Arrangement and Planning

Service to the Public.

The service of the museum to the general public is three-fold. First, it stimulates curiosity, the gratification of which increases knowledge. It makes a man more aware of the world in which he lives; of its extension in time and space, of the materials of which it is composed, of the trees and plants with which it is covered, of the animals that have in habited it from the remotest ages until now, of the activities of man, of the history of his development, of his achievements in craftsmanship and art. It illustrates written history and enlarges a man's conception of the possibilities of his race; and so it plays its part in enlarging his mind, in multiplying his interests, and in making him a better citizen. Secondly, in some of its departments it ministers to the sense of beauty. It places before him the beautiful products of nature and of art. It shows him what man has been able to create out of clay or stone or metal or by the use of pigments, and so gives him the means of training his taste and developing a cultivated appreciation of the beauti ful; a service which, in a world where so many live in the midst of man-created ugliness, is on no account to be minimised. And thirdly it provides a means of refreshing recreation and intellectual and aesthetic enjoyment.

This is the museum ideal: but to realize it conditions are needed which are not always, or indeed often, attainable. To attract and interest the public, not a mass of material is needed, as by the student, but a relatively small number of objects good of their kind, or intrinsically interesting, well displayed and clearly ex plained. The ideal museum would have one set of galleries for the general public, in which this method would be applied, and another set of rooms for the student, in which objects would be gathered in bulk, with all facilities for their examination. Un fortunately few museums, and none of the older ones, have been built on this principle. The original idea was to show everything; and now the galleries are overcrowded, and there is no adequate accommodation for study-series. The need, however, is now rec ognized, and there is no doubt that efforts will be made to supply it (see MUSEUM ARCHITECTURE).

The educational service of a museum is, or should be, not merely passive but active. It is not enough to build and stock a museum, and to leave the public to find out its value for them selves. That was the older policy, or lack of policy. A live museum now endeavours actively to attract the public and to interest it. The principal means are by labels, by guide-books, by photographs (including the popular picture postcards), by special exhibitions, by articles in the press, and by lectures in the galleries. Peripatetic lectures by educated guide-lecturers (as distinct from mercenary ciceroni) were, it is believed, first tried in the United States in 19°7 and first systematized in London in 1911. They are now a recognized and popular feature in all the greater museums. Still more recently the use of museums as a regular part of the education of children has been developed, con spicuously so in America, where it has been found a great success.

Present Status.

The present position of museums may be briefly summarized as follows. Everywhere the national museums, the university museums, and a small number of municipal mu seums are thoroughly established as laboratories of research, with trained staffs and an equipment, more or less complete, of cata logues. Their value in this respect is unquestioned. They are mostly full to overflowing, yet must continue to add to their con tents in order to keep abreast of the results of discoveries. Their main problem is the provision of storage and of accommodation for students. As instruments of general education and cultured recreation, their utility has recently been much more fully realized than before ; but it cannot be doubted that further developments in this respect are possible and desirable. Public recognition of their value, as manifested in the press and in figures of attendances and sales of publications, is growing rapidly.

BIILIoGRApHY.—The only general history of museums is Museums, their history and their use, by David Murray (Glasgow, 1904), in three volumes, of which two are occupied by a bibliography, including catalogues and other works relating to particular museums and special collections. Much detailed information about the national museums, both in Great Britain and in other countries, is contained in the volume of evidence and appendices accompanying the Interim Report of the Royal Commission on National Museums and Galleries (1928) ; and Sir H. Miers' Report on the Public Museums of the British Isles (1928), prepared for the Carnegie Trustees, gives the fullest survey of the history and present condition of the municipal and other non-national museums, with a tabulated list of them. E. E. Lowe's Report on American Museum Work, for the same Trustees, gives a more summary statement of the position in America. The publications of the American Association of Museums, the Museums Journal of the Museums Association of Great Britain, and the Museumskunde of Berlin contain much information on both theory and practice. Among other books that may be mentioned are: Sir W. Flower, Essays on Museums (1898) ; M. T. Jackson, The Museum (1917) ; L. V. Coleman, A Manual for Small Museums (1927) ; C. R. Richards, Industrial Art and the Museum (1927). Information with regard to particular museums must be sought in their own catalogues and other publications. A series of separate histories of British and American Museums includes The British Museum, by H. C. Shelley Ow I), The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, by J. de W. Addison (revised ed., the Metropolitan Museum of New York by D. L. Preyer (19o9), and The Art Treasures of Washington, by H. W. Henderson An investigation into the principles and methods of exhibition in art museums is now being conducted by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. (F. G. K.)