Volunteer and Intern Handbook
Volunteer and Intern Handbook
Volunteer and Intern Handbook
Handbook
(Updated March 2023)
Table of Contents
Welcome………………………………………………………………………….2
Mission
Statement…………………………………………………………………………3
A Brief History of
MAM…………………………………………………………………………….3-5
General
Information…………………………………………………………………..……6
Studio Checklist..……………………………………………………………...…25
Contact
List..……………………………………………………………………………26-27
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Dear Volunteer,
Welcome to our wonderful team of Montclair Art Museum volunteers! Your contributions
help MAM to grow and thrive and we are grateful that you have reached out to us. It is
only with your help that we are able to serve so many in our community.
Our 300 + MAM volunteers range in age from teenagers to octogenarians, each offering
their own special blend of talent and experience. I look forward to getting to know you
and hope you take the opportunity to get to know your fellow volunteers as you work
together.
Our volunteers support virtually all of the Museum’s activities and departments. You will
find volunteers assisting at public programs, special events, fundraisers, and family
activities. They help the teachers in children’s art classes and perform office work
behind the scenes. Staff is honored to work with our volunteers to support the Museum
and its mission.
Please feel free to contact me with your questions, concerns, comments, and
suggestions.
Damon Stallman
Volunteer and Intern Coordinator
Phone: 973-259-5153
dstallman@montclairartmuseum.org
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MISSION STATEMENT
The Montclair Art Museum, together with its Vance Wall Art Education Center, engages
our diverse community through distinctive exhibitions, educational programs, and
collections of American and Native American art. Our mission is to inspire and engage
people of all ages in their experience with art, including the rich inter-cultural and global
connections throughout American history, and the continuing relevance of art to
contemporary life.
After 100 years of service, MAM is recognized as the leading American art museum and
community art school in Northern New Jersey. As an organization, we value: artistic
inspiration, diversity of voices, individual and group creativity, and the importance of all
arts to a civil, inclusive and forward-thinking society.
During our second century, we will invigorate our collections and curatorial
presentations; expand our educational services and audience; support artists, their work
and connections; pursue productive institutional partnerships; and embrace new media
and technology. We will also secure MAM’s financial stability and preserve its facilities
and other assets in a prudent and sustainable way.
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The Museum was a pioneer: one of the country’s first museums primarily engaged in
collecting American art (including the work of contemporary, nonacademic artists) and
among the first dedicated to the study and creation of a significant Native American art
collection. This pioneering spirit still reverberates in the Museum’s pursuit and
presentation of high-quality art that characterizes and celebrates America’s diversity,
including the recent launch of New Directions, a series of solo exhibitions of the work of
contemporary artists and the cornerstone of MAM’s newly created contemporary art
program.
From its founding, the Montclair Art Museum has maintained a vital presence in its
surrounding community. The Museum’s collection began with gifts from prominent
Montclair residents that included both American and Native American art, laying the
foundation for the Museum’s holdings. MAM’s George Inness Gallery is one of very few
galleries in the world dedicated to the work of America’s greatest landscape painter,
who spent the last nine years of his life in Montclair, from 1885 onward, and who drew
inspiration from the local landscape. Other well-known artists followed in his footsteps,
cementing Montclair’s reputation as an intellectual center and artists’ colony, a
reputation it retains to this day.
MAM’s collection has grown to over 12,000 works. The American collection, which
started with a gift of 36 paintings from William T. Evans, comprises paintings, prints,
drawings, photographs, and sculpture dating from the 18th century to the present, and
features excellent works by Benjamin West, Asher B. Durand, John Singer Sargent,
Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as
younger and emerging artists such as Louise Lawler, Chakaia Booker, Whitfield Lovell,
and Willie Cole.
The Museum’s superb holdings of traditional and contemporary American Indian art and
artifacts, New Jersey’s largest, represent the cultural achievements in weaving, pottery,
wood carving, jewelry, and textiles of indigenous Americans. The collection was begun
by Annie Valentine Rand and carried on by her philanthropic daughter Florence Rand
Lang, one of the Museum’s founders, and continues to grow with commissioned works,
gifts, and purchases that celebrate the vitality and modernity of traditional forms and
beliefs. Among the contemporary American Indian artists represented are Tony Abeyta,
Dan Namingha, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Allan Houser, Bentley Spang, and Marie
Watt.
