Revised: August 2008
Spurlock Museum | 600 S. Gregory St. | Urbana, IL 61801 | (217) 333-2360

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• About the Museum
• Museum Staff Structure
• Section Mission Statements
• Basic Work Requirements
• Work Schedules
• Being on Time
• Unavoidable Lateness or Absence
• Requesting Time off
• Breaks
• Professional Conduct
• Restrooms
• Telephones
• Receiving Visitors
• Computer Use Policy
• Job Description and Advancement
• Graduate Assistants
• Time Sheets
• Yearly Reviews
• Public Relations (Statement of Policy)
• Disciplinary Action
• Grievance Procedures
• Sexual Harassment
• Drugs and Alcohol
• Security
• Basic Security Procedures
• Keys
• False Alarms
• Reporting Abnormal Conditions
• Safety
• General Safety Guidelines
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS sheets)
• Illness
• Emergency Response Guide (flipbook)

Introduction

Welcome to the staff of the Spurlock Museum! This handbook will help you learn about the Museum, its rules and procedures, and your duties as a Museum employee. If you have any questions about policy or about any other topic discussed in this handbook, please ask your supervisor(s) or more experienced co-worker(s).

This manual covers the rules and regulations of being a student employee. If you do not follow the rules outlined in this manual, appropriate disciplinary action may result (refer to section 6.0 Disciplinary Action). You are responsible for all the material covered in this handbook. After you have read it, sign the accompanying statement, and turn it in to your section head.

Some Spurlock Museum policies may be found at the following website: www.spurlock.illinois.edu/policies/index.html. This page is also accessible from the "Policies" button on top right the Spurlock Museum homepage, www.spurlock.illinois.edu. You are encouraged to read these policies, as they contain useful information.

The material in this handbook may change over time. All the sections will have a chance to review and edit this manual when changes are proposed. Once changes are approved, new copies of this manual will be distributed to all the sections.

About the Museum

Mission Statement:

The Spurlock Museum celebrates our shared humanity by collecting, preserving, documenting, exhibiting, and studying objects of cultural heritage. The Museum's primary function is education in service to students, scholarly communities, and the general public, interpreting the diversity of cultures through time and across the globe. Its collections constitute a public trust to be responsibly maintained for future generations as a permanent record of the cultural World.

The Museum is both an educational and a research institution. On the one hand, it shares its collection and information with the public through exhibitions, guided tours, and special programs and events. On the other, it helps to extend the boundaries of knowledge through study of the objects it collects. It is a resource for scholars, students, and the public at large to learn about the earth's inhabitants.

In 1911, the University of Illinois established museums of classical and European culture on the fourth floor of Lincoln Hall, drawing upon the university's 1874 Gregory collection. An Oriental museum was added in 1917. Over time, the museums were combined and eventually renamed the World Heritage Museum in 1971. In 2000, the World Heritage Museum was renamed the Spurlock Museum to recognize William and Clarice Spurlock, who gave a generous gift to fund the construction of the new Museum facility. For two years, the Museum was closed to the public while the staff was busy moving the Museum's collections and planning and building the presently existing permanent exhibits. The staff was also kept busy with outreach to schools and the community with off-site educational programs. The new facility opened in 2002, featuring cultural galleries that reflect the diversity of the museum's collection. Additionally, one gallery is devoted to temporary exhibits, rotated twice a year.

Museum Staff Structure

The Director of the Museum is Professor Wayne Pitard. Museum functions are divided among sections (Administration, Collections, Education, Information Technology, Registration, Security). Each section has a section head that is responsible for the activities of his or her section and all staff assigned to it. Certain sections also have assistant section heads. When section heads are not available, these staff members take responsibility for the smooth operation of section activities. Each section head, within the limits established by Museum policy, determines the levels of authority and responsibility within his/her section. Please ask your supervisor for the location of contact information for full-time staff members and the staff flowchart.

