18 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Sei. 



it will wish to do; there will be many things it must do; there 

 will be many problems it must then meet. The time is oppor- 

 tune for consideration of some of those problems. 



The first question to consider is the large and fundamental 

 one as to the general policy of the Museum. 



The character or type of museum which the Academy 

 wishes to maintain must be determined. Along what lines shall 

 its principal activities lie? How can it do the most good as 

 a scientific, educational institution? 



The one thing that will impress one most in a study of east- 

 ern museums is their activity along educational lines, and the 

 ways in which they are endeavoring to interest the public,, 

 and to be of service to the public. 



It is apparent that the museums of the east are beginning 

 to realize more and more that they owe a debt to the public 

 and to those who have made their existence possible. Until 

 recently most museums have done little or nothing in respect 

 to general education. "They have been content to be merely 

 vast depositories for collections of priceless value, either un- 

 seen or gazed upon in mute wonder by those who visited 

 them." 



In such museums the visitors "wander listlessly and aim- 

 lessly about the halls and galleries, with little appreciation and 

 scarcely any understanding of the treasures that surround 

 them." 



But a great change has come about within the last few 

 years. Now, the museum has come to regard itself, and to be 

 regarded by the public, as an educational institution, working 

 in cooperation with the public and private schools for the good 

 of all the children who can be brought under its influence. It 

 is now realized that a public museum, in order to justify its 

 existence, must be of real service, not only to investigators, 

 but to the general public, as well. 



To meet the needs of the investigator, the museum must 

 be an institution for research, an institution for the acquire- 

 ment of knowledge and its diffusion among men. A museum 

 furnishes facilities for research and the acquirement of knowl- 

 edge through, and in proportion to the completeness of, its 

 research collections, and the encouragement it gives to field 

 and laboratory investigations. The knowledge acquired by 