Equally important for its community presence and its reputation are the Museum’s
public and family programs and art school, serving everyone from toddlers to senior
citizens. Collaborations with numerous cultural and community partners bring artists,
performers, and scholars to the Museum on a regular basis. Guests have included
Holland Cotter, John Elderfield, Bill T. Jones, Jeff Koons, Faith Ringgold, Winfred
Rembert, Kiki Smith, Philip Pearlstein, Shirin Neshat, and Lorna Simpson. More than
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10,000 K–12 students from 190 school districts visit the Museum every year. Sunday
Studio, Family Learning Lab, and Build Montclair in LEGO day are some of the ways
that families can experience art at MAM in a variety of different ways. The Museum also
provides programs for seniors and individuals with special needs—such as the hearing
impaired and people with Alzheimer’s—as well as training for teachers in the arts. And
MAM’s Art Truck now brings art making projects to over 3,000 people a year throughout
the region.
MAM’s art school, the Yard School of Art, has been an integral part of the Museum’s life
nearly from the beginning. It was founded in 1924, just 10 years after the Museum itself,
and has operated continuously since then, offering courses year-round to kids, teens,
adults, and seniors. Courses cross a broad range of the artistic spectrum, including
drawing, painting, collage, pastel, printmaking, and illustration. In 2011, the school
launched two new areas: a Ceramics Studio and a Digital Media Lab.
The ribbon cutting for the Vance Wall Art Education Center at MAM took place in May
2016. The Vance Wall Center encompasses all of our educational efforts, including the
Yard School of Art, now near capacity with over 2,000 students currently enrolled, and
nearly 30,000 alumni. The Vance Wall Center engages with over 95 schools in 54
school districts, 4 institutions of higher learning, and 140 community and business
organizations ranging from the Cub Scouts to Hadassah, and senior groups and town
arts councils from Sussex to Trenton, Yonkers to Allentown. Our vision for the future of
education is both programmatic and physical, both on- and off-site, to fully refine and
deepen these partnerships, creating national models for art education. These dynamic
partnerships will leverage strengths to provide better services, meet community needs,
and expand comprehensive creative programming for every demographic from toddlers
to seniors.
The first institution in New Jersey designed as a museum and one of the first in the
nation to be accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Montclair Art
Museum continues to seek novel ways, through its exhibitions, education programs, and
outreach efforts, to inspire and inform its growing and ever more diverse audiences.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Gallery Hours
Friday and Saturday: 10-6 p.m. Sunday: 11–5 p.m.
Mondays-Thursdays & Major Holidays: CLOSED
Museum Admission
Nonmember Adults: $15
Seniors (65+), Veterans, and Students with I.D.: $12
Members, Volunteers, Interns, and Children under 12: FREE
Accessibility
We are committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive, educational, and safe
environment for all. Please refer to the accessibility services and programs available at
the link below. If you have any additional questions, please contact Celene Ryan,
Assistant Director, Access and Community Programs, at 347-455-1241 or
cryan@montclairartmuseum.org.
https://www.montclairartmuseum.org/accessibility-mam
Audio
Wireless auditory assistance devices are available for hearing impaired visitors.
Inclement Weather
In the event of inclement weather, please check the Museum’s website
montclairartmuseum.org and/or the voicemail message at 973-746-5555 after 8 a.m. If
the Museum is already open, but will close early, the recording will be changed.
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VOLUNTEER AND INTERN INFORMATION
Introduction
Volunteers and Interns are significant members of our team. Teams work together to
provide the best services and experience possible to our visitors. We want your
participation to be beneficial and rewarding. Your loyalty and dedication towards
furthering the reputation and integrity of the Montclair Art Museum are of the utmost
importance.