Section Mission Statements

Collections Management

To support the teaching and research interests of the University of Illinois by safeguarding the physical integrity of the Spurlock Museum's collections; the Collections Management Section also enhances the aesthetic presentation of artifacts through exhibit design while educating others about the ideals of preservation.

Education

It is the mission of the Spurlock Museum Education Section to develop educational programming, both gallery-based and community outreach, that fosters increased understanding of and appreciation for the cultures of the world, around the globe and throughout time.

In carrying out this mission, the Section will strive to engage audiences of all ages and diverse backgrounds. In concert with this mission, the Section will work to address the topics of identity and cultural heritage within a multicultural society and ethics within a global community.

The Education Section will work to achieve its goals in collaboration with all Sections of the Museum, with members of various cultural and educational communities and organizations, and with both visiting and faculty curators, scholars, and researchers. At all times, the Section will work to build and support a creative learning environment within the Museum that is characterized by open discussion and fair exchange.

Information Technology

The mission of the Information Technology Section of the Spurlock Museum is to support the Museum by providing an infrastructure of innovative, accessible technology in networked computing and media and to produce electronic resources and programming that promote the Museum’s mission.

Duties include:

List of IT duties

• Facilitate the organic growth of the Museum’s database system.
• Administer technical support to maintain the Museum’s core technology. 
• Ensure long-term and stable access to the Museum’s digital information.
• Provide engaging digital content and programming that complements the Museum’s galleries and collections, including the production of a dynamic website.
• Document Museum activities using still and video cameras and promote the Museum’s accomplishments through digital video production.
• Research and provide consultation on various relevant technologies and applications.
• Assist with other various initiatives and problems relating to technology and the use of information within the Museum and University campus.

Registration

Attributes of the Registration Section

• To facilitate and contribute to the growth and refinement of the collections and to implement registration of collections according to Museum and University policy and procedures as well as local, state, and federal laws and regulations
• To collect, preserve and manage information in the form of paper records, computerized records, two-dimensional photographic images, and digital images relating to the collections, their acquisition, provenance, history, and context
• To contribute to the safeguarding and preservation of the collections via cataloguing, physical processing, inventory, physical care, and preventative conservation
• To facilitate and promote access to information and collections for educational, scientific, and scholarly purposes

Basic Work Requirements

Every student staff member is assigned to a particular section. Your section head will be your primary supervisor unless you are told otherwise. All student staff members have a mailbox in the General Work Room (room 011). When you come in to work, check your box for messages. Student staff may leave coats and backpacks in the coat closet located in corridor 001.

You and your supervisor(s) will set your hours. You are responsible for recording your work hours. Always remember to sign in and out. You will only be paid for the hours you have completed on your time sheet. Falsification of time sheet information is grounds for disciplinary action. Your section head and/or supervisor will show you the location of your time sheets and give you instruction on filling them out.

Work Schedules

Museum business hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The Museum is open to the public Tuesday 12:00 - 5:00 pm, Wednesday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, and Sunday 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Each student will have a set work schedule to be determined as early in the semester as possible. Different sections work different hours; both you and your supervisor will determine your work hours. Please schedule your work time in blocks of at least two hours. Student employees traditionally have had considerable latitude in drawing up their schedules; we understand that you are students first, and we are willing to work around your commitments. However, once you have established your schedule, we expect you to follow it. If you need to change your work schedule (e.g., your class schedule has changed), we expect to be notified in advance in order to adjust accordingly.

Punctuality

We expect all employees to arrive for work on time. Please arrange your schedule to allow time for travel between classes and work. In other words, do not agree to come in at 10:00 if your class at the Vet Med building ends at 9:50.

The people you work with depend on you. If you are late, your colleagues may have to wait for you to show up so they can continue with group projects.

If you are more than ten minutes late, or absent without properly notifying your supervisor, more than once during a semester, you will incur disciplinary action. On the second occasion, you will receive a verbal warning. On the third, you will receive a written warning, a copy of which will be placed in your file. On the fourth instance of unexcused lateness or absence, you may be dismissed.

