40 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE SMALLER MUSEUMS OF 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



By WILLIAM ORE, 

 SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 



WITH the rapid growth of 20iiblic libraries and the multiplication 

 of books^ periodicals and newspapers, there has arisen an 

 nrgent need for the direction of popular reading and for the promotion 

 of serious study. Librarians are striving, with the aid of schools and 

 teachers, to counteract the general tendency towards aimless superficial 

 reading. Another educational agency that promotes exact knowledge, 

 quickens observation and leads to research and consecutive study is the 

 museum of natural history. 



The near future may well see as great an interest in the establish- 

 ment of museums as there is now in the founding of libraries. Such 

 an institution can do an especially valuable service in the smaller city 

 or town, provided its directors sense and seize their peculiar oppor- 

 tunity and clearly recognize the limitations imposed by local conditions. 

 There should be no attempt to imitate the expensive buildings, ex- 

 haustive synoptic collections and the elaborate research and explora- 

 tion of museums in the great centers of population. Salaries and inci- 

 dental expenses can be kept at modest figures. Volunteer workers 

 should be enlisted to cooperate with the paid officials. Public interest 

 and the practical support of men of means are important factors to 

 secure and retain. Connection with the public library under one gen- 

 eral management makes for efficiency and economy. 



For distinction and reputation the small museum must depend on 

 special excellence in a few departments, on its representation of the 

 local natural history and on its influence as an educational force in the 

 community. Large sums may be spent to advantage on groups or on 

 individual specimens when by such features local pride is aroused and 

 visitors attracted. Carefully selected index collections can be used to 

 give general views of the animal, plant and mineral worlds, while in- 

 dustry and ingenuity find full room for exercise in illustrating clearly 

 and vividly the geology, botany and zoology of the region in which the 

 museum is situated. As an agent of popular instruction the museum 

 in the smaller centers possesses important advantages in the compara- 

 tive ease with which people may be reached and interested. Usually 

 the tone of life and the freedom from distracting influences are favor- 



