current financial constraints. After initial training, specific workshop sessions will be organized to address any specific areas identified by the volunteer and the Volunteer-Co-coordinator.

It is hoped that a volunteer can give a regular commitment to the museum for at least 3 months. This commitment could be to attend once a week, once a fortnight or once a month, whatever is mutual acceptable.

Volunteers usually have one of three main roles. Although some volunteers combine more than one role, one function is always their primary duty: No role is more important than the others. All three functions are vital to our day to day running of the museum. We do not conjure-up these roles to keep our volunteers busy! There is real need for the work to be done.

• Research – we receive between 20 and 30 enquires each week from people at the front desk, or via the telephone, email or post. Questions relating to particular members of the regiment, or events or engagements, regimental practice and tradition come from members of the wider regimental family, from family researchers, historians, academics. Volunteers with a regimental background are particularly useful in this role, but those with an enquiring mind, an ability to research and to solve problems or an amateur knowledge of the regiment are also very welcome.
• Collection care – this is “time-travel for beginners”. Volunteers working on specific parts of the collections are in the unique position of being able to handle and care for objects and books. Some of these items stem from the earliest regimental history. In an attempt to complete an inventory of museum holdings we have teams of volunteers recording what, where in what condition are items in the following groups:
  • Paintings and textiles
  • Silver
  • Textiles
  • Photographs
  • Books and documents

  These inventories will provide the basis for monitoring the condition of items and of identifying those objects which have the greatest need for conservation intervention. On a limited budget this is essential to the efficient and effective use of our resources. Collection care is a bit like “the Forth Bridge” a never ending job, but we tell volunteers “bit by bit” like eating an elephant. Don’t be put off by the scale of the task in hand.

• Meeting and greeting –A very important position, the first point of contact our visitors have with the museum. It is our intention to keep the front desk staffed at all times so that we can meet and greet all visitors to the museum, to:
  • make them feel welcome
  • record the actual number of all (most?) visitors to the museum
  • advise them on the best way to view the collections
  • advise on local conditions (e.g. very hot upstairs today),
  • advise on facilities in the vicinity (e.g. stair lift, Historic Scotland café, public toilets),
  • advise on family history enquires,
  • encourage retail purchases and donations.
  • encourage visitors to complete a five minute visitor survey after their visit, the information from which will be used as supporting evidence in our grant applications.
  • note down any criticisms of the museum and to graciously accept any praise.