Unavoidable Lateness or Absence

If you are more than ten minutes late for work due to illness, academic emergency, or other unavoidable circumstances, we expect you to call and notify your supervisor. If the Museum is closed and you need to get in touch with someone, leave a voice mail or e-mail message. In case of a personal emergency, please notify the Museum as soon as possible.

Requesting Time Off

We ask that you request any time off at least one week in advance. Your section head and/or supervisor must approve time off. Please remember that schoolwork comes before work here; if you need time off to complete class work, do not be afraid to ask for it as soon as possible!

Breaks

Your section head may authorize and enforce rest or break periods up to fifteen minutes for each half-day of work (a four-hour shift). Break periods cannot be combined, nor can they be used at the beginning or end of the day (late start or early quitting time) or to extend meal periods. Check with your section head as to where and when breaks may be taken. Employees who work seven continuous hours or longer must take an unpaid break of at least thirty minutes.

Professional Conduct

Although we are not always working in the public eye, we must still present a professional face behind the scenes at all times. We frequently receive visits from scholars and potential donors. Always be polite to visitors, especially when you are trying to find out who they are and what they want. Asking, "May I help you?" is usually a good beginning.

Please discourage your friends from making personal visits on your work time. Do not allow personal visitors into the Museum without prior clearance from your section head. If you receive personal visits or phone calls on work time, and it regularly interferes with your work, it will be considered grounds for disciplinary action.

Music is allowed in certain work areas. Each section has its own music policy designed to maintain a pleasant atmosphere. If you are allowed to use earphones, keep the volume low enough that you can still hear the telephone or someone talking to you.

Eating and drinking are NOT permitted in the galleries or in Museum workspaces except where specifically designated areas have been established. Non-sealed food items are to be kept in the Break Room (room 018), in the refrigerator. Chewing gum is NOT allowed anywhere in the building.

Smoking or any other use of tobacco products are not permitted anywhere in the Spurlock Museum or on the loading dock.

You should dress as neatly as your duties allow. Clothing should not have rips or holes. Do not wear sweatpants or cut-offs to work. You may wear shorts if they are of a reasonable length. Section heads may make specific dress requirements for work hours, special projects, and special occasions.

Restrooms

Restrooms are located on the lower level and the first floor (see maps). As a matter of courtesy, please notify your supervisor before leaving a work area.

Telephones

Please turn your cell phone off or to a silent mode when you enter the Museum. Please do not make personal calls on work time even if it is done on a personal cell phone. If necessary, your supervisor may allow you to use Museum phones to make calls regarding personal business. Check with a supervisor before making any calls. Do not make long distance calls unless you are specifically instructed to do so by a supervisor.

The Museum has its own internal phone system. Each phone has an I/C (internal call) number in addition to a regular phone number. The I/C numbers are posted on each Museum telephone, as well as the phone numbers of full-time staff members.

Please ask for an in-depth introduction to the Museum"s phone system from a supervisor or experienced coworker. Each section may have different procedures for answering the phones in the section's workspace.

If you are working in an area with a phone, and the phone rings three times without being answered, it is your responsibility to answer it.

If you take a call for another staff member, try to find the person so he or she can take the call, take a message, or give the caller the staff member's direct phone number so that he or she can leave a voice mail. If you need to leave the phone, put the caller on hold and hang up the receiver.

When you take a message, make sure that the intended recipient gets that message. If the person is out temporarily, leave a note on their keyboard or computer screen. If the person is out for the day, leave the note either on their computer or in their mailbox. The student mailboxes are in room 011 and staff mailboxes are in the wooden cabinet in corridor 003 (see map, or ask to be shown its location). All messages should include the caller's name, the date (and time) of the call, a number where the caller may be reached, and your name.