This Volunteer and Intern Handbook is provided to inform volunteers and interns, and
potential volunteers and interns, of the policies and operating procedures of the
Museum and of the many service opportunities that are available. It is not a contract for
employment nor a guarantee of a continuing relationship with the Museum. The
Museum reserves the right to change policies and procedures or revise the contents of
the Volunteer and Intern Handbook at its sole discretion, without prior notification to
volunteers or interns.
Background checks are required for all volunteers and interns over the age of 18. The
screening process is necessary to make the Museum a safe environment for everyone
on the premises–visitors, volunteers, interns, and staff alike.
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Volunteer Opportunities
The dedication of our volunteers has been central to the growth and vitality of the
Montclair Art Museum. Here is a sampling of volunteer opportunities available at MAM:
● Family Programs
Assist with art activities led by professional art instructors at family events held
throughout the year.
● Membership
Promote the benefits of MAM membership at Museum and community events
and assist with membership fulfillment tasks in the office.
● Special Events
Lend a hand at Members’ Openings, lectures, and other special events by
welcoming and registering guests, pouring wine, distributing programs, etc.
● Art Truck
Help promote the Museum and support art education at fairs and festivals in the
community through the MAM Art Truck mobile studio.
Professional Standards
The Montclair Art Museum strives to provide a satisfying experience for volunteers while
maintaining a harmonious and productive working environment. Volunteers and interns
are expected to conduct themselves with the same standards of professionalism as paid
staff members.
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Volunteers and interns who have access to collections, research, staff activities, and
sensitive or proprietary information (such as donor and member information) must
respect the confidentiality of their positions, as well as the significance and integrity of
the collections. Employees, interns, and volunteers may not disclose confidential
information to any unauthorized persons, whether outside or within the Museum. This
non-disclosure obligation shall apply during the course of the employee’s employment
or intern/volunteer tenure and after the employee or intern/volunteer’s separation from
employment or volunteer service. Employees, interns, and volunteers are also
prohibited from using confidential information for their own economic or personal
benefit.
Volunteers and interns must be loyal to the mission of the Montclair Art Museum and to
the public which they serve.
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Admission & Equal Opportunity
Admission to the MAM volunteer program is open to all those who possess the qualities
necessary to become an effective volunteer. Selection for internships is based on the
specific requirements of the internship as outlined in the program description. The
Montclair Art Museum is dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination on any basis
including race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin, the presence of any mental,
physical, or sensory disability, sexual orientation, or any other basis prohibited by
federal or state law.
● Be the first one to speak. Volunteers and interns should feel comfortable in
approaching visitors and helping to make their trip to the Museum the best that it
can be. A simple, “Hello, how are you?” or “May I help you?” can start a visitor’s
trip off right. Even if you do not know the answer to a visitor’s question, you will
be able to direct them to someone who does. Remember, always call a staff
member if you are in doubt about answering a question or making a decision.
● All visitors are important. We want to give all visitors the best possible
experience, whether they visit in families, groups, or by themselves. There is
always the possibility that one good experience can lead to one more
membership.
● Smile! The best way to ensure that the Museum’s visitors are having a good time
is to have a good time yourself. As a volunteer/intern, set a positive tone by your
own appearance. A smile is a wonderful start.
Absences
Staff, your fellow volunteers and interns, and MAM visitors value your contributions and
they depend on you to be present at the scheduled time. Volunteers and interns who
know they will be absent or late should notify the Volunteer and Intern Coordinator, as
well as their on-site supervisor, as far in advance as possible.
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Museum Property
When using Museum property, employees and volunteers are expected to exercise
care, follow all operating instructions, safety standards, and guidelines. Employees,
interns and volunteers should immediately notify their supervisor if any equipment,
machines, or tools appear to be damaged, defective, or in need of repair.
E-mail messages and voice messages are sometimes misdirected or forwarded and
may be viewed by persons other than the intended recipient. Employees, interns, and
volunteers should treat e-mail and voice communications with no less care, judgment
and responsibility than they would use for letters or internal memoranda written on
Museum letterhead.
Whenever you use social media, the Museum expects that you will do so in a
professional and responsible manner. Specifically, you are expected to use all social
media in accordance with all Museum policies and guidelines, and to always remember
your professional obligation to protect the Museum, its assets and confidential
information.
During working hours, the use of Museum phones, computers, its website and the
e-mail system is for Museum purposes only.
Accidents or Injuries
If you or a visitor is injured, you should immediately ask any available staff for
assistance. If it is an emergency, please call 911.
Dress Code
It is important that volunteers and interns be dressed in a presentable and appropriate
fashion. It is important that volunteers and interns dress to work safely and comfortably.
Identification
Volunteers and interns should always wear their name tag. It is important for visitors to
be able to identify individuals who are able to help them with directions and information.
Lost name tags should be reported immediately to the Volunteer and Intern Coordinator
for replacement.
Evaluation
Your volunteer or intern performance will be evaluated regularly. Depending on the
extent and complexity of your assignment, the evaluations may be formal or informal,
written or oral. It is important that you communicate clearly and frequently with Damon
Stallman, Volunteer and Intern Coordinator, as well as your on-site supervisor. Discuss
any successes, difficulties, suggestions, and questions that you have.
Volunteers and interns are expected to observe and follow all safety and security
policies of the Museum. Volunteers and interns are also encouraged to report unsafe
conditions to appropriate Museum staff. Volunteers and interns observing any unsafe or
inappropriate behavior by other interns, volunteers, Museum staff, or guests should
contact the administrative staff.
No Solicitation/No Distribution
The conduction on-site of non-Museum business such as canvassing, collection of
funds, pledges, circulation of petitions, solicitation of members, or any other similar
types of activity is strictly prohibited.
Smoking
In keeping with the Museum’s intent to provide a safe and healthful work environment,
smoking is prohibited throughout the Museum and its grounds. This policy applies to all
employees, interns, volunteers, and visitors.
Substance Abuse
The Museum is committed to providing its employees, interns, and volunteers with a
safe and productive work environment free of illegal drugs, substance abuse, and
alcohol and maintains a zero tolerance policy.
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Non-Harassment Policy
It is Museum policy to provide employees, volunteers, and interns with a workplace free
from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 and state law, and the Museum will not permit any employee, volunteer, or intern,
male or female, to sexually harass another employee, volunteer, or intern in any way.
Sexual harassment may involve, but is not limited to, unwelcome or unsolicited verbal,
physical, or sexual conduct that is made a term of condition of service or employment, is
used as the basis of employment or advancement decisions, or has the purpose or
effect of unreasonably interfering with work or creating an intimidating, hostile or
offensive work environment. The Museum prohibits the use of phones, computers, its
web site, and the e-mail system in ways that are harassing, disruptive, offensive to
others, or harmful to morale.
Security Inspections
The Museum wishes to maintain a work environment that is free of illegal drugs,
alcohol, firearms, explosives, or other improper materials. To this end, the Museum
prohibits the possession, transfer, sale, or use of such materials on its premises and
reserves the right to inspect any materials or articles being brought onto the premises.
● Additional supervision
● Reassignment
● Retraining with possible suspension/probation
● Referral to another volunteer position
● Dismissal from the MAM volunteer program
Volunteers or interns who do not adhere to the policies and procedures of the program
or who fail to satisfactorily perform their assignment are subject to dismissal. Dismissal
is within the discretion of the Museum Director.
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Grounds for dismissal may include, but are not limited to:
Your concerns and suggestions are important, and we want to hear them. Submit
questions or concerns in writing to:
Damon Stallman
Volunteer and Intern Coordinator
Montclair Art Museum
3 South Mountain Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042
dstallman@montclairartmuseum.org
Thank you for volunteering your time, talents and efforts to the
Montclair Art Museum!
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Museum Collection Care Guidelines and Policies
2015
Updated May 2015 by Office of the Registrar and Chief of
Building Operations & Security.
Approved by the Director.
(Contact information updated 10.13.22)
These guidelines have been developed and organized for the safety of the artwork and
objects in the collection of the Montclair Art Museum and those objects on loan to the
Museum. These policies are to be observed by all MAM staff members, Yard School of
Art teachers, volunteers, docents, interns, Board of Trustees, vendors, contractors,
couriers, conservators, and all other groups or individuals associated with the Museum.
It is the responsibility of Senior Staff members and Department Heads to notify their
interns, volunteers, vendors, and contractors of these policies as needed. Any MAM
staff members acting as Liaison for media events, rentals, special events, or the like,
are to clearly convey specific rules and restrictions to those individuals responsible for
such events, as they may apply.
I. General Restrictions:
1. Only the Director, Curatorial and Facilities personnel are authorized to access the
gallery level during non-public hours. Please see section III.1 for further details
regarding advance approval.
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2. No food, beverages or liquids are allowed on the Gallery Level of the Museum,
the 3rd floor stacks, permanent collection storage areas, or the clean preparatory room
on the cellar level. The only exception to this rule pertains to food and beverages
permitted in the Lehman Court Gallery for special events only. It is important to note
that food and beverages are not permitted in the Lehman Court Gallery during regular
public hours.
3. No dark liquids such as red wine or coffee are permitted on the Gallery Level of
the Museum.
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weeks in advance. Final placement of equipment must be approved by the
Registrar.
8. Visitors with book bags, large or oversized handbags, shopping bags and
umbrellas will be asked to deposit or store their items at the coat check, or one of
the two reception desks, before entering galleries. Diaper bags are permitted
provided they are secured to a baby stroller or tucked in a storage compartment
beneath a baby carriage. Otherwise they should be deposited at the coat check
or at one of the two reception desks.
9. No animals (other than service animals), insects, soil (i.e. potted plants) are to be
brought into the Museum Building. Fresh cut flowers are acceptable in
non-gallery areas only.
10. MAM is a non-smoking facility. Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the Museum,
the Administration building, and the MAM grounds. This includes electronic
cigarettes [e-cigs, personal vaporizers (VPs), or electronic nicotine delivery
systems (ENDS)].
11. No pens, colored pencils, markers or paint are allowed in the galleries, unless
part of an organized group and only with advance application to the Registrar’s
office. The use of regular No. 2 pencils by the general public is acceptable.
12. Candles and open flames are prohibited in the Museum and Museum offices.
Properly contained Sterno may be used for rentals, special events, etc., on the
first floor of the Museum only. The use of Sterno is subject to the review and
approval of the Registrar and the Supervisor of Facilities.
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13. The use of electric heating devices is strictly prohibited on the Museum Gallery
level, and only with prior approval of the Supervisor of Facilities.
14. All individuals must remain a safe distance from artwork. For example: at least
18 inches from the surface of artwork mounted on walls and 12 inches from
pedestals of casework supporting 3-dimensional objects. Visitors should be
discouraged from pointing fingers or hand-held objects (gallery flyers, pencils,
etc.) near the surface of unglazed paintings and exposed sculptures.
15. Anyone utilizing chairs or MAM stools in the galleries must remain at least three
(3) feet from artwork on walls and casework containing objects.
16. No one but authorized personnel may touch or handle artwork, including frames
in the galleries.
17. No one but authorized personnel may touch, lean on, or place objects on vitrines
(Plexi-glass cases) in the galleries.
18. No one but personnel authorized by the Yard School of Art and the Education
Department, may touch or handle artwork, including frames, in the Art School
and Education Arcades.
19. The window blinds in the Roberts Gallery and Shelby Gallery must remain closed
at all times.
20. The second floor door of the Laurie Art Stairway (between the Roberts and
Inness Galleries) must remain closed at all times in order to maintain accurate
climate on the gallery level.
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II. Organized Functions, Education Programs, Special Events, Tours, visiting
groups, etc.
1. All group organizers must observe the General Restrictions listed in section I of
this document.
3. Anyone organizing or conducting tours for large groups visiting the galleries
should pay attention to visitor accessibility and visitor’s proximity to artwork.
When groups are stationary in the galleries (whether sitting or standing)
designated liaisons should ensure that adequate space (3-foot wide pathway) is
left to accommodate access for other visitors, guards and staff to other points of
the gallery and to points of entry/exit. In addition, all individuals must remain a
safe distance from artwork. (See sections I.13 and I.14 for more information)
4. In the event galleries and/or the grounds near outdoor sculpture are used for
purposes beyond general viewing of exhibition installations and require furniture,
commercial tents, equipment or any uncharacteristic paraphernalia (i.e. Family
Days, Art Fairs, rentals on the grounds), set up sheets must be submitted to
the Registrar Department at least two weeks in advance, and to the
Supervisor of Security at least two weeks in advance, for review and
approval.
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5. All group organizers and designated liaisons are responsible for ensuring the
proper and complete clean up of said event within a timely fashion. It is
suggested that group organizers complete a walk through after the event to be
certain areas of use are returned to their usual condition.
6. When appropriate, group organizers and designated liaisons are responsible for
ensuring an adequate number of security guards are available for said event
(including clean ups when necessary). Request for security must be
submitted to the Supervisor of Safety & Security at least two weeks in
advance. The number of security guards will be determined by the Supervisor of
Safety and Security, the Registrar, and any other related staff members, on a
case-by-case basis. Any department requiring security beyond regular security
staff hours may be responsible for costs associated with overtime hours.
8. All rental furniture, catering supplies, bar supplies, and other miscellanea must
be removed from Museum premises within 48 hours. The MAM staff who
organize the events are responsible for arranging for the collections of materials,
arranging for any extensions for holding materials beyond the allotted 48 hours,
and are responsible for the proper storage of materials.
9. All set ups for functions must be in accordance with state and local fire
regulations.
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Gallery Level during non-public or non-operating hours and with the advance
approval of the Registrar and the Supervisor of Safety and Security.
2. It is the responsibility of paid MAM staff members scheduling and/or receiving
visitors to accompany (escort) visitors while in galleries, or make arrangements
for a paid staff member or security guard to accompany visitors for the duration of
their visit in the galleries.
2. All access points to the Gallery Level of the Museum will remain locked when
closed to the public. All access points must be locked immediately upon entry of
authorized staff, pre-approved staff and visitors, unless arrangements have been
made with the Chief of Building Operations & Security to have authorized
personnel monitor the unlocked entry until the business is concluded.
3. The cellar level of the Museum is restricted to authorized personnel only. It will
be locked at all times and any unauthorized staff and non-staff (visitors,
consulting conservators, contractors, HVAC, etc.) requiring access to the cellar
level must be accompanied by the Director or members of the Curatorial or
Facilities departments.
4. Anyone requiring access to the cellar level by way of the stairwell, loading dock,
and/or the elevator, must ensure that these access points are monitored by a
stationary staff member when opened and in use, and relocked when work is
complete.
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1. In the event an incident occurs in the galleries, objects sustain damage or
damage to objects is observed at a later time, notify the nearest Security
guard, the Supervisor of Safety & Security, the Supervisor of Facilities, or
the Registrar department immediately.
2. Any paid MAM staff members acting as liaison for rentals, special events, or the
like, are to clearly convey rule IV.1 to those individuals responsible for such
events, and should include this information in their orientation packages or other
such documents provided to outside parties.
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After reviewing and signing the Report, the Registrar will submit copies to the
Director, Chief of Building Operations & Security, Chief Curator, and any other
appropriate parties.
4. If unusual temperatures and humidity levels are noted in the galleries, if leaks,
flooding or any water is observed in the building, and if power outages or
electrical issues, etc. arise, notify the nearest Security Guard, the Chief of
Building Operations & Security, or the Registrar Department immediately.
5. In the event of fire, locate the nearest fire alarm station and pull alarm. Fire
stations are located throughout the building and are clearly marked by
appropriate signage. When activated, the fire alarm will sound throughout the
Museum. Staff Fire Wardens (who have been predetermined and are assigned
designated areas within the Museum and Administration Building) will alert
occupants in their area to ensure that everyone evacuates the building promptly.
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Studio Checklist
⮚ Any materials brought outside the studio are returned to the original
studio
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Phone/Contact list
C (201) 725-0482
C (212) 729-3399
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Chief Financial Mike Frasco W (973) 259-5115
Officer
C (201) 826-2521
C (973) 632-3491
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