Royal Ontario Museum Annual Report 2007/2008

Department of Museum Volunteers
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Department of
Museum Volunteers (DMV). On October 2, 2007, volunteers
past and present, including two of its founding members and
many of the 45 past presidents, came together to reminisce and
recognize the years of dedicated support to the Museum.
The DMV and its 30 committees continue to provide tours
of ROM galleries and exhibitions, create engaging programs,
ranging from the popular ROMwalks to lectures based on the
Museum’s diverse collections, and raise money for curatorial
research and acquisitions. The DMV contributes an estimated
65,000 volunteer hours a year, a value of close to $2 million.
The June opening of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal saw the
DMV-operated ROM Reproductions move into its location
in the centre of the new ROM Museum Store. ROM
Reproductions carries an exclusive assortment of reproductions
and adaptations of pieces from the ROM’s own collections and
raises an average of $150,000 per year for the ROM’s research
and acquisition funds.
Museum Guides offered over 1,800 free public tours and over
300 paid group tours in English, while in French, the Guides du
ROM offered four weekly tours, in addition to group tours on
request. Over 100 Gallery Interpreters brought ROM artifacts
into the galleries, providing interactive hands-on experiences
for visitors, and 50 Meeters and Greeters welcomed visitors to
the Museum, giving directions and answering questions.
The DMV continued to work with ROM staff, offering
interactive programming for children through the OWLS
program, the Explorers Club, the CIBC Discovery Gallery,
the Patrick and Barbara Keenan Family Gallery of Hands-on
Biodiversity and the ever popular March Break.
ROMtravel organized six international trips, 11 local ROMbus
day trips and free bi-weekly tours from May to October.
A significant number of volunteers belong to “Friends”
committees. The Bishop White Committee recently raised $1
million for the funding of the Bishop White Curator of Japanese
Art. The Friends of the Canadian Collections and ROM
curatorial staff held events for its members and public. On June
11, 2007, the Friends of Textiles & Costume hosted the C4 Party,
featuring an exclusive fashion show by Canadian designers in
the new Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume. At the
18th Annual Decorative Arts Symposium, 230 participants
attended Gold and Silver: Treasures, Fakes and Forgeries. The
15th Annual Studies in Silver Lecture, The Clarkson Cup: Lord
Stanley Move Over!, organized by the DMV and the ROM’s
European Section, took place in October 2007, benefiting the
ROM’s silver collection.
The Volunteer Resources Section, made up of ten committees,
are the core of the DMV. They include Awards, First Magnitude
(DMV newsletter), Volunteer Centre Receptionists, Volunteer
Records/Archives, Publicity, Hospitality, Decor, Library, Special
Exhibitions, Programs and Joint Health and Safety.
During fiscal 2007/2008, the DMV donated approximately
$60,000 to the ROM for research and acquisition and $20,000
toward operations of the museum, and is proud to report that to
date it has contributed $1,281,091 towards Renaissance ROM.
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