Receiving Visitors

It is everyone's duty to answer the office doorbell; you may also be asked to answer the intercom. The intercom is a single chime; the doorbell is a double chime. Full-time staff expecting visitors or volunteers should be waiting for their guests. In the case that the intercom or doorbell rings twice, please answer it and take care of the guest by escorting him or her to the appropriate person. Answer the intercom with "May I help you?" and then help the guest accordingly. If the office doorbell rings, please answer it. It is most likely a volunteer or someone with an appointment. Do not allow entry through the dock door to unauthorized persons. If in doubt, contact Security or a section head. Always watch the dock door close after allowing authorized visitors through the door.

If the visitor has an appointment, but the staff member(s) involved with the meeting is(are) absent, please escort the visitor to the meeting room, and remain with them until a staff member involved with the meeting shows up. If you are unsure of the meeting location, escort the staff to a full-time staff member, and turn the visitor over to the full-time staff member.

Computer Use Policy

Many Museum jobs involve computer use. The Museum's computers are only to be used for Museum business. In particular, student staff are not to access email or surf the web on Museum time. Student staff may check their email specifically to deal with Museum business. Student staff may also conduct internet-based research if it pertains to their current project(s). Unless the computer(s) in the Break Room (room 018) are in use, they are always available for checking your email, but only during breaks or on personal time.

Access to certain Spurlock computer files is controlled by passwords. Very few staff are entrusted with all the passwords. Most full-time staff are entrusted with the passwords for the files that their section deals with. If your work requires use of secure Spurlock data files, those files will be opened for you. If your job requires you to work with certain files regularly, you may be entrusted with the password(s) to those files. Do not give these passwords out to anyone unless you are authorized to do so by your supervisor.

Museum Student Jobs

Undergraduate staff advancement is governed by policy in each section. Each section has its own objectives and roles within the Museum; therefore, each section works with students differently. Each section head specifies student jobs, roles, and responsibilities within the section.

Graduate Assistants

Graduate assistants are usually hired for specific projects that involve research and exhibit programming. In each case, the Director and section heads, as appropriate, will determine the graduate assistant's responsibilities and security status. In some cases the graduate assistant may be authorized to be a section head.

Graduate assistantships may be percentage appointments rather than hourly jobs: instead of being paid hourly, they receive a fixed monthly stipend. Graduate Students are responsible for working the total number of hours set for their appointment. Although this system permits some flexibility for conferences or other major academic projects, graduate assistants should keep a regular work schedule proportionate to their appointments; e.g., a half-time assistant should work about twenty hours a week on a regular schedule.

Time Sheets

You are responsible for keeping track of your own work hours. Your section head will inform you of the location of your time sheets. Your section head will forward the time sheets to the business manager for payroll once every two weeks. Pay is calculated by tenths of hours; a chart for converting minutes to tenths of hours is located in each time sheet binder.

Student staff are generally paid by direct deposit; a petition is required to receive a paper paycheck. Undergraduates and other hourly staff members are paid every other Wednesday. Graduate assistants are paid on the sixteenth of each month. Newly hired employees usually receive their first pay a month after beginning their position.

Yearly Reviews

At least once annually, year your supervisors review your achievements over the past several months to a year. This review will identify problems and strengths in your performance and provide you with future goals. It will also present you with a forum to comment and suggest improvements regarding your section.

Public Relations (Statement of Policy)

The Director is the official spokesperson for the Museum, unless another full-time staff member is designated as such. Student staff members may not discuss internal Museum matters with outside agencies or individuals unless they have prior clearance from the Director. These matters include, but are not limited to, storage locations of artifacts, personal donor information, or values of artifacts. Outside agencies include friends, the media, Facilities and Services personnel, and administrative and academic units of the university. Exceptions may be made in a case of special circumstances or grievances. Please direct all such inquiries to a section head or the Director.

