fects in the roof had to be ameliorated rather than cured. By 

 1913 the renewal of the roof had become a vital matter for the 

 preservation of the building and the protection of its contents. 



The request for a new roof and for other repairs led City Coun- 

 cil to make a special inquiry into the condition and needs of the 

 building, the state of development of the educational and scien- 

 tific activities of the Museum, and the plans for future work. 

 This inquiry was of the greatest value to the Museum, for it 

 aroused public interest and called forth the most gratifying and 

 enthusiastic endorsement of the institution from many persons 

 representing widely varied interests which have been served by 

 the Museum. These letters evinced such sincere and intelli- 

 gent appreciation of the service we are trying to render that they 

 gave to the staff new courage, and to City Council a public en- 

 dorsement of its wisdom in developing the Museum as a public 

 institution. The broader understanding thus achieved with 

 both City Council and the people of Charleston is one of the im- 

 portant events of the year and goes far toward establishing the 

 Museum on a permanent basis. 



As has been stated. City Council finally appropriated $4,300 

 for a new roof, for general repairs necessitated for the most part 

 by leaks in the old roof, and for reinforced concrete steps at the 

 front entrance. The work was done under the able supervision 

 of Mr. James P. Mclntyre, of the Museum staff, to whose energy 

 and good judgment are due the excellence of the work and its 

 low cost. 



Skylights. The month of April was occupied chiefly with 

 work on the skylights. These have given continual trouble since 

 their installation and are still unsatisfactory. The glass was all 

 taken out, the frames inspected and repaired, and the glass re- 

 placed, but there are still some leaks which appear to be due to 

 improper construction of the drainage gutters. It is hoped that 

 these can be corrected in the near future. 



The necessity of opening the skylights was taken advantage 

 of to install movable cotton curtains under the skylights to mod- 

 ify the light coming into the main hall. These curtains are an 

 important and long-needed improvement, giving a much better 

 diffusion of light and protecting specimens from fading. 



Roof. The main work of laying the new roofing occupied 

 six weeks in May and early June, and was accomplished with 

 the loss of but six hours from rain — a remarkably fortunate rec- 

 ord. The remainder of June was occupied with work on the 



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