Information on hours of operation, tours, current exhibitions, the next upcoming exhibition, and educational programs, may be given to the public. If you are not sure of the answer to a question, ask your supervisor for clarification or confirmation.

Disciplinary Action

When official disciplinary action against a student staff member becomes necessary, the standard procedure is as follows: first a verbal warning is issued; second, a written warning is filed if the offense is repeated; and finally, responsibilities and/or privileges may be revoked or the employee may be dismissed, depending upon the circumstances. Particularly serious offenses may merit an immediate written warning or even demotion or dismissal. The student's section head will initiate official disciplinary action. If the student works in more than one section, the section head in whose area the offense falls will initiate the action (or the student's primary section head will take action if the offense is not specifically related to the student's duties). All disciplinary action is reported to the Director; furthermore, no student may be demoted or dismissed without the written approval of the Director.

Students may appeal any disciplinary action through the grievance system.

Grievance procedures

Whenever possible, interpersonal problems should be solved informally. However, if you have a problem with a colleague and cannot reconcile it individually, see your section head. If your grievance is with your section head, see the Director. If the problem still cannot be resolved, you may file an official grievance with the University of Illinois. The policy and rules of the University's grievance procedures is found in the Campus Administrative Manual, section IX-B-3. A copy of this policy can be found online at http://www.fs.illinois.edu/CAM/CAM/ix/ix-b/ix-b-3.html(external link).

Sexual Harassment

The Museum adheres to University policy regarding sexual harassment. This policy is found in the Campus Administrative Manual, section IX-A-22. A copy of this policy can be found online at http://www.fs.illinois.edu/CAM/CAM/ix/ix-a/ix-a-22.html (external link).

Drugs and Alcohol

The Museum adheres to University policy regarding drugs and alcohol. This policy is found in the Campus Administrative Manual, section IX-A-15. A copy of this policy can be found online at http://www.fs.illinois.edu/CAM/CAM/ix/ix-a/ix-a-15.html. (external link)

Security

The Head of Security is responsible for the Museum's staff's safety and building security; however, all Museum employees are responsible for knowing and following basic security procedures. The basic policy is: personal safety comes first, followed by the safety of the collections.

Certain areas of the Museum have been designated as secure areas with restricted access. Keys and proximity cards are given out to individuals needing access to these areas. Always be sure that the doors to secured areas are properly locked. Student staff are not allowed to enter certain highly restricted areas without permission or instructions from their section heads.

In addition, certain information about the Museum's collections is considered secure. If you are entrusted with information that your supervisor indicates as secure, you CANNOT reveal it to any unauthorized persons. Assume a person is unauthorized unless you know otherwise.

Breaches of security are taken very seriously. If any staff member is found to be responsible for a security breach, disciplinary action, including dismissal, will follow, even on the first offense. In extreme cases, criminal charges may be filed.

Basic Security Procedures

Good security is largely a matter of prevention and alertness. When working in the Museum, be aware of what is going on around you. If you see anything unusual, report it to a section head. The situation or activity may be completely innocent, but if you do not know, ask.

If you work in a secure area, never take it upon yourself to let someone else in unless you know that he or she is authorized to be in that area.

Whenever you leave a secure area, make sure that the door is properly shut and locked. Do this every time you leave a secured area, without exception.

When you are working, enter and depart the building through the dock door. You may use the main entrance if you are a visitor.

Keys and Proximity Cards

The Head of Security is the keeper of all of the Museum's keys and proximity cards. All long term key assignments (keys that are signed out for more than a week) must be requested by a section head. An individual long-term key form from the Security Department must be filled out for all approved keys. Short-term key assignments must also be requested by a section head and can only be signed out by the Collections Manager, the Business Manager, or the Head of Security. Please return the short term keys immediately after work assignments are completed, and do not take the keys out of the Museum. All keys must be returned to and signed in by a section head. Without exception, you must never hand your keys over to another person. As long as you are signed out for that key, you are responsible for it no matter who is in possession of it. It is in your best interest to keep that key until you can return it to the proper authority. If a key or proximity card is lost, immediately inform Security as well as your supervisor. If a proximity card is lost for longer than three days, there is a non-refundable ten-dollar charge for the replacement card.

Student staff are never to take Museum keys home without written permission of the Head of Security. Any keys not accounted for constitute a serious security breach; if you take a key home without permission, disciplinary action will follow.

False Alarms

Building access times are limited to minimize the number of accidental alarms; however, even a good security system will occasionally misfire. If you follow proper alarm procedures, you will not get into trouble. When an accidental alarm occurs, please remain calm and follow the directions below.

If an accidental alarm occurs during work hours and Spurlock staff is present, just stay in the area of the accidental alarm and responding staff members will find you. When that happens, explain the situation and the alarm will be turned off and reset.

If an accidental alarm occurs and no other Spurlock staff are present, immediately exit the building via the dock doors and wait for the Campus Police and members of the Spurlock Museum staff to respond. This may take time but, DO NOT LEAVE. It is important that you stay in the vicinity of the Museum so that the proper authorities can gather information. When the Campus Police arrive, explain what happened and show them your Spurlock ID. They may also ask to see your driver's license and Student ID.

Reporting Abnormal Conditions

If you see any abnormal conditions that may threaten the safety or security of people or the collections, correct them if you can do so safely, and report them as soon as you can to Security or a full-time staff member. If the condition is deemed serious, it will require an Abnormal Conditions Report to be filled out by a section head.

Examples of abnormal conditions that should be reported:

Examples of abnormal conditions

• Unauthorized person found in a secure area
• Theft in progress
• Vandalism or other damage to artifacts or equipment
• Water leaks/Sewer smells
• Water left running in the Museum's sinks
• Elevator not operating
• Fire/Smoke smell
• Accidents or injuries

Safety

General Safety Guidelines

Your responsibilities for promoting environmental health and safety include the following:

Responsibilities for promoting environmental health and safety

• Following all safety and health standards and rules.
• Reporting all hazardous conditions to a full-time staff member.
• Using all required protective equipment and/or clothing as prescribed by your supervisor.
• Not operating any mechanical equipment or using any chemicals unless you have been authorized to do so and have been instructed in their proper operation.

Your supervisor will brief you on any safety guidelines and procedures specific to your job functions.

The primary staff-use first aid kit is available in corridor 005, by the Break Room (room 018) and Exhibit Prep (room 019). See the map of the basement on page 6 for a visual guide to the primary first aid kit. Additionally, there are first aid kits in Exhibit Prep (room 019), the General Work Room (room 011), and in the Security Office (room 111). A burn kit is available in the Lab (room 016).

Material Safety and Data Sheets (MSDS sheets)

The "Right to Know - Compliance Center", where the MSDS sheets are located, is next to the first aid kit on the wall between Exhibit Prep and the Break Room. See the map of the basement on page 6. The binders are sorted alphabetically. A binder labeled "contractor" contains products that contractors distribute and/or use is sorted alphabetically, but it is a separate listing. The MSDS sheets have safety information regarding specific chemicals and products; some of the sheets also have specific treatment action for accidental contact.

Illness

If you become ill while at work and feel that you cannot or should not continue to perform you duties, report to your section head before leaving if possible. You should always let a staff member know you are leaving.

Emergency Response Guide (flipbook)

This flipbook is located in many locations throughout the Museum. You are required to read this flipbook. Know where the flipbook(s) closest to your workspace is(are) located. Periodically re-familiarize yourself with the content of the flipbook. Refer to the flipbook in the event of any emergency.

Remember, dial "9";+"911"; to reach "911" from EVERY campus telephone. You may find it easier to remember the dial number as "99-11".

Spurlock Museum | 600 S. Gregory St. | Urbana, Illinois 61801 | (217) 333-2360
© University of Illinois Board of Trustees